Chapter 5: Walking the Pedagogical Line in Graduate Studies: Obstacles and Opportunities Transitioning to Digital and e-Learning

Over the last decade or so (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2010) there has been an emphasis by universities to offer an increasing number of graduate courses online (Ferguson & Tryjankowski, 2009). It may now be an appropriate time to explore and investigate the perceived obstacles and opportunities to learning, given that a greater number of courses appear to be transitioning to an online format. In this chapter, we draw from an extensive literature of faculty perceptions (DeCosta, Berquist, & Holbeck, 2015; Topper, 2007) related to online graduate learning as well as our own pedagogical insights (Rintoul, 2016). Using the obstacles/opportunities paradigm we explore the following topics: virtual/physical presence, community of learners, inclusivedemocratic learning, innovative instruction, technology confidence, virtual evaluation and assessment, and cost effectiveness (Dobbins, 2009; Flaherty, 2010; Hauser, Paul, Bradley, & Jeffrey, 2012). There are numerous issues that are of on-going concern that will be queried for further research about online graduate education: ethical behavior, academic integrity (Starratt, 2005) and a shifting pedagogical paradigm related to globalization and leadership. These topics appear both intricate and multi-faceted and we therefore recommend mindful consideration of both aspects of the obstacle/opportunity paradigm that confronts faculty teaching online graduate courses.