Course Description
An introduction to the organization, management, and administration of distance education and e-learning training programs and systems. Topics include management theory and practice, organizational behavior and change, leadership roles and styles, and planning and policy. Discussion covers education and training in academic and corporate settings and the knowledge and skills necessary for a distance education practitioner to function effectively in either type of organizational environment. Assignments include individual and group case-study analyses, brief essays, and literature searches related to distance education and e-learning leadership.
Course Reflections
Effective leadership is important for all organizations especially distance education (DE) organizations. Without leadership many organizations become complacent and are not able to move forward. With an increased need for leaders it becomes critical for DE leaders to possess important attributes and approaches in order to be effective leaders. These attributes and approaches include being able to create a sense of urgency, create and communicate a clear vision, show openness towards diversity, become lifelong learners, and practice contingency theories. In addition, DE leaders need approaches and attributes to deal with critical issues such as changing technology, changing student demographics, and looming regulations so that their organizations can be successful. In order for DE leaders to be successful in this digital age they must create a sense of urgency. Effective DE leaders have the responsibility of moving followers out of comfortable behavior and into an environment that embraces change. Creating and communicating a clear vision is an important approach for effective DE leaders to adopt in the twenty-first century. DE leaders must ensure that followers have an effective vision to focus on during changing circumstances. Online learning is ubiquitous and for this reason it is important that DE leaders are open to diversity. DE leaders that embrace diversity create change and build relationship within their organization. In addition to possessing technical skills DE leaders must be lifelong learners. It is virtually impossible for DE leaders to stay status quo in this ever changing environment of online learning. DE leaders need to adapt their leadership style to handle changing situations and evolving environments. This is a critical approach for DE leaders because contingency theories support and guide DE leaders to ensure that appropriate decisions are made. Rapidly changing technology, changes in student demographics and looming regulations are critical issues that impact on the future of DE and must be managed by DE leaders.
As technology emerges and advances DE leaders have the difficult job making sure their organizations use technology to provide the best educational experience. Non-traditional students have been enrolling in DE at a high rate. These students require flexibility because they have work and family responsibilities. It is critical that DE leaders accommodate this changing demographic. Academic accountability is a growing issue for DE leaders. DE leaders must be able to prove that their organization’s curricula meet certain standards and are comparable to the traditional course offerings. My take away from this course is that leaders need to adopt certain approaches and attributes to in order to be effective. An effective leader is able to maintain positive relationships with followers and a successful organization. When critical issues arise the effective leader will be able to reach in their tool box of approaches and attributes to make sure the issue is resolved.
An introduction to the organization, management, and administration of distance education and e-learning training programs and systems. Topics include management theory and practice, organizational behavior and change, leadership roles and styles, and planning and policy. Discussion covers education and training in academic and corporate settings and the knowledge and skills necessary for a distance education practitioner to function effectively in either type of organizational environment. Assignments include individual and group case-study analyses, brief essays, and literature searches related to distance education and e-learning leadership.
Course Reflections
Effective leadership is important for all organizations especially distance education (DE) organizations. Without leadership many organizations become complacent and are not able to move forward. With an increased need for leaders it becomes critical for DE leaders to possess important attributes and approaches in order to be effective leaders. These attributes and approaches include being able to create a sense of urgency, create and communicate a clear vision, show openness towards diversity, become lifelong learners, and practice contingency theories. In addition, DE leaders need approaches and attributes to deal with critical issues such as changing technology, changing student demographics, and looming regulations so that their organizations can be successful. In order for DE leaders to be successful in this digital age they must create a sense of urgency. Effective DE leaders have the responsibility of moving followers out of comfortable behavior and into an environment that embraces change. Creating and communicating a clear vision is an important approach for effective DE leaders to adopt in the twenty-first century. DE leaders must ensure that followers have an effective vision to focus on during changing circumstances. Online learning is ubiquitous and for this reason it is important that DE leaders are open to diversity. DE leaders that embrace diversity create change and build relationship within their organization. In addition to possessing technical skills DE leaders must be lifelong learners. It is virtually impossible for DE leaders to stay status quo in this ever changing environment of online learning. DE leaders need to adapt their leadership style to handle changing situations and evolving environments. This is a critical approach for DE leaders because contingency theories support and guide DE leaders to ensure that appropriate decisions are made. Rapidly changing technology, changes in student demographics and looming regulations are critical issues that impact on the future of DE and must be managed by DE leaders.
As technology emerges and advances DE leaders have the difficult job making sure their organizations use technology to provide the best educational experience. Non-traditional students have been enrolling in DE at a high rate. These students require flexibility because they have work and family responsibilities. It is critical that DE leaders accommodate this changing demographic. Academic accountability is a growing issue for DE leaders. DE leaders must be able to prove that their organization’s curricula meet certain standards and are comparable to the traditional course offerings. My take away from this course is that leaders need to adopt certain approaches and attributes to in order to be effective. An effective leader is able to maintain positive relationships with followers and a successful organization. When critical issues arise the effective leader will be able to reach in their tool box of approaches and attributes to make sure the issue is resolved.
Work Sample
The paper below discusses leadership attributes, approaches, and critical issues. Effective leadership is essential to the success of organizations. One important approach leaders should take with an organization is to create a sense of urgency.