Original presentation was at ITC's eLearning conference in February 2008. This presentation takes an updated look at some of those e-learning myths in 2022.

1. E-Learning
Myth-busters
Is Conventional Wisdom Wrong?

2. Barry Dahl
Teaching & Learning
Advocate, D2L
E-Learning
Myth-busters
Revisited
Is Conventional Wisdom Still
Wrong?

3. ITC - North Central States

4. Remote Employee
for D2L
Home
D2L

5. Warm-up
Question #1
College
(2-yr)
University
K-12
Corporation
Other
64%
7%
4%
2%
24%
1. College (2-yr)
2. University
3. K-12
4. Corporation
5. Other

6. D2L Site Admins Affinity Network
Poll Everywhere
•Let’s compare from 15 years
ago
•Go to: pollev.com/d2l448
•Enter your name and Continue
•Questions will appear when I
activate them

7. Warm-up
Question #2
F
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t
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I
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t
.
D
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n
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t
A
d
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O
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h
e
r
26%
19%
11%
37%
8%
1. Faculty
2. Inst. Designer
3. Other Support
4. Administrator
5. Other

8. Student Myths/Realities: Questions 1-3
1. deleted
2. Online students plagiarize more than
“traditional” students
3. deleted

9. Online students
plagiarize more than
“traditional” students
R
e
a
l
i
t
y
M
y
t
h
84%
16%
1.Reality
2.Myth

10. Online Students Plagiarize More
•Really? Prove it!
•Could it be that online students get caught more?
•Who gives you the best chance to get away with
cheating?
– The tech-savvy online instructor
– The prof who brags that he “doesn’t even use email.”

11. If you still believe that
online students plagiarize
more, then that’s on you.
Creative
assessments. They’re
real, and they’re
magnificent
2022 Version

12. Student Myths/Realities: Questions 1-3
1. D
2. eleted
3. E-Learning enables anytime, anywhere learning
4. deleted

13. e-Learning
enables anytime,
anywhere learning
R
e
a
l
i
t
y
M
y
t
h
35%
65%
1.Reality
2.Myth

14. How Important is AAL?
•From Birmingham Grid for Learning:
•AAL – Potentially the single most significant
educational initiative in decades

15. Anytime, Anywhere Learning
•Anyone can learn anytime and anywhere.
•Ummm, no, they can’t!
•This rarely applies to individual students.

16. My Anytime
My Anyone
Does NOT
include Mon-
Wed nights
or weekends
Does NOT
include my
group mates
on different
schedules
My Anyone,
Anytime,
Anywhere
Is different
from theirs!
My Anywhere
Does NOT
include places
without
free wi-fi

17. If you have 25 students, you
have 25 different “Anyones,”
25 different “Anywheres,”
and 25 different “Anytimes”

18. Student Myths/Realities: Questions 4-6
4. deleted
5. Cheating is rampant among online
students
6. deleted

19. Cheating is rampant
among online students
R
e
a
l
i
t
y
M
y
t
h
82%
18%
1.Reality
2.Myth

20. Cheating is Rampant
• Really? Prove it!!
• Stanford dorm resident?
• Troy University – Big
Brother device
• Lucky for us, Congress is
ready to save us from the
cheaters.

21. A Look at Cheating in 2022
•20 years of hand-
wringing has brought us
to this point.
•Are we happy with the
ESS? The Education
Surveillance State?

22. There seems to be a focus on online…
• But I’m not sure why
• What does paying someone to write a
paper for you have to do with the LMS
you’re using, or some other feature.
• Lots of stuff like this on Twitter and
other SoMe
• NOTE: it’s “100% legit”

23. Student Myths/Realities: Questions 4-6
4. deleted
5. deleted
6. Online students are less satisfied
with their college experience than F-
2-F students

24. Online students are less
satisfied with their
college experience than
F-2-F students
R
e
a
l
i
t
y
M
y
t
h
84%
16%
1.Reality
2.Myth

25. Less Satisfied?
Data Says No
Student Satisfaction Ratings
Data is
pre-pandemic

26. The Pandemic Wasn’t Great for Online Education

27. Or was it?

28. Faculty Myths/Realities: Questions 7-9
7. deleted
8. Online faculty work harder
9. deleted

29. Online faculty
work harder
R
e
a
l
i
t
y
M
y
t
h
38%
62%
1.Reality
2.Myth

30. Faculty Effort
• Work harder?
– Really? All of them?
• Highly interactive, highly engaged
faculty work very hard – regardless
of the delivery method.

