Technology Changing Course Delivery
Technology is profoundly changing higher education. Specifically, advances in technology have allowed learning to move from inside the classroom to anywhere on planet earth, as long as there is a computer and an Internet connection. Any learning outside of the traditional college campus is called distance learning. Most of that distance learning is through online classes. Perform a quick search online and you will find growth rates in the number of students taking online classes in the 30-50% range just over the last year.
I’ve taken and taught classes online and this method of delivery does put more of the learning emphasis on the student. So, if a student is not motivated or self-disciplined, online learning may not be a good choice. In most cases, online teaching is just as effective as the traditional setting.
From the student standpoint, material and assignments are known each week. The difference here is that students have more control of when and where to complete read the material. A more recent development is with high schools nationwide. School districts are beginning to require that students take online courses while in high school in order to graduate. According to http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/37065219.html, 11 districts in Michigan now make online classes mandatory, simply to graduate high school. Moreover, in Alabama, students must begin taking online courses to graduate. See that story at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20081116/ARTICLES/811160343/0/SPORTS50.
From the professor standpoint, although initial course creation is time-consuming, those same courses already created can be re-used for later semesters. Professors also more quickly know the standing of students. Here, software calculates grades, along with letting me know who is and who is NOT participating in the course, and can even alert professors when a student may be going down the wrong path in the course.
If you wondered how the online learning process works, here it is in a nutshell. Colleges provide a secure website for students to log into. For example, KCTCS uses www.elearning.kctcs.edu; Ivy Tech uses www.dl.ivytech.edu. After going to the website provided by the college, students simply log in using their already existing student id and password accounts. Once logged in, the classes they are enrolled in appear on the screen. From there, students click the link for each class. Material is posted online and students submit assignments and take exams online. Then, the professor grades and adds comments online as well. As students today are so familiar with technology, they adapt to and prefer this new method of instruction.
In most cases, paper is not exchanged back and forth between the student and professor. This is another plus I see to online or distance learning – it’s more ‘green’ due to less paper use. More textbook publishers are also giving students the option to purchase electronic textbook copies at reduced rates as compared to paper copies.
With budget cuts and increased expenses, most colleges are quickly moving to online classes to reduce overall costs. Look at it this way; if more students take online courses, fewer students will be on campus, reducing the need for facilities, staff, parking, utilities, and so forth.
What does the future hold? The percentage of students taking online classes will eventually surpass that of students on campus. Moreover, I believe that local school districts in the K-12 range will begin to adopt a 4 day (or shorter) school week and use technology to make up the difference. Can you imagine the savings if Jefferson County Public Schools only had to transport students four days per week instead of five?
For more information, please contact me at kparrett0003@kctcs.edu or kparrett@hotmail.com.
