| | JANUARY FEBRUARY 20258IN MY OPINION As a discipline, education in general, and online education in particular, is plagued by promises of the next big thing. The internet, mobile learning, MOOC, micro-credentials, and currently, generative AI have all been touted as the disruptive innovation going to change the face of education. Yet, with a few notable exceptions, university online learning has not changed for the last 30 years. Course completion rates and qualification retention rates for those qualifications delivered in online mode remain lower than their 'traditional' or on-campus counterparts. Of course, there are many complex reasons for this, not least of which is the fact that online or distance study attracts a larger proportion of part-time, mature, second-chance, and minoritized cohorts, all more vulnerable to the `life happens' effects which interrupt study than their fulltime, on-campus peers. Addressing these issues and implementing approaches that reduce the gap between online and on-campus student outcomes has been a challenge for many universities since the advent of `distance' study, back in the day of correspondence universities. The urgency of reducing this gap has been exacerbated by the 'pivot to online' during the Covid years, which appears to have permanently changed student behavior, with many traditional universities finding that even full-time students are no longer attending classes regularly. Instead, there is an increasing expectation that the university supports more flexible approaches to learning, which more effectively accommodates the demands of life outside of study. Consequently, despite the challenges associated with online university study, demand for it has never been greater.The rise of online learning has seen a concomitant rise in the profession of online learning designers. These so-called 'third-space professionals' occupy an uneasy position in the hierarchical structures of universities, sitting across both academic and professional roles, and while their expertise is recognized by their peers, it is often not acknowledged by the academics with whom they work, meaning that there is often resistance to implementing their advice. This brings me to the point of this piece: although connected, web-based online learning is widely practiced, we don't do it consistently well, and our frequently misplaced belief in the value of the tools we provide for our students has negative consequences for their learning and their success.Designing online learning appears deceptively easy ­ master the features of the particular learning management system, and off you go. We all spend so much of our time in online environments it feels like a no-brainer that we should intuitively know what good online learning design should look like. Only we don't. The reality is that while the tools are easy to learn, the traps and pitfalls of online learning design are much harder to identify and avoid. It is tempting to use our favorite website or social media channel as the model for an online course, but this is likely to have significant unintended consequences for learning. Platforms such DESIGNING MORE ENGAGINGONLINE COURSESBy Jean Jacoby, Director, Education Futures, Massey UniversityJean Jacoby
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