Teaching and Learning Using Internet On-Line Courses

Charles E. Ophardt, Professor of Chemistry,
Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Illinois 60126, USA
email: charleso@elmhurst.edu

Main Menu Page
Power Point Slides
Overview
Online Discussion Methods
Course Materials

Rationale for Distance Learning - Challenges to Learning:

As we enter the 21st Century, adult students (25 years of age or older) now make up close to 50 % of all college and university enrollments in the United States. Adult students see the need to enhance their education both at the undergraduate and graduate levels to enter, change, or advance in their careers. However, due to work and family schedules, attending a traditional class in a college or university may not be a good option. A distance education Internet based on-line class which transcends the time and space requirements of a traditional class may be very appealing to a well motivated independent learner.

At Elmhurst College, there is a small, but significant number of students that are interested in complete online courses. Enrollment in CHM 110 "Chemistry and Issues in the Environment" ( a non-science major course) last year was 18 and 25 students, for the fall and spring semesters, respectively. Several other courses in Education and English have used an electronic discussion board as a component of a traditional course.

Universities are able to deliver courses and entire degrees to students in distant locations without having to leave home, set foot in a class room, or interrupt their careers. The Internet has created a new medium for education. This new medium breaks down the barriers and provides opportunities for more inter-institutional cooperation in course development and implementation. There are many examples of courses and whole degree programs already on-line.

What will be the roles of teachers and editors in the university of the digital millennium? Will a "New Educational Paradigm, " in fact, transform their roles? "The real roles of the professor in an information-rich world will be not to provide information but to guide and encourage students wading through deep waters of the information flood. Professors in this environment will thrive as mentors. They will use the best skills they have now to nudge students through the educationally crucial tasks of processing information: problem solving, analysis, and synthesis of ideas--the activities on which our time can best be spent. The professor will also be a point of contact to the world beyond the campus, a kind of software "icon"--click on the professor and let him take you to the world that he knows. This may seem an absurd image, but it can take shape already on a screen of the World Wide Web." (James J. O'Donnell, "The Digital Challenge," The Wilson Quarterly [Winter 1996], 49)

Teaching in the "digital information age" environment requires a shift to a new teaching model. In the "digital age" teaching model, the teacher acts as the guide or multi-resource person to students actively engaged in independent learning. The subject content is learned using a mixture of media, multiple resources, problem solving and critical thinking methods. Student success may be measured when students solve problems, communicate ideas, present information, and learn how to learn. The teacher is no longer regarded as the primary source of knowledge, since many rich sources of information for learning are now readily accessible electronically or from the traditional print sources.

Challenges and Opportunities: At the present time, two online options are open for consideration to enhance student learning opportunities. In subsequent dialog, the references to an online course means both types as listed below.

Complete Online Courses: A number of faculty may be interested in developing complete online courses. This course development will require considerable time and effort in writing course content, electronic discussions, and other course elements. For the near term future, one online course in each of the general education categories may be useful for the non-traditional mature and motivated students.

Online Component in Existing Courses: Another option is to develop an online component for a traditional course. This may take a number of forms: 1) A fairly simple series of pages which give one or more assignments that require access to internet sources of information - the instructor finds and suggests the appropriate internet addresses. A follow up written, oral, or electronic discussion provides a means for the assessment of the assignment. 2) Electronic Discussion Board: A course that meets once a week may benefit from discussions on a variety of topics during the rest of the week; or discussion of a topic which is important, but not enough so to take up valuable class time.

Characteristics and Design of an Internet On-line Course:

An Internet On-line course provides access to hyperlinked or networked learning of course materials, which may be interactive, simulations, multimedia, homework, and quizzes. Information is available when students want it and they have personal control of the information with easy access. The Internet access enables them to use time more effectively, and at their own pace, to learn the subject matter.

In addition, such a course provides access to people via the Internet i.e. subject matter experts (faculty, TA, business, or government); and other students for peer interactions. On-line courses promote greater student communication with their instructors and with other students. In addition, the overall quality of these interactions is increased because there is more time for thought and reflection to make an appropriate response.

As a result of these increased interactions, many students have reported, that they actually feel like they have learned more from an online course than the traditional course. As hard as it is to believe, these students must interact in some way with all of the course content; they cannot just attend a lecture and not engage in the course content material.

Instructor to student communication requires an "up-front" understanding of the course requirements, a detailed course syllabus, grading, and a realistic estimate of the time involved. Office hours should be posted when phone communication is ensured. In addition, a main feature of an on-line course is the establishment of instructor to class communications such as a Web Discussion Board (more on this later). The instructor needs to promote and facilitate student to student communication such as posting autobiographies, enable private communication, the use of email, or the Web Discussion Board. Some software has a private email system built in and provides for the establishment of private small group discussion.

Good teaching practice communicates high expectations which becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. An effective assessment system to monitor progress and provide prompt feedback may include a mixture of self assessments, graded assignments, open book tests, automatic on-line computer marked tests, and/or on-site proctored tests may provide the means for traditional "closed" book/notes methods of evaluation.


Using the Internet for Teaching and Learning - a series of sites from Susan Swords Steffen, Director of the Library, Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL 60126

General References:

1. IDE - Innovations in Distance Education - Guiding Principles and Practices for the Design, and Development of Effective Distance Education,


2. Paul Whelan, Preliminary Investigation into the Use of the WWW for Remote Access Teaching, School of Electronic Engineering, Dublin City University


3. Dr. Christian Stryker,Teaching Successful Telecourses, Montana State University,