Figure 1. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model (Mishra and Koehler, 2006). Reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org. The TPACK model promotes meaningful integration of technology, content knowledge, and pedagogy (Mishra and Koehler, 2006). Thus, an instructor’s ability to utilize technology as the basis for timely, responsive and clear feedback becomes even more critical in an intensive online environment, which can be further exacerbated by a lack of time to resolve technical issues or system access problems. Since technology is inherently embedded in content delivery and influential in approaches to teaching, technical competence must also be highlighted alongside content proficiency and pedagogical knowledge for instructors seeking to teach online, especially in intensive environments. It is apparent that the demands on all of these skill areas are likely to be heightened in an intensive delivery setting, and further research to understand the nature of any additional skill demands in intensive online environments would be valuable. Online Learning: Critical Factors Effective approaches to online education must also take account of baseline learner competencies and characteristics. Demographically, there are consistent differences between on-campus and online students (Bailey et al., 2014). For instance, more women than men appear to choose online modes of study (Price, 2006). Further, online learners are typically older than on-campus students, with many being “mature-age” students between the ages of 25 and 50 (Moore and Kearskey, 2005). This also presents a rich opportunity to enhance the learning environment through incorporation of some of the life experiences of 18
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