id="ulink_940f96ad-f7f5-5224-be60-93dad07bfc25">In the early 2000s, as technology advanced and learners could afford high-speed cable or DSL, education via the Internet entered its Second Wave. At this time, “online education was no longer seen solely as a vehicle for distance education but could be used in mainstream education in almost any course and any subject matter” (Picciano, 2019, p. 36). Blended learning emerged as a pedagogy as instructors used online learning management systems (LMSs) to enhance face-to-face courses or replace some face-to-face content with online content. For-profit higher education institutions delivered fully online learning, and that sector grew 236% between 1998 and 2008, whereas the growth of public higher education only increased by 21% (Lynch, Engle, & Cruz, 2010 as cited in Picciano, 2019).
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were part of the Third Wave of online education starting in 2008. “In 2011, Stanford University offered several MOOCs… [that] enrolled more than 160,000 students” (Picciano, 2019, p. 36). The MOOC model appealed to those who championed cost-effective access to education. However, dropout rates from MOOC courses were as high as 90% and by 2013, MOOCs had lost some of their luster. Companies that produced MOOCs acknowledged that MOOCs may not be the best fit for those needing to gain basic skills and that these companies needed “more pedagogically sound course materials” (p. 37).
The Fourth Wave of online learning started in 2014 when “blended learning technologies that allowed for more extensive and personal faculty interaction were integrated with well-financed course content as developed by MOOC providers” (p. 38). New approaches to learning, including gaming, open access resources, and mobile technology, continue to change the face of online education.
Learning Theories for Online Education
In this era of web-based learning, new learning theories emerged that addressed issues particular to online learning. While these theories are discussed in the context of formal learning, they also have application to nonformal settings such as online support groups or other online communities of practice. The three theories discussed include community of inquiry, connectivism, and collaborativism or online collaborative learning.
Community of Inquiry
The community of inquiry model focuses on creating cognitive, social, and teaching presences online (Garrison, 2017). Cognitive presence is “the exploration, construction, resolution, and confirmation of understanding through collaboration and reflection in a community of practice” (Garrison, 2007, p. 65). Social presence is “the ability to project one's self and establish personal and purposeful relationships” (p. 63). Social presence indirectly supports critical thinking and directly supports creating an enjoyable and fulfilling course (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). Creating a teaching presence includes “the selection, organization, and primary presentation of course content, as well as the design and development of learning activities and assessment” (p. 90). This is most often accomplished by the teacher. Course facilitation can be shared by both the teacher and the learners (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000).
Cognitive presence means providing opportunities for critical thinking. Critical thinking has several components. There are “four phases of inquiry—triggering event, exploration, integration, and resolution” (Garrison, 2017, p. 26). Typically, individuals have an experience that leaves them puzzled. They search for information that might help them make sense of the issue and integrate that information to gain understanding or insights. The issue is resolved and they apply their knowledge to the problem.
Indicators of social presence include the expression of emotion. In an asynchronous course where text is the main method of communication, this is often achieved using emoticons, humor, and opportunities for self-disclosure (Garrison et al., 2000; Garrison, 2017). Self-disclosure promotes a sense of trust and belonging that can positively affect critical thinking, motivation, and persistence in a course. Another indicator of social presence is open communication. “Examples of open communication are mutual awareness and recognition of each other's contributions” (Garrison et al., 2000, p. 98). In an online support group for those living with multiple sclerosis, for example, revealing one's challenges and triumphs while coping with the disease can promote social presence. In a text-based course, replying to others' comments and complimenting others on their contributions are examples of how to increase social presence (Garrison et al., 2000). Group cohesion is a third category of social presence. Having individuals work on group projects together, meet weekly in small groups to discuss readings, or create course documents together can increase group cohesion.
The three types of teaching presence indicators are instructional management, building understanding, and direct instruction. Instructional management consists of deciding the curriculum, assignments, and assessments. Building understanding includes managing the community of inquiry so learners can create meaning. This encompasses drawing out those who are less active, managing discussion, and acknowledging learners' contributions (Garrison et al., 2000). Direct instruction consists of having learners discuss and reflect on course content and guiding learners by asking questions and providing feedback (Garrison et al., 2000).
The community of inquiry framework has been used to “investigate students' level of knowledge construction in asynchronous discussions” (Liu & Yang, 2014, p. 327). For example, undergraduate students in an information ethics course engaged in asynchronous discussion on “theory exploration, life experience, case-based, and debate discussion” (p. 327). Students were most satisfied with the life experience discussions and scored highest on knowledge construction (cognitive presence) and social presence in this type of discussion. Case-based discussions also yielded high knowledge construction scores. For best results concerning knowledge construction, Liu and Yang (2014) recommended that teachers use case-based discussion combined with current events or students' life experiences rather than purely discussing theory or debating an issue. Other topics have included examining cognitive, social, and teaching presences in an English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' discussion list (Nami, Marandi, & Sotoudehnama, 2018), interrelationships among the three types of presence (Kozan & Richardson, 2014), and scaffolding social presence in online courses (Hoskins, 2013). The community of inquiry model would also fit well with other online communities of practice such as groups for nurses and social workers. Critics point out that researchers using this framework rely too heavily on self-reports for perceived learning and researchers do not provide enough evidence to show that students engage in deep and meaningful learning when this framework is used for empirical studies (Rourke & Kanuka, 2009).
Connectivism
Siemens (2005) posits that connectivism is “a learning theory for the digital age” (p. 1). He says other learning theories do not address learning via technology. In an information-rich, networked world, learners must judge information quickly to assess its importance.
Siemens advances eight principles of connectivism:
1 Learning and knowledge rest in a diversity of opinions.
2 Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
3 Learning may reside in nonhuman appliances (e.g., a database).
4 Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known.
5 Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
6 Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
7 Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
8 Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen
