Lorraine Carter, PhD Rob Graham, PhD(c) Behdin Nowrouzi, PhD(c) CNIE-RCIE 2013

1. The Coming Down of Fences: What Continuing Educators at Canadian Universities are Doing and Saying about Online and Other Forms of Technology-supported Learning Lorraine Carter, PhD Rob Graham, PhD(c) Behdin Nowrouzi, PhD(c) CNIE-RCIE 2013

2. Agenda • Statement of position • Short history of continuing education/ adult education and distance education in Canada • Where we are now  • So what? What does this mean? • Open discussion

3. Position In 2013, the distinctions that have existed between distance, continuing, and adult educators in Canada are collapsing given the rapid growth of educational technologies. • Personal and professional experiences since 1990 • Work that we have completed over the last few years including four publications • Knowledge of the literature and current practices

4. Who We Are • Lorraine Carter • CADE, AMTEC, CAUCE • research in the two fields and in the place of their intersection • an ‘inclusionist’ • Rob Graham • doctoral student at Lancaster University in technology-enabled learning • an educator with the Schulich School of Education at Nipissing University • Behdin Nowrouzi • doctoral student at Laurentian University in issues of rural and northern health including quality of work life for nurses • a lifelong learner and champion of online and distributed education d

5. Key Resources • book chapter called University Continuing Education for Adult Learners: History and Key Trends by Scott McLean and Lorraine Carter (in press) • The Evolution of Online Education at a Small Northern University: Principles and Practices by Lorraine Carter and Rob Graham in Journal of Distance Education (2012) • two reports based on two surveys conducted by the Canadian Association of University Continuing Education and published in the Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education • 2009 report co-authored by Lorraine Carter and Tracey Taylor O'Reilly • 2012 report co-authored by Lorraine Carter and Behdin Nowrouzi

6. McLean & Carter • In 2011, 60% of the 239,000 part-time undergraduates were at least twenty-five years of age (AUCC, 2011). In other words, adult learners comprise the majority of the part-time learner sector. • Participation of adult learners in higher education constitutes an important component of the broader field of adult education in Canada. • Leaders of university continuing education units in Canada see themselves as addressing the needs and goals of learners seeking professional development, personal enrichment, and enhanced knowledge and skills (McLean, 2007).

7. McLean & Carter • Canadian universities have been providing learning opportunities for adults since at least the late1800s. • Extension units “extended” the resources of their institutions for the benefit of those who could not attend as full-time students. In the second half of the century, these extension departments were transformed into “continuing education” units. • Continuing education connotes the delivery of educational programs to people having already obtained some higher education .

8. McLean & Carter • Key trends over time: • rising prominence of continuing professional education • proliferation of programs of study leading to credentials • increasing proportion of female students • expanding influence of educational technologies • while continuing education in Canada is largely regionally defined, synchronous and asynchronous technologies hold potential for reaching students beyond regional boundaries (Kohl, 2010) • continuing university education and online and other forms of technology-supported education: a problematic or synergistic marriage?

9. McLean & Carter An Example. Consider how: • entry to practices standards in the health professions including nursing have continued to escalate • E.g., in Ontario in January 2005, the entry to practice standard became the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree (Carter, 2003; Carter, L. & Rukholm, 2002) • the four trends noted below are reflected in the context of health education standards • continuing professional education + programs of study leading to credentials + female students + the expanding influence of educational technologies (the how)

10. McLean & Carter • continuing professional education • programs of study leading to credentials • female students • influence of educational technologies Access and flexibility are in demand more than ever before. Educational technologies are the methods by which we best achieve these goals.

11. Carter & Graham • a case study of the Centre for Flexible Teaching and Learning at Nipissing University; • among other things, the Centre supports university continuing education through online and blended approaches • www.nipissingu.ca/cftl

12. Carter & Graham • Beware of 21st century privilege! • Not all agree that online has abolished the concept of geographical distance (Cairncross, 1997; Fisher, 2009). • Is it more appropriate to say that it has simply been modified? • Beyond geographical to psychological and or/social barriers (Bates, 2008) • Although we can’t minimize geographical distance..., we can minimize the transactional distance (Benson & Samarawickrema, 2009). • Distance education as a method rather than a philosophy

13. Carter & Graham • Have we really come that far? • What do 1996 and 2013 have in common? (Carter & Graham, 2012) • Collaboration, community, connectedness • When you “buy in” into a collaborative model of education, what does it mean? • Something to consider: today, time is as much a complicating factor as geography in the lives of many learners. • Learning as a social and emotional experience...a key piece of thinking

14. Carter & Nowrouzi • CAUCE is the professional association for Canadian universities involved in the delivery of university continuing education. • Areas explored in the CAUCE membership survey (2009, 2012): services, professional development, the CAUCE conference, and reflections on continuing education in general • Relevant to this discussion are the views of CAUCE members about technology. • While findings based on two iterations of a survey are not a trend, they do offer ‘grist for the thinking and planning mill.’

15. Carter & Nowrouzi • new services that CAUCE would like if CAUCE could offer them: • attracting and brokering new continuing education business opportunities • services that would be beneficial at work: • online asynchronous learning materials, self-guided resources, work-focused webcasts, webinars, and live classroom learning opportunities Let’s think about these findings for a minute.

16. Carter & Nowrouzi • Top professional development topics identified as helpful at work: • leadership development, program development, and program evaluation and assessment strategies tied with distance education. • distance education did not make top three in 2009 • Preferred formats for professional development: • webinars, conferences, and half-day pre-conference workshops/sessions. • in 2009, these preferences in order were conferences, webinars, and teleconferences

17. Greatest benefits of conference attendance: professional development and networking with other colleagues, marketing, and online/distance education Preferred formats for staff professional development

18. Let’s Talk Online for a Minute • Online learning is growing across Canada • Ontario leads • 500,000+ registrations • 18,000+ courses • 1,000+ programs • Canada has app. 1.3 million registrations in a fully online course each year. • Several universities engaged in MOOCs – UBC, Uof T, Athabasca, Thompson Rivers, BC Campus

19. 1. Geography and demography • 2. An economy grounded in knowledge work, innovation, distributed organizations • 3. If we don’t provide flexible and accessible options, someone else will. • 4. Technology is part of our world: we bank, book vacations, seek entertainment on line. Why not do provide continuing education on line and through other technology-supported models? • 5. And the research is in: http://nosignificantdifference.org The Why

20. So what? • Is there such as thing as distance education in 2013? • What are the defining principles of university teachers and administrators in general? • How do these principles differ from or align with those involved in university continuing education? • Is educational technology in higher education a tool? Something more?

21. So what? • What about those fences?

22. We would love to continue the conversation with you. lorrainec@nipissingu.ca robg@nipissingu.ca bx_nowrouzi@laurentian.ca

23. Carter, L., & Graham, R. (2012).The evolution of online education at a small northern university: Theory and practice. Journal for Distance Education/ Revue de l'Éducation à Distance, 26(2). Carter, L., & Taylor-O’Reilly, T. (2009). CAUCE institutional members’ survey: A snapshot. Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 35(2), 29-42. Carter, L., & Nowrouzi, B. (in press). What’s on the Minds of CAUCE Members?: CAUCE Institutional Members’ Survey 2012. Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education. MacLean, S., & Carter, L. (in press). University continuing education for adult learners: History and key trends. In T. Nesbit (Ed.). Building on critical traditions.