Future Directions for Research on Online Technical Education

Overview & Synopsis

Most research on online learning in higher education has been focused on general education at four-year institutions. There is a need for more research that focuses on online and hybrid education at community colleges in technical education fields. This issue includes articles from eight National Science Foundation funded projects doing innovative work on the use of online and hybrid learning in technical education. Examination of these articles suggests several potential directions for future research in this area including the following: how to choose between fully online and hybrid course delivery; how technical education programs can successfully partner with industry; how to examine and select specific online educational strategies to enhance online technical education; how to sustain innovative online educational programs after grant funding is complete; and how to support nontraditional students in online or hybrid technical education programs.