Online Courses Catch On in U.S. Colleges

See the article by the same title here: Part I

As the semester winds down, I find myself with more time to read and more time to blog. Who'd a thunk it?!

A colleague and friend sent this story to me and it made me think. I never took an online class until I began the ILT program at CU Denver. It's not that I had any specific feelings about them one way or the other; I just didn't think about it. I finished my undergrad in 2000 and started grad school in 2006. Maybe I missed the big launching point of online classes, or maybe I got in kind of in the early stages anyway.

A couple of points from the article that I'd like to comment on:

1. I agree that online classes seem to take more time. As a student, I spend more time reading and writing posts in discussion forums, and thinking about what was said in a discussion forum.
2. Asynchronous discussion threads seem to have more intelligent/relevant conversations. Participants have the ability to think about a response, and write/revise/rewrite as much as necessary before posting a "final answer."
3. I team facilitated a week of online learning a couple of semesters ago and facilitating online seems to take more time as well, than f2f facilitation does. Part of the reason for that was my lack of familiarity with the topic we were teaching, and part of it was my lack of firm scheduling. Instead of stating at the beginning "I'll be online from this time until that time" and sticking with it, I felt a need to log in and check discussion boards all the time. I didn't necessarily want to respond, but I did want to keep up with the conversation.
4. Students who take online classes generally take the class more seriously "in the moment." I signed up for online classes with CU Denver because I knew I might be moving out of state. I didn't want the hassle of transferring to a new school or having to travel for class. There have been times (ahem, possibly weeks at a time) when I've "tuned out" of class, but when I'm tuned in, I'm completely there. In f2f classes in the past, I've sometimes found myself physically in a classroom because attendance was part of my grade, but I wasn't mentally there anyway. I can't accidentally log in to my online courses, so when I'm there, I'm there and focused.
5. From a facilitator standpoint, it is harder to "wing" an online class. It's harder to communicate with people at first because you can't see facial expressions. I can't tell a silly joke online with a wink like I can in person.
6. Relationships in online classes can be just as strong as f2f classes. I agree. However, I also believe that meeting some of my classmates face to face has strengthened the feeling of community that I share with them. It's made our relationships stronger and I consider many of my classmates friends. I flew from Phoenix to Denver to attend an ISPI meeting with the ultimate goal of meeting my classmates and instructors face to face.

I'm interested to hear others' thoughts on this article. There are two parts to the article. Part II tomorrow!

Fun, philanthropic diversion

As both Erin and Debra have noted, here's a fun site to increase your vocabulary and fight hunger at the same time. Go to www.freerice.com and for every word you get right, they donate grains of rice.

Go visit today!

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel?

Or is that an oncoming train?!

I'm going to go with the light theory.

My two classes are revving up for a couple of big finishes with projects this semester, and then there will be a few weeks of reprieve. I have been thinking a lot lately about stuff and thought I'd jot it all down.

I attended a web conference this week about Web 2.0 tools. We discussed social networking, social bookmarking, photo sharing, wikis, etc ... We watched this YouTube video and were asked for our reactions. One of the questions posed by a fellow classmate was

For good or ill, we surf, search, mine the Internet for information to increase our own knowledge, to make our lives better, to make ourselves richer. . . at what cost? We write, post, blog, respond, collaborate, live a virtual life via the Internet to communicate, to connect, to inform, to persuade . . . to what end?

I'm curious to know what others think?

After the 3-Day

I'm so excited to see a comment from Jenne Fromm on my post about the 3-Day. I heard you speak for the weekend in Arizona. Man, it was hot!

Here is your last update for this year about the 3-Day in Arizona.

I joined a team called CRBs (Chests Are Breasts) with 7 other women. The woman who started the team did so in memory of her brother, who lost a 13 year battle with breast cancer in 2005.

Our team fundraising total is currently over $24,400 and we're expecting that total to go over $26,000 by the time all our company matches come in. Yay!

From the beginning of training to the end of the 3-Day weekend, my team and I walked a collective total of well over 2,000 miles. Personally, I think I have walked about 300 miles since signing up for the 3-Day in July.

My aunt is doing fairly well, according to another aunt who keeps us all updated. Chemotherapy is a real beast, as most people have heard. I remember watching my Mom go through it and it was terrible. Of course, that was 20 years ago.

Which reminds me, the 20 year anniversary of my Mom's death is coming up in a couple of weeks. How crazy to think that she's been gone from my life for nearly twice as long as she was in it, yet I still remember certain things about her very clearly.

Anyway, I have a long list of things I need to get done. The 3-Day for 2007? Check! Where to next for me? Hm ... San Diego, 2008?!

First, though, I need to concentrate on school and work. I have a dream vacation planned to celebrate graduation next year. Macchu Picchu would be a heck of a training walk! :-)