Don’t judge online education by Cal Poly courses cobbled together during COVID

We are writing in response to Stephen Lloyd-Moffett’s commentary in the Sept. 26, 2022, issue of The Tribune, “It’s time to admit that online education has largely failed.”

Our purpose for writing is to clear up some misconceptions about online education and respond to a few statements made by Cal Poly Professor Lloyd-Moffett.

We are instructional designers at Cal Poly, both with MS degrees in education, and certified course reviewers for the California State University’s Quality Learning and Teaching program. We provide guidance to CSU instructors in online course design and facilitation, and between us we have a combined 22 years of experience teaching online academic courses at both the community college and CSU levels.

While we appreciate much of what professor Lloyd-Moffett writes in his commentary, his statements prompted us to clear up some misconceptions about online education, primarily the differences between emergency remote instruction and quality online learning.

Cal Poly delivered courses online to avoid health hazards with in-person learning during the COVID pandemic, with very little preparation time. The courage and flexibility of faculty should be applauded and commended, but this does not by any means represent quality online course pedagogy or delivery in normal times.

Lloyd-Moffett writes, “Widespread online education has failed not because of the good intention of educators, but because of the nature of the medium.”

The problem is not the medium, but the sudden unexpected transition to emergency remote learning, when faculty did not have sufficient time nor training to build quality online courses.

The CSU offers certified faculty trainings, consultations with instructional designers and application of CSU’s statewide Quality Teaching and Learning Rubric with 52 objectives. Following the course design and development process, courses are reviewed by certified peers and instructional designers who provide ratings with constructive feedback. Courses undergo continuous revisions based on ongoing assessments.

It should be noted that the standards for CSU-certified online courses are actually more rigorous than the standards for in-person courses. At Cal Poly we are proud to offer course design training to all faculty, regardless of their course modality.

Lloyd-Moffett writes, “Many colleagues have confided in me... that “pushing play” on their prerecorded lecture frees up more time for their research… More than one faculty member has confided in me that they forget they are even teaching that quarter when class is online.”

If this is taking place, it is not good pedagogy and should not be tolerated. Cal Poly does not promote “video as class” teaching. Quality online courses feature engaging learning experiences for students who learn in collaboration with peers. Instructors communicate regularly, facilitate student-to-student interactions, guide online activities and provide authentic assessments aligned with course learning outcomes. Instructors check in regularly to guide progress, clarify misunderstandings, facilitate discussions and provide feedback on assessments.

Lloyd-Moffett writes, “…looking back, we should now conclude that online education compromises the educational goals of quality institutions.”

In fact, online education is helping to advance the goals of the CSU: The CSU is expanding online course offerings as part of the Graduation Initiative for 2025, since online classes can help reduce time to a degree (CSU Fully Online Expands access for students). This is largely driven by students who want more flexibility with their course schedules and lives. If students are unable to find in-person classes that fit their class or work schedules, online classes provide that flexibility. This is especially beneficial for transfer students and students with work and family obligations. There is even evidence that taking at least some online classes improves the odds of completing degrees: Completion Boost for 2-Year Students Who Take (Some) Online Courses.

We hope this helps clarify some of the misconceptions about online education.

To learn more about trends in higher education regarding online instruction, please read the 2022 Educause Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition.

Pam Dougherty and Catherine Hillman are instructional designers with the Cal Poly Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology.

This story was originally published October 6, 2022 at 11:22 AM.