Okay, I know that there are a lot of teacher (and student) Kossaks out there, and I need to pick your brains about something - on the jump -
What's your take on the "online education" phenomenon? I've taken online classes, developed them for other teachers, and taught classes with an online component. I've come up with a series of questions that I'm posting here - perhaps you would tell me your thoughts??
- What is the number one problem faced by instructors building courses for an internet class?
- What is the benefit to the instructor? ie: Aside from the one-time monetary bonus, is developing and teaching an online class that much easier, or do you end up doing more work at home than in a "brick and mortar" class?
- As an instructor, do you think you've sacrificed anything from your usual classroom experience to offer online classes?
- If not, do you think the courses you offer online differ substantially in content from courses offered in "brick and mortar" classrooms?
- One problem I've had in my own classroom is completion of objectives, ie: in a US History class, it is almost impossible to cover the Vikings to the Civil War and do justice to the subject in one semester. Does an online class make it easier for you to attain goals set in your syllabus?
- Similarly, remediation is often a big part of (especially freshman-level) classes. Does the online environment make it easier or more difficult to tackle remediation?
- When developing online classes, have you felt challenged or frustrated by the technology proficiency required?
- Similarly, have your students indicated frustration at the technology requirements?
- Some students complain of accessing (or attempting to access) coursework on dial-up. However, high-speed internet access (especially in rural areas) isn't readily available for many. In general, do online classes require information only available/accessible over a high speed connection? If so, does this "limitation" mean that online classes aren't as accessible as they're advertised to be?
- Should there be a minimum technology proficiency requirement for students enrolling in online classes, ie: basic computing or word processing for classes where writing and uploading papers is necessary, or do the general requirements of "consent of instructor" and "computer ability" suffice as "technology prerequisites"?