ou see snow falling silently out your window. Class starts soon, but there is no need to brave the elements to free your car from last night’s blizzard, no worrying about getting stuck behind an impossibly slow plow as it clears the roads. You fix a cup of cocoa, settle into your favorite recliner and boot up the computer. It’s class time, and you are miles away from campus.
“You can take the course in your pj’s,” said psychology professor John Broida.
This tranquil morning schedule is possible through USM’s bourgeoning selection of online course offerings. The money saving perks for both student and school have made long-distance learning increasingly popular in universities across the country.
This year, all USMs winter session courses will be offered online-only, a format that saves some students from having to make the long haul during inclement weather. These online courses cost only as much as the professor’s salary, saving USM money in heating and electricity.
This money-saving plan is made possible partly through a $100,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to expand USM’s online capabilities.
Last year’s winter session offered three online courses, and there was a huge response to these offerings – all three filled up right away according to Sara Johnson-Berz, program specialist for winter session.
“In the past, winter session enrollment has been pretty weak,” said Johnson-Berz. She sees the program’s popularity as a matter of convenience. Dorm-dwellers who want to spend their holiday at home don’t have to commute to campus, and the appeal of getting required courses done from home resonates with many students.
Many non-matriculated USM students, who would otherwise have a hard time fitting classes in around a busy work schedule, are also taking advantage of online courses. For some this is also gateway into a degree-seeking path at USM; fall and spring enrollment is often bolstered by these students deciding to take on USM full-time.
Ten of the courses offered are 100-level intro courses, which are popular in this online format because a semester’s worth of introductory coursework can be completed in just four weeks, according to Johnson-Berz.
The classes are run through the school’s Blackboard website, and use discussion forums, recorded lectures, videos, and PowerPoint presentations to teach the courses’ content.
Broida will offer his general psychology course online during winter session, giving armchair academics a chance to fulfill the department’s intro class during the four-week holiday break.
“For students living [in rural areas], or students with disabilities, this can be a godsend,” said Broida, who has long been interested in the integration of technology and education.
Still, Broida does not think online courses are right for every student. “If you are living in a dorm, I think it’s a mistake,” he said. Broida tries to dissuade the average 18-22 year old students from being drawn in by convenience, noting that the condensed four-week session is no easier, “It’s actually harder, you have to motivate yourself to get the work done.”
Leonard Shedletsky agrees that the format is not good for every kind of student. The Communications professor is teaching a section of CMS 200 this winter, and acknowledges that “some people have a tough time remembering they are taking a course unless they have to show up.”
Shedletsky has been teaching online since 2000, but his interest in web-based education goes back to “before it was even called the World Wide Web.” He also feels that online courses work best for the autonomous learner.
“In many ways, it’s more work, because everything you exchange is typed and read, whereas in class you can ‘doze off’ and let other students take over the discussion,” said Shedletsky. He also recommends the format for introverted students, who might feel too overwhelmed to speak in class. “There’s a psychological anonymity that they experience online, a lot of students feel more free to speak.”
Sophmore Chris Marine took Shedletsky’s CMS 101J as an online course this summer, and echoes his professor’s warning that such courses might not be best for the average student, “it’s just so much easier to go to class and communicate with students face-to-face, you get to know your classmates better too,” said Marine.
Marine described the Communications class as very writing intensive – students were expected to post and respond to discussion topics each week, and finding the time can be difficult. ” It’s a 24/7 thing, you are constantly checking if someone has commented on your question.”
The course was not without its advantages for Marine, who appreciated the time allowed to formulate a response, “people say more when they are writing than when you say it in class”. However, Marine does not see himself venturing into he digital classroom soon.
Both Broida and Shedletsky, the latter having co-authored a book entitled “Human Communication on the Internet”, have the technical skill to instruct a course online, but this is not necessarily true of all USM professors. “They have had a tough time getting professors to do this in the past,” said Shedletsky, but grants like the one from the Sloan foundation are being used to remedy this.
Shedletsky says the challenge many professors face teaching online is not a question of internet-savvy, but how to facilitate learning from afar. “The bigger stumbling is how to teach” Shedletsky said. A professor must find a role that allows them to spur on discussion between students who they might have never met.
The value of face-to-face teaching is not lost on these professors however. As more Internet-based universities pop up and divert market share from tradition institutions, USM is working hard to ensure that the high educational standards of the school are reflected in its online offerings.
“We need to move cautiously,” said Shedletsky “we are in a new period, and there will be good and bad both associated with the same technology.”