Customizing Online Learning

Of all the compelling reasons why distance education has exhibited such impressive growth across the board and attracted so many new students and business advocates, nothing matches its compulsive developmental nature. Typically, the advances like those dizzying variations of smartphones are technologically driven. Incrementally nonstop, the technology of e-learning has addressed, closed, and even transcended the gaps between face-to-face traditional and distance learning.Increasingly, online delivery can currently take place in real or simulated time, with total voice and visuality; and accompanied by multiple sources or frames simultaneously available and displayable. Information sharing and knowledge transfer thus now occur in data environments so rich and multiple that they resemble news or war situation rooms offering unlimited access to an incredible range of sources capable of sustaining any feeding frenzy level.The net result is the repositioning of the e-learner, who now has at his or her fingertips a span of access and control that leaves conventional modes behind. The old goal of trying to catch up or proving to be as good has been replaced by a delivery standard of best practices that makes online learning the standard to match or beat. But essentially that was inevitable and only a matter of time; because e-learning has put all its delivery eggs in the one basket—of technology—which tirelessly and incrementally distances itself from yesterday’s incarnations.But while all this sensational perfecting of the technological environment is going on in the foreground, a quieter but equally creative drama is going on in the background but focused now on the learner not as user but as customer. A number of structured relationships have been developed to demonstrate once more the capacity of online learning to be not only learner-cen-tered, but also now to customize the delivery of its services—to be a structured learning version of Facebook and Twitter.The two general service areas focused on are academics and careers. The first is preoccupied with management in the here and now and uses e-tutoring and e-coaching. The second area services career development especially in the future and provides access to job trends and fields, here and abroad. But common to both is a passion for diagnostics and metrics. Customizing can only be effective if it is focused. Thus, all efforts are preceded and buttressed by tests and surveys; and the directions and foci dictated by such precise findings.Increasingly online universities are in the testing business. They may broker access to outside validated instruments at slightly discounted prices or in many cases develop with the expertise of their faculty consultants their own instruments. Thus, e-tutoring is used to deliver customized services in two major areas—online learning management and subject matter catchup. But like all call centers, the ally or enemy is time—and the quality of the testing database.To be effective, productive, and cost-lim-iting, e-tutoring has to rely on diagnostic findings to zero in on what is needed; and to do so as a time-driven way. That clears the field and allows the focus to pinpoint and isolate the application of remedies. Indeed, testing has become such an indispensable ally of tutors and time that many are now being trained as testing interpreters. In some cases that has also been linked to when to make referrals—when tutoring has to be shifted to coaching because of the complexity of the problem and the time required. Most universities do not charge separately for tutoring but employ costsharing for coaching.Although initial references to written materials for help are routinely offered by tutors, learners seldom choose that route of follow up. It is evidently not what they prefer or value. Clearly, such use also pales beside the word-of-mouth reputation of how much faster, more targeted and customized tutorial services are. Indeed, in many ways tutors and coaches are perceived as critical as faculty, sometimes even more so in the experience of turn-around. What also attracts learners is the diagnostic art of distinguishing between tutoring and coaching. Preliminary estimates determine whether the problem posed is fixable with tinkering or tweaking or requires the kind of depth of overhaul that takes one back to square one. Indeed, square one problems are quickly tagged as such for coaching.Thus, if the problem is punctuation—of whether periods or commas go inside or outside of quotation marks—that is a tutorial problem. If the problem is appropriate lengths and substance of paragraphs, or transitions between paragraphs or summaries, it can start with the tutorial but it is likely to evolve into a coaching challenge. In all cases links to academic advisors and faculty are maintained for feedback.Although addressing the management of online learning is an area of expertise built up over the years by e-tutoring, there are a few new wrinkles. The first is to couple employment. Issues of work-life balance are now doubly compounded. The second issue is that multitask management has become a new norm. The third issue is the increase of travel but now in an increasingly global world where there are often problems of language fluency and technological obstacles of connectivity and compatibility. But these are manageable compared to the customizing of career counseling.Far more formidable than academic counseling is career counseling. That is largely due to online learners being older, already employed, and generally careerwise. They are also unusually resourceful and expert job searchers and researchers. When asked what would be most helpful, their characteristic answer is data but in the special form of career trends. They want to follow the practice of Wayne Gretzky, who skates not to where the puck is but where it will be. Indeed, rather than trying to replicate such professional services, some universities have contracted with monthly trend newsletters in the fields of their degrees that explore on a global basis job career directions; and share the contents with both current students and alumni.Often this is further customized and supplemented by offering career related webinars using alumni as presenters. In some cases, companies with job openings are also invited to post them on university websites. Whatever costs are involved in customizing this service are more than made up using career change as a fertile ground for attracting new enrollees to short term turn-around certificate programs geared to the changing job market.Finally, there are some tentative signs of an ambitious extension of this customizing of career services which may involve major policy level discussion and change. Although too early and isolated to recommend or describe in final and implementable form, it nevertheless builds on the five major and documented mega career disruptive patterns: job obsolescence; knowledge aging; new jobs that never existed before; at least three to five major career changes in a lifetime; and paradigm shiftcreated jobs.But in this case, rather than only trying to anticipate and track what will develop in a “fluxy” future, there is an attempt to be part of the solution rather than the problem—to put in place that which matches rather than only tries to catch or keep up with the five job patterns—to guarantee the job currency of the diploma through life-long education.Customizing here takes the radical form of a career-long partnership between learner-alumnus and university to minister to the knowledge and job obsolescence of its graduates. In effect, the university guarantees the duration and durability of its diploma. It offers continuing education of the original career choice to assure performance competence. In terms of updating and upgrading, alumni are treated like university employees—entering into an open-ended growth contract with their alma mater that now plays a lifelong parental role of looking-out and lookingahead for its offspring.In many ways, such customizing of ongoing job competence is already being done although in partial, piecemeal uncoordinated and unofficial ways. Many alumni programs already are extensive and impressive and functioning as second universities already. Then, too, many also are currently using distance education to deliver such career support worldwide. But if what is sought is a basic career change, that is not part of the basic guarantee. Like the shift from tutoring to coaching, that is a square one situation and requires a separate degree solution. To be sure the university can play a significant transfer role there and then offer the same guarantee partnership to that new career choice. If the university already has demonstrated living up to that facilitating role earlier that will often clinch the new arrangement and decision.Will it happen? It is likely. All that it will take is one or two major e-learning universities seeking comparative and competitive advantage announcing such a new arrangement and topping it all off by adding it to their vision and mission statements. Meanwhile, it might be a worthwhile exercise to bring together a task force of attorneys, accountants, admissions/recruiting professionals, continuing education and alumni directors, e-learning specialists, etc. to discuss the prospect and run simulations.But whatever the outcome three patterns are clear: only distance learning institutions seem to be contemplating such a major shift; the track record of e-learning and e-coaching and effective use of diagnostics augurs well for it being successful; and finally it is but the latest version of a long term trend of servicing of learners in general and of late customizing that delivery.A portrait of a man above text identifying Irving H. Buchen of Capella University, with his Fort Myers, F L address and email displayed inside a bordered rectangle. Capella University, 8650 Kilkenny Ct., Ft Myers, FL 33912.