Concord.org - @CONCORD: Perspective

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etcourses and virtual schools will soon spark an educational revolution that will have a far-reaching impact. Netcourses will free education from the monopoly of place, creating a free market of courses and educational services. There will soon be thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of netcourses of every size and rigor, addressing every conceivable topic. As a result, education as a whole and the nature of public education will never again be the same.

The transformation of socialized education into a free market could be accompanied by great confusion and many abuses. The most troubling problems will be fraud and inferior quality. If anyone can offer a netcourse, then the market will be flooded by netjunk: netcourses that either do not exist or are of inferior quality, or use teachers who are inexperienced or poorly educated. It will be very tempting for the unscrupulous to create a Potemken Academy, an educational facade that looks and sounds impressive but lacks substance.

It is a problem that will have to be addressed the way the free market protects consumers, through a combination of evaluation, accreditation, and consumer awareness. Fortunately, the 'net is an information rich medium, so it can be easy for a consumer to find out about a course and its teachers. Teacher credentials, records of past courses, expert critiques, and evaluations by prior students can be available for prospective students.

"If anyone can offer a netcourse, then the market will be flooded by netjunk."

The best solution to the problem of quality is for the education profession to formulate and propagate a set of voluntary netcourse quality reporting standards. This solution shifts most of the responsibility for evaluation to the netcourse provider in much the same way that financial auditing standards shift the burden of accounting to companies. The profession still needs to spot check adherence to the standards, but it would not have to undertake a huge evaluation effort.

What would netcourse standards look like? We propose that if a netcourse provider adheres to the following standards, it could display a seal of quality.

Institutional information
What institution is offering the netcourse? What is the institution's record for offering successful netcourses? Does it have a tuition refund policy? Who is responsible for netcourse quality and what is that person's qualifications?

Teacher resumes
Each netcourse teacher must post a teaching resume listing degrees, certifications, and recommendations from colleagues and former students.

Netcourse syllabus
A detailed description of the course, including prerequisites, target audience, specific learning goals, activities, student evaluation criteria, and teacher responsibilities, must be posted.

Student evaluation
The institution promises to administer and post the results of a standard student evaluation form, including a survey of dropouts.

Netcourse audit
Each netcourse has a designated auditor from another institution. The auditor must certify that the netcourse content is accurate and reasonable, that good teaching strategies are employed, and that the self-reports are accurate. The credentials of the auditor must be posted.

This information would help protect the public, particularly if institutions offering netcourses were actively encouraged to follow these standards. Their widespread utilization would greatly facilitate the compilation of reliable and standardized information about netcourses.

We urge the profession to proactively adopt standards such as these. Let's avoid creating inferior offerings that degrade the netcourse idea. We need to quickly develop high-quality offerings so we can expand educational opportunities for all.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Welcome :: Masthead :: The Future Is Now :: VHS Netcourse ::
MayaQuest Expedition :: Prof. Development :: Personal Inquiries :: INTEC Tech ::
Power & Portability :: Here Comes the Sun :: Reform Education :: Perspective :: Get Involved! ::

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