For 10 years now, it’s been possible to take a class in your jammies -- or, for that matter, in another country! -- through Northampton Community College’s Online Learning program. That decade of accessibility was celebrated Thursday in Lipkin Theatre with a talk by Dr. Gary Miller (left), founder of the Penn State World Campus. The audience included those physically present in Lipkin Theatre, as well as faculty members and distance learning coordinators from other colleges who attended “virtually” via a live Elluminate web conference.

Before retiring in 2007, Miller was associate vice president for Outreach and executive director of Continuing and Distance Education at Penn State. During his 30 years there, Miller provided the guiding vision for the University’s international leadership role in online education.

Miller began his talk with a brief history of distance learning, from the open university movement of the 1970s, through the advent of satellite video and cable TV, to the current and ever-increasing popularity of online courses via the internet.

“The growth you’re seeing in online learning at NCC is happening around the country – the number of online learners is over 3.2 million in the United States,” Miller told the audience. “Two-year institutions have the highest growth rates, accounting for more than half of all online enrollments for the last five years.”

NCC’s Online Learning program is definitely seeing growth. According to Kelvin Bentley, director of Online Learning for NCC, “The college now has over 150 unique online courses available to students. There are also several degree programs and certificates that can be completed completely online.” During the 2006-07 academic year, 4,696 NCC students took at least one online course for credit. This represents 35 percent of the student body. There was a 12 percent increase in the number of students who took at least one online course from Fall 2006 to Fall 2007.

Miller said the boom in online learning is, of course, due in part to the availability of internet technology, but also because of what he calls the “net generation,” many of whom prefer online learning to traditional classroom courses. “They’re visual and kinesthetic learners, and they see the web as a reference library.”

The net generation is not solely responsible for the popularity of online learning, Miller pointed out. Many older adults are also taking advantage of online courses. “The adult consumer is more tech-savvy now. Learning has to be integrated into life for adult learners – they need flexibility” which online learning provides.

What does the future hold for online learning? Miller said one challenge will be how to create learning communities for students and instructors in cyberspace, perhaps with a global scope. Teacher education will change, since more instructors will need to know how to teach online, in addition to the face-to-face classroom.

Institutions will change as more “blended” programs and degrees are offered – those that combine online learning with a classroom component. Miller also foresees an “aggregating of academic resources” by sharing faculty across institutional boundaries. “Take foreign languages, as an example. A professor at one college may teach Mandarin Chinese to students at several different colleges.” Miller also believes there will be more online collaboration between educational institutions and industry, in order to train a specialized workforce.

In conclusion, Miller warned, “Don’t define yourself by technology. Online learning will transform – be prepared for it. Don’t hold on too tightly to what you have now – keep one hand free to grab what’s coming in the future.”

To learn more about the courses and degrees available through NCC’s Online Learning program, click here.