32. Faculty Myths/Realities: Questions 10-12
10. Web accessibility is NOT my job!
11. deleted
12.deleted

33. Faculty say: Web
accessibility is
NOT my job!
R
e
a
l
i
t
y
M
y
t
h
33%
67%
1.Reality
2.Myth

34. Web Accessibility is Not MY Job
•Um, yes, it is!!
•If you truly believe that, then STOP teaching on the
web.
•Over 3% of the population have some sort of vision
impairment, including color blindness.

35. Web Accessibility in 2022
• Much has changed since 2008.
• We went from #a11y breakout
sessions at conferences with 3
attendees to mandatory training
at many schools for those who
will teach online.
• Back in ’08, one of my standard
lines about why higher ed was
turning a blind eye to web
accessibility concerns was:
Just wait until the
lawsuits start!
And start they did.
UMD website has lots of info.

36. Questions 13-15
13. A VLE / LMS is an important component of
e-Learning
14.Deleted
15.deleted.

37. A VLE is an important
component of e-Learning
A
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s
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l
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e
c
e
s
s
a
r
y
22%
30%
4%
8%
36%
1. Absolutely Essential
2. Very Important
3. Important
4. Slightly Important
5. Not Really Necessary

38. Questions 13-15
13.deleted
14. Second Life will be the Second
Coming for teaching and learning.
15.deleted

39. Second Life will be the
Second Coming for
teaching and learning.
R
e
a
l
i
t
y
M
y
t
h
93%
7%
1.Reality
2.Myth

40. Then, in 2009…
• This topic was chosen for the
annual Grand Debate at
eLearning.
• Resolved: Virtual Worlds will
be the Second Life for Online
Education

41. Now, in 2022…
• It appears that many are ready
to do it all again
• And to trust their data, their
privacy, pretty much all their
things, to this guy…

43. Does Anybody Like Zuckerberg and his Metaverse?

44. Questions 16-18
16.deleted
17.The cost to the institution and the price
(tuition) to the student should be lower
for e-Learning than traditional bricks-and-
mortar education.
18.deleted

45. The cost to the institution and the
price (tuition) to the student should
be lower for e-Learning than
traditional bricks-and-mortar
education.
R
e
a
l
i
t
y
M
y
t
h
71%
29%
1.Reality
2.Myth

46. In 2008
$
$
$
$
Little box of learning
New Fees
Tuition Diff
New Svcs
New Regs

47. Price of Online Tuition in 2022…
• The pandemic put the
spotlight directly on
whether people are willing
to pay the same (or higher)
prices for online
(umm…remote) classes.
• NYT: “Columbia students go
on tuition strike, saying
online classes aren’t worth
full price.”

48. Enjoy the Beach
More about e-Learning Myths at:
Desire2blog.blogspot.com

49. In 2022…I’m the One Enjoying the Beach

50. Correction – I was enjoying it until Ian ruined it!
Thanks Ian!!

51. Other Myths or Realities?
•I have 35 items on the list so far.
•Send me your ideas to add to the list.
barrydahl@gmail.com

52. Faculty Myths/Realities: Questions 7-9
7. delete
8. As faculty become online
facilitators rather than teachers,
they are less and less important in
the e-Learning classroom

53. As faculty become online facilitators
rather than teachers, they are less
and less important in the
e-Learning classroom
R
e
a
l
i
t
y
M
y
t
h
90%
10%
1.Reality
2.Myth

54. Good Online Instruction is Still Very Important
•In the past 15 years do you feel that the importance of
an online instructor has waned?
•Yeah, I didn’t think so.