No dusty chalkboards. No squeaky and uncomfortable desks. No paper shuffling and whispering from your fellow classmates. Welcome to the virtual classroom, part of the online world of education. Online education is growing by leaps and bounds. A report released in December by the National Center for Education Statistics showed that in 1998, 44 percent of higher-education institutions offered distance-education courses. This is up from 33 percent in 1995. This trend is not going unnoticed by the U.S. government. Also in December, President Clinton signed an appropriations bill that doubled funds for the Education Department's Learning Anytime Anywhere program. Almost $24 million will be earmarked for the program during the 2000 fiscal year. Strong support from the government is evidence of the growing acceptance of distance learning and, particularly, online education. Courses online are not some passing fad. Rather, they have become an accepted and viable alternative to the traditional classroom setting. The many advantages of online education have helped to fuel the virtual classroom revolution. Some of the country's most prestigious universities are considering getting into the game, including Brown University and Williams College. Almost half of American colleges and universities are experimenting with online education formats, and many other schools will begin to do so in the coming years. Public universities are especially interested in developing new distance learning programs. The report from the National Center for Education Statistics showed that in 1997, 79 percent of public four-year institutions and 72 percent of public two-year institutions offered distance-education courses. In the private sector, 22 percent of private four-year institutions and 6 percent of private two-year institutions had some type of distance-learning program in place. An explosion of online course opportunities will inevitably lead to more competition as discriminating students pick and choose the best program for them. This increase in competition will help better the quality of online education. Colleges and universities will have to provide an exceptional learning environment and keep up with new technological trends in order to retain students. The students who reap the most benefits from online education are adults and other non-traditional students. These students rarely have schedules that allow them to take traditional college courses on campus. Online education provides opportunities that would not otherwise be available to them. Full-time workers, stay-at-home parents, senior citizens and others can start earning degree credits by logging on to classes during their lunch hour or at home in the evenings. But convenience is only one advantage. New online education courses have become so intellectually stimulating, they rival practically any traditional classroom. Online courses provide interaction between many geographically separated students from a variety of backgrounds. An amazing amount of diversity and different opinions are possible in such a setting. Also, the text dialogue required in classroom "chat" formats challenges students to express themselves more clearly using the written word. Opponents of online education contend that students do not receive the full college experience in the virtual classroom because of the lack of unity and school spirit. An article in the Jan. 24 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education discussed this very issue. Several online campuses are considering composing fight songs, adopting mascots, offering university memorabilia and even sponsoring video-game tournaments in an effort to increase enthusiasm among students. However, the many non-traditional students who make up the online education population will probably not miss these aspects of a traditional campus. This crowd is much more concerned with getting an education and finding better job opportunities than developing school spirit. Online education opponents also point out the high costs associated with the virtual classroom. The creation of a program, along with the hardware and software needed to run it, all take time and money to develop. But as the technology improves and becomes more prevalent the costs will surely go down for both universities and students. The money spent on the initial development of online classes will eventually pay off for all those involved and provide an innovative learning environment befitting the 21st century. The Internet has become a household word and will continue to play more of a role in our daily lives. Already, millions of people have discovered the unbelievable wealth of information in cyberspace. Online education provides information via the Internet and a forum in which to ask questions and discuss subjects. The interactive aspects of online classes lead to a more stimulating independent learning experience and make it possible for students to feel like they're in a classroom without actually being on a campus. The virtual classroom may never supplant the real classroom, complete with fidgeting students and the buzz of the overhead projector. But it will continue to grow and offer a completely unique, convenient and technology-savvy learning environment. Sarah Mullen Martinez is a senior advertising/public relations major from Fort Worth. She can be reached at (sarah92978@aol.com).
