Where there's fear there's...fire?

I just finished reading an excellent article in the MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching titled "Perceptions of Distance Learning Among Faculty of a College of Education"  (Mills, Yanes, & Casebeer, 2009).  Although the study was conducted at a Southwestern US university, I dare say the findings likely echo across other institutions as well.

The study's purpose was to "ascertain faculty perception of value and viability of distance education in their context." (Mills, et al., 2009) The researchers designed a two-part survey: 1) demographic variables regarding age, gender, years teaching, faculty rank, and technology competence, and 2) five open-ended questions to gather data about faculty perceptions and beliefs concerning online learning

(Mills, et al., 2009). The questions were:

What are your perceptions of the use of technology in higher education?

What is your perception of distance education?

What barriers would you anticipate you might experience if you taught a distance class?

What elements would influence your decision to design and teach an online class?

What significant differences do you perceive between distance education and on campus education classes? (Mills, et al., 2009)

Five major themes emerged from survey response analysis: Significance of Distance Education, Technology Competence, Administrative Support, Barriers, and Low Response Rate (Mills, et al., 2009).  While pertinent discussion followed on each of the topics, my focus is the theme of Technology Competence.  "Most respondents indicated that their own skill limitations would be a barrier to creating a distance education course" (Mills, et al., 2009).  The identity and professional self-esteem of faculty members, based on their comments, appeared threatened when educational practices deviate from the traditional methodologies that have forged their beliefs about teacher/student interaction (Mills, et al., 2009). The instructors are afraid for students to see their indecisiveness and inexperience with technology, likely falsely believing that they will lose status with their students.  In other words, instead of using that fear to fuel their motivation to 'step outside their boxes' (Isn't that part of challenging students in hopes of acheiving intellectual growth?), these instructors allow fear to color their perceptions and impact their ability to achieve effective online courses.

Mills, S. J., Yanes, M. J., & Casebeer, C. M. (2009). Perceptions of distance learning among faculty of a college of education Journal of Online Learning and Technology, 5(1), 10.