Date posted: 5-17-02

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NIU finds happy medium between classroom and Internet

By Tiffany Thomas
DeKalb News Service

DEKALB - For those interested in Katherine Wright's Shakespeare course at Northern Illinois University, attendance won't be necessary. At least, not without redefining attendance as sitting in front of the computer in one's pajamas.

As NIU students know, courses that don't require at least minimal use of the World Wide Web are quickly dying off. Yet the new species - the online class -- is taking its time to evolve.

Tom Smith, assistant professor in NIU's College of Education, uses the Blackboard system -- an online program for hosting course materials -- to supplement his graduate-level courses.

"This has worked extremely well for my students," he said, "and they almost universally endorse it. The format really facilitates diversity in the content of the courses."

Through the system, Smith's students can view journal articles in digital format, link to relevant Web sites, join a class discussion online, view grades, submit assignments and read class announcements. Online delivery, he said, also encourages student participation and involvement with course material.

"The really nice aspect is that all the class materials are available from a central location, so students know exactly where to go for course information," he said.

Smith's experience fits into the "electronically supported" category of hybrid online courses, where face-to-face class settings are combined with online materials.

At the other end of the spectrum are courses that are entirely online. These courses meet only at a distance, either in real time (through chats or closed-circuit two-way TV) or through e-mail. Face-to-face interaction occurs only once, at the beginning or end of the semester, if at all. Programs such as Blackboard and WebCT make it possible to supplement pictures, audio or visual presentations and simulations in addition to printed materials, said Jeffrey Hecht, professor in NIU's department of educational technology.

Strictly online classes are the less common, Hecht said, while hybrid types are the fastest growing segment of e-learning.

"It takes a lot of work to put a course completely online," he said, "and it is a much different kind of experience for both student and instructor -- not necessarily better or worse, just different."

Hecht added that the online format works best for graduate and non-traditional students -- older, with a spouse or children, working full-time and living farther from campus. Travel to and from the university and scheduling classes around work and home are becoming issues for more students, Hecht said, especially those at the graduate level. Online courses - either full or hybrid -- give students more flexibility in scheduling.

"Doing this requires the students to be more motivated and able to work more independently," Hecht said. "But if the trade-off is less travel, easier scheduling and more time for job and family then it can be well worth it."

However, Andrew Torok, an NIU professor in educational technology, pointed out another issue.

"Students, particularly returning adults in college, prefer the face-to-face lecture mode," he said.
In an online classroom, professors cannot easily determine if a student is having a problem. Although online courses allow for chatting, Torok said, the moderated chats require a trained facilitator to manage successfully, and even then they cannot compare with in-class interaction. Though some students may be more comfortable participating online, he said, the majority have less motivation to participate unless forced to do so.

Along with the lack of social interaction, Torok has had technical problems, too. One of the biggest hurdles, he said, is appropriate software and hardware, both for the teacher and the student. Blackboard in particular has been problematic, he said, to everyone involved. Students had problems with login I.D.s and with retrieving information, and at times the site was down completely.

Student frustration can end up reflected on the professor, he said, resulting in poor teacher evaluations. Many students, he added, also lack appropriate software, hardware and connectivity to fully use multimedia away from the school computer lab.

"Thus, the online experience may not be as enriching as the traditional classroom."

Torok added that ethical issues arise with online teaching, including a greater opportunity for students to cheat on assignments. Further, faculty must work harder and spend longer hours with an online course. Administrators often see online courses as a way to have larger classes, he said, and fail to provide additional resources to support teachers' efforts.

Currently, NIU has fewer than 30 courses taught entirely online, including some in the upper-division departments of engineering, nursing and anthropology. One example is Wright's online Shakespeare course, which combines discussion and instructor interaction with an array of instructional materials. The Web site won the Best Educational Web Site and Best in Show awards at NIU's Technology for Learning showcase this spring.

Online courses are suitable for a wide variety of courses in many disciplines, said Carol Scheidenhelm, coordinator for instructional technologies.

"While it is still difficult -- but not impossible -- to simulate a science lab or a performance test," she said, "there are many creative and effective ways to deliver course materials online."

Hecht agreed, saying that e-courses are not necessarily better or worse for any one part of the curriculum.

"It depends a lot on what the particular course involves, the kinds of resources needed to make it happen, and the motivation of the students and instructor to prepare and deliver the course in a non-traditional format," he said.

For example, it would be difficult, Hecht said, to do a science laboratory course online. Putting specialized equipment in student's homes would be too expensive, and online simulations would lose the hands-on experience, he said. But a hybrid course, with hands-on combined with simulation, could work.

"I think it depends a lot on the instructor as well," Hecht said. "Instructors who are innovative and willing to try new stuff and to invest the extra time and energy to make it happen are good candidates for doing this kind of thing."

He added, however, that there is only limited "reward" from the university for making this sort of effort.
Scheidenhelm also made the distinction between online courses and correspondence courses.

"[They differ] in the amount of interactivity involved," she said. "This interactivity is the most difficult to keep up with for the instructor but the most beneficial for the student." Faculty must work especially hard at keeping students interested and building and maintaining an online community, she said.

Promod Vohra, NIU's associate dean of engineering and engineering technology, believed that, while the e-medium is "100 percent effective" for returning students, the average 18- to 22 year-old student requires a combination of courses delivered online and through conventional means.

"This is based on the fact that young students must engage in the process of learning with other individuals and also in a real-life campus environment," Vohra said, "which provides the basis for maturity and human interaction."

Lettie McSpadden, political science professor, agreed.

"I believe that half the good from college courses comes not from a professor lecturing," she said, "but from the interaction among students getting to know one another and developing relationships. I don't know if this is possible without face-to-face meetings."

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Source list:
· Carol Scheidenhelm, Coordinator-Instructural Technologies, NIU, 815-753-2690
· Thomas Smith, Assistant Professor - ETRA, NIU, 815-753-9445
· Lettie McSpadden, Professor - Political Science, NIU, 815-753-7044
· Andrew Torok, Professor - ETRA, NIU, 815-753-3406
· Jeffrey Hecht, Professor - ETRA, NIU, 815-753-9388
· Promod Vohra, Associate Dean - Engineering & Engineering Technology, NIU, 815-753-0745