Our age of convenience has many advantages. Communication has been made easier, news gathering has been made mindless and entertainment has become so diversified that we can pick programs on whims. With the advent of the computer, every way to reach others and knowledge has quickened. The real question we face now is has this quickening given students an advantage or disadvantage? Many students would argue that the Internet has revolutionized education. I, however, have not seen such improvements nor their immediate effects. The quickening of our technology, while making things like registration and application easier, has not greatly added to the transfer of knowledge from a professor or text to the student. With this new technology we have seen the growing popularity of online learning, or the online classroom. All I've seen of this is in Microsoft commercials, where the real work behind the dazzling effects of technology on the classroom is edited out. The danger of online learning is its lack of a real professor. In essence, the computer screen itself, which can't usually talk, has replaced the professor as a tool for the transfer of text into the mind of the student. However, even this definition is flawed. Professors are not just tools to transfer knowledge, but human touchstones of this knowledge. Professors are the human embodiment of what the material means. What the material communicates by itself can be seen in the career of this one person who strives to communicate not only the material, but also the importance of the material. Learning is one thing, but learning with purpose should be our goal. In seeking to replace the professor, we are treading on very dangerous ground. The computer, a soulless machine, may provide many conveniences but can never replace the nuance and subtlety of a human being. We learn these things to bring us closer to human truth. Our classes and education aren't simply weapons with which we arm ourselves in order to conquer the world. Our real charge as students is to understand the world and, perhaps, through criticism and analysis, to change it. These breakthroughs cannot be made through a computer screen. The convenience of a computer is meant to enhance a learning environment, not replace it. Although it seems very tempting to learn online, we must look at our education as not a matter of convenience but rather a privilege. We must honor this privilege through making a connection to our professors and to the texts we read. When we invited the computer into the classroom, the whole dynamic of the relationship between a student and information changed. The positives are worth being discussed, however. Many advancements in technology have found a settled home both inside and outside the classroom. These advancements, such as e-mail, Web sites and video conferences, are changing the way professors connect with students. By using these technologies, professors and students can strengthen the bond which starts in the classroom with real experience. The technology does not replace this bond, but rather enhances it. There are other factors involved in earning credit for courses over the Internet. For a number of years, the Internet has been used as a tool for cheating by many students. Papers posted on Web sites are difficult for teachers to track down. There are also many different forms of summaries which are available at any hour to peruse. There are even services at some schools where students are paid to post the notes they take in class on the Internet so those who missed the class can receive the lesson. If you can cheat in real classes using the Internet, it's only logical that students will try to seek credit the easy way. The goal is twofold. First, we should attempt to learn with a purpose, and then we should try to use the Internet to supplement in-class learning instead of trying to replace it. Technology is wonderful, as long as we still control it. Our trust must remain in the flesh-and-blood professors, and not the metal-and-wire computer processors. Matthew S. Colglazier is a freshman news-editorial journalism and English major from Fort Worth. He can be reached at (mscolglazier@delta.is.tcu.edu).
By Yonina Robinson staff reporter He wakes up and grabs a Coke and a slice of pizza. While still in his underwear, he flips a switch on his computer. Class has started. While some students are finding their bedroom more convenient than classrooms, many students and professors are questioning the value of obtaining an education online. Many students and professors said online classes will allow for increased flexibility and convenience among student schedules. "You'll be able to take classes anytime and anywhere," said David Edmondson, assistant provost for information services. Edmondson said that is only one of the benefits to taking online classes. He added another benefit is distance learning, allowing students to enroll and take TCU summer courses from anywhere in the world. Other students said they are concerned about time constraints, discipline and the loss of personal instruction associated with classroom courses. Ann Munson, a junior geology major who took her first class online last semester, said there are many conveniences to taking courses online. However, Munson said there can be downfalls to the program. "You have to be careful because if you don't structure time for your assignments, you can wind up struggling to get them all done at the end of the semester," Munson said. Edmondson said despite the loss of classroom interaction, students will still be able to e-mail professors as well as work online in chat rooms. "It doesn't mean you can't ever meet the professor or that the professor won't offer anything in addition to the online classes," Edmondson said. TCU has offered online classes since Summer 1999. "E-college provided the technical side of the classes, and TCU professors provide the content for the classes," said Kirk Downey, assistant provost and executive director of TCUglobalcenter at Alliance. Downey said online classes cover a variety of classes throughout the university. For example, some of the classes this semester are classes in theater, nursing, geology, marketing, education, speech communication and political science. Edmondson also said the online program should allow students to be more flexible with their degree. Art Busbey, an associate professor of geology and an online instructor for an introductory-level geology course, said he was pleased with the outcome of the program. He said a few things still needs to be ironed out, but the class went well for the most part . He said the grades of the 20 students were fairly good. His method of evaluation was four essay tests administered on specific days. The students had one hour to finish the exam and could start anytime during the 24-hour period. But they only had 60 minutes to complete the exam. He said about seven of the students actually came to meet with him during the semester. George Brown, an associate professor of theater, said online courses give students flexibility and more choices about course selection and schedule. "Sometimes students need to work," Brown said. "Many don't have time in their schedules for that one extra afternoon course." Brown also said the program has many possibilities but is still in the experimental stages. "They need educational designers to help decide which classes are the best suited for online education." Staff reporter Jill McNeal contributed to this report. Yonina Robinson |
Online courses viable,
convenient alternative to traditional classrooms
| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |