Last Wednesday night, Lenny Shedletsky, Professor of Communications, hosted a roundtable discussion about the merits and drawbacks of taking online courses for both the students and teachers.
Shedletsky was joined by a panel of faculty members and students, some of whom have graduated or retired. The discussion, held on the 7th floor of the Glickman Library, lasted about two and a half hours.
Shedletsky began by talking about the importance of classroom discussions to students learning.
“Why discuss?” he said. “From what I’ve looked at in the literature, discussion is the leading way in which people teach…Now why are we
doing that? Is it easier on the teacher? Is it more fun for the students? Is it better for learning?”
?? ?Dan Panici, Professor of Media Studies, said we discuss because it’s a tradition and it reinforces ideas.?
Jerry Conway,?Professor of Philosophy, added that discussion is one of the preeminent ways we learn and it helps us to see questions we are not asking.
The panel then segued the conversation into a discussion on “discussion” and how it should be implemented into classrooms, online and off.
Alice Goodwin, a recent USM graduate, said that she prefers online communication, because she is able to disagree with others without the
risk of upsetting classmates in-class.
Will Calendar, former Professor Emeritus of Education, added that students have to be courageous in order to make online classes work, and teachers also have to be willing to tell their pupils the truth, no matter how harsh.
Graduate student Mark Coursey brought up what he said was a lack of emotional response when it comes to online discussion. This sparked a debate between various panel members about the differences between online and offline class discussion, and how important each are.
Panici argued that online discussions allow for more carefully constructed, rational responses, but Conway and Professor Russ Kivatisky retorted that spontaneity and excitement makes the classroom more engaging.
Other subjects discussed were the workload burden of both students and teachers, methods of communicating online, and the importance of a live classroom.
Shedletsky said he plans to hold more roundtable discussions about online courses in the near future.