Fish and Wildlife Management and Online Education: Solving the Field Experience Dilemma

 Carol A. Pollio, Ph.D.

American Public University System

April 2010

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1890 First Correspondence Courses, University of Chicago

1910 First catalog of instructional films produced

1920s Radio used for distance learning classes

1932 State University of Iowa began experimenting with instructional television

1967 Britain’s Open University (“the University of the Air”)

1971 University of Massachusetts at Amherst “UniversityWithout Walls”

1999 Jones International University - first 100% online university to be regionally accredited

2006 American Public University regionally accredited

A Brief History of Online Education

Education Yesterday

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Education Today?

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Natural Resources Distance Learning Challenges

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1. Science – How are laboratories done in the online environment?

2. Curricula – Are online curricula interchangeable with traditional curricula?

3. Field Work – Is there a mechanism to conduct field work via distance education?

4. The Future of Education – How do we transition Fish and Wildlife Mgt and Natural Resources Mgt to the “Digital Age”?

Some data on the use of electronic resources and devices:

• 33% of teenagers send 100 text messages per day1

• 87% of teenagers sleep with or next to their phones1

• 73% of active online users have read a blog2

• 45% of online users have started their own blog2

• 57% of online users have joined a social network2

• 55% of online users have uploaded photos2

• 83% of online users have watched video clips2

1Pew Internet and American Life Project, April 2010.2Universal McCann’s Comparative Study on Social Media Trends, April 2008. 17,000 respondents from

29 countries.7

The “Digital Age” and Communication

“Digital Natives” vs. “Digital Immigrants”

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Digital Natives – According to Prensky (2001), students today (DNs) are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games, and the internet.

Digital Immigrants – Much like learning a new language, DIs are adults that have learned this new language late in life. They have an “accent”.

“Our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language” (Prensky, 2001).

“Digital Natives” vs. “Digital Immigrants”

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Further, Prensky (2001) suggests that DNs brains may actually function differently - they certainly think differently.

However, DI Instructors are speaking to them in a ‘heavily accented,’ unintelligible way.

“Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.” (Prensky, 2001)

Pros and Cons of Online Learning

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Pros:• The online environment encourages student dialog and

connectedness, as well as providing greater student-instructor interaction (Anderson and Haddad, 2005).

• Use of authentic activities, for example, for complex problem solving assignments, can result in deeper learning (Herrington, Oliver, and Reeves, 2003).

• Engages visual learners. Those that select online learning are typically predisposed to that learning style (Halsne and Gatta, 2002).

• Students in online classrooms have more contact with Instructors on a daily basis than those in traditional settings (Anderson and Haddad, 2005).

Pros and Cons of Online Learning

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Cons:• Using the same course design and instructor(s),

students earn similar test scores, but complete fewer assignments in online vs. traditional classroom settings (Cryan, Mentzer, and Teclehaimanot, 2007).

• Learning Management Systems can be seen as limiting by Instructors, and, therefore, courses may not be designed to maximize learning (also can be true of traditional courses)(Gibbs and Gosper, 2006).

• Some students learn more from hearing exchanges between classmates and instructors (i.e., auditory learners), which may not occur if these questions occur via email/privately (Halsne and Gatta, 2002).

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Universities with F&W and Related Online Programs

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The Dilemma: How Do They/We Do Field Work?

U of Wisc: No field component is required (M.S.).

VA Tech: No field component is required (M.S.).

Colorado Technical: Each course is both online and requires a residential session held 2x per year for 4 ½ days at the Colorado Springs campus (Ph.D. in Environmental & Social Sustainability).

OSU: Students must take Biology at a local or community college (B.S.). Two internship courses are required (M.S.).

APUS: Students may take an optional Seminar that requires an internship (M.S.).

The Dilemma: How Do They/We Do Field Work?

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• Internships

• On-site Seminars

• Virtual Projects/Research

• Web-Based Seminars (WebEx/WebCT, etc.)

• Online Classroom and Workplace Partnerships

• Others?

How do we think like “Digital Natives” in designing new curricula?

The Dilemma: How Do They/We Do Field Work?

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Discussion and Questions

Literature Cited

Anderson, D. and Haddad, C. 2005. Gender, voice, and learning in online course environments. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 9(1), March, 2005.

Cryan, J.R., Mentzer, G., & Teclehaimanot, B. (2007). Two peas in a pod? A comparison of face-to-face and web-based classrooms.” Journal of Technology and Teacher

Education, 15 (2), 233-246.

Gibbs, D. and Gosper, M. 2006. The upside-down-world of e-learning. Journal of Learning Design 1(2), 46-54. http://www.jld.qut.edu.au/.

Halsne, A. and Gatta, L. 2002. Online versus traditionally-delivered instruction: A descriptive study of learner characteristics in a community college setting. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 5(1).

Harrington, J., Oliver, R., and Reeves, T.C. 2003. Patterns of engagement in authentic online learning environments. Australian Journal of EducationalTechnology, 19(1), 59–71.

Pew Internet and American Life Project. April, 2010. Teens and mobile phones. Washington, DC.

Prensky, M. 2001. Digital natives, digital immigrants. From On the Horizon. MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001.

Universal McCann Comparative Study on Social Media Trends, April 2008. New York.16