Self-Paced Online Delivery: Promises and Pitfalls
Abstract
Online learning has long been touted as “flexible,” “convenient” and “on your own time.” But it's really not. It's flexible to some degree, convenient in many ways, and somewhat on your own time. Could institutions do a better job with flexibility and convenience? Could we break free of units and weeks, and allow students to work at their own pace to some degree? Is Self-Paced Online Delivery a pearl or a dud? A six-week experiment permitting students to work at their own pace with some general guidelines in place shows promise for increased flexibility and improved student satisfaction, but also reveals potential pitfalls that must be addressed. Innovation and flexibility have characterized distance learning, and our increasingly diverse student population demands continuous innovation. Self-paced learning models that also provide opportunity for building community and collegiality will meet the needs of adult students returning to the classroom.
Location
Room 1908
Recommended Citation
Flynn, Catherine, "Self-Paced Online Delivery: Promises and Pitfalls" (2010). SoTL Commons Conference. 44.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2010/44
Self-Paced Online Delivery: Promises and Pitfalls
Room 1908
Online learning has long been touted as “flexible,” “convenient” and “on your own time.” But it's really not. It's flexible to some degree, convenient in many ways, and somewhat on your own time. Could institutions do a better job with flexibility and convenience? Could we break free of units and weeks, and allow students to work at their own pace to some degree? Is Self-Paced Online Delivery a pearl or a dud? A six-week experiment permitting students to work at their own pace with some general guidelines in place shows promise for increased flexibility and improved student satisfaction, but also reveals potential pitfalls that must be addressed. Innovation and flexibility have characterized distance learning, and our increasingly diverse student population demands continuous innovation. Self-paced learning models that also provide opportunity for building community and collegiality will meet the needs of adult students returning to the classroom.
