Online Courses may make classrooms a thing of the past.

Online Classes Become More Common

By: Andrew Peters

Posted: 1/29/07

Add one more to the long list of things one can do online in 2007 - take an undergraduate course for credit at UConn.

Undergraduate courses are increasingly being offered online as part of UConn's Instructional Design and Development (IDD) unit at the Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL). The IDD unit is designing and maintaining online courses while a plan for a larger online program is made, according to Desmond McCaffrey, IDD's assistant director.

"Across the country you're seeing more and more online programs integrated into the regular curriculum," McCaffrey said.

"The process is similar to the design of blended or face-to-face instruction in that it is based on the alignment of goals, objectives, assessments, and learning activities," read the IDD Web site. "However, the online environment poses different challenges and offers different advantages when compared to blended or face-to-face classes."

The online program, which began as part of the Center for Continuing Studies (CCS), was started to be more convenient for non-traditional and commuting students. Interest in online classes took off when they began to be offered to undergraduates as well.

Twenty-two online courses for undergraduates will be offered this summer, according to McCaffrey.

"That's advantageous to students," he said. "You can get your gen-eds fulfilled over the summer."

A few select courses such as Sociology 107 are being offered during the semester as well, and the list is expected to grow over time.

However, filling general education requirements online is not necessarily easier for the students, instructors, or coordinators. To create an online class from its traditional counterpart, McCaffrey meets with professors to adapt the class experience to an online environment.

The online course is coordinated through WebCT Vista, where professors substitute lectures with Powerpoint presentations and class time with notes. Nearly all the classes require textbooks, McCaffrey said, and some professors use flash animations and video clips to teach the material as well.

"The professor takes a very active role," McCaffrey said. "It's important to make sure there's enough instructor-student and student-instructor interaction."

The result is a unique class experience that is different from traditional expectations, but challenging nonetheless. In short, McCaffrey said, it's all what you make of it.

"I wouldn't say every online class is an adequate substitute [for traditional class]," he said, "but many classes that we worked on match equally, have the same or more academic rigor as a face-to-face class - though that's not what all students expect."

Many undergraduates find the idea of an online course appealing because they can work at their own pace and learn the material more efficiently on their own.

"Taking an online course is easier than a regular course because you can read the material at your own pace, not have to have a discussion class, and use notes or a book on the quizzes and tests," said Tim Conboy, a 4th-semester pharmacy major. He is currently taking a sociology course online.

"It allows for more procrastination because you don't have to do any of the reading until the quiz deadline," Conboy said.

However, McCaffrey said it takes a certain type of student to excel in the online environment.

"If a student needs a face-to-face experience, they might think twice about taking a class online," McCaffrey said, "but people who are more structured and self-motivated might flourish in an online environment."

"I would argue some classes with 400 students, sitting in the back of the room - that's 'distance education,'" he said. "It's just a drawback of a Research One university."

The online class experience can be a refreshing alternative for students who don't learn well in large environments.

"If the designer, coordinator, instructor and student are all involved, there will be the same quality of learning," McCaffrey said. "That has to be attractive to students."