Last updated: 8/5/01
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Taking an Online Course

I am not going to beat around the bush here - I think online courses are great, and will open up education to many more people. I would like to see "mix and match" where you can put together courses of your own design, courses that are not just 1, 2, 3 or 4 credits but 2.234 credits if that is what you need, multimedia where we can talk together face to face over the Internet, and on and on and on. I am convinced that this and more will happen, including things that we cannot imagine today, even if it does not happen immediately. One "fringe" idea is that of a group of people that get together and teach themselves (with oversight as to form and process), because an improvement, say in corporate practice, is needed right now, even though there is no fully-formed body of knowledge developed yet. Another fringe idea is that the threshold of starting a University course is set too high, and people should be able to start at a low level and (perhaps) build up to a full course and then (perhaps) to a degree. JIT (Just In Time) education, and OWYN (Only What You Need). All of this, I am convinced, will come to pass, and I do want to be part of it.

Even if I fully believe that online courses will be very popular, they will probably not be for everyone, or possibly not for every topic (although I do feel that such arguments about subject matter are often used to avoid change).

When I first started teaching online, I thought the typical parts of online courses such as Times' Harvest were pretty much direct substitutes for classroom or grounded courses: web pages for handouts and lectures, email for turning in work and getting it back, and computer conferencing for class discussion. I have come (perhaps too slowly) to recognize that online courses are very different from the student's point of view. Expect an online class to "feel" different. Not necessarily better, not necessarily worse, but certainly different. If you look for exactly the same experience, or do the course work in exactly the same way, you will be disappointed, and perhaps severely so. Appreciate online courses for what they are, but do not expect that they will be a direct substitute for live courses.

So what am I really saying here?

In courses such as these, the basic goal is to have you formulate your own informed views about the subjects, and to understand how the grand theories work out in real lives. No doubt about it, this is work (or at least "serious fun"). To accomplish this requires discussion, argument, compromise and understanding each other. For this purpose, if you go at it the right way, the computer conference is far superior to classroom discussion. Of course, you may at the same time miss the friendly faces or angry faces of the other students in a live class, but we will have live classes as often as anyone  wants to ask for them. However, you will be able to particpate in the online computer conference discussion in much greater depth and detail than in a live discussion, but only if you make the effort. You can "blow off" an online discussion just as easily as a live discussion, or even more easily, but that will be your own loss. But participants often cite three advantages for online discussions:

1. You will have more time available to "speak" at length and in detail, and to respond to the comments and criticisms of others. In fact, as an instructor in a live class I am used to speaking at least fifty percent of the words, but online I often feel that the class isn't paying attention to me. Even if I speak as much as  I would in a live course, as a percentage I contribute much less, and students sometimes voice the opinion that they are on their own because of this. (No need to feel sorry for me or feel that you won't have any guidance - I have learned how to make myself heard!)
2. You can formulate your words to say exactly what you mean, whereas in a live discussion you usually have to be ready to "go" instantaneously, not a situation that allows for careful thought and phrasing. Not that live discussions can't be exciting, just that they cannot be as thoughtful and substantive. Online, you can even edit what you "said" after you have said it.
3. If the others have gone on to a new topic before you are done with the earlier topic, you can go back and pick it up, in a way that you never could in a live discussion. Online, there are often several lines of conversation going on at the same time, by means of quoting or excerpting previous messages to keep the lines clear. In a live discussion, this can only be accomplished if the group breaks up into subgroups, but online the whole group can be carrying on what are in fact several conversations at once. Try and do that "live!"

So give an online class a serious try and expect it to be different. And remember, the technology will continue to evolve. Another year or two and we will be hearing and seeing each other online as well. (Here's a challenge - anyone up for trying video communications this semester?) One of the experiments that I would like to try is to connect several small groups together with Internet videoconferencing, so that a class that could not attract a critical mass to a single location can attract that critical mass in several places and link them all together. Not that that will always be popular either; taking the course in your jammies and bathrobe, without that damned electronic eye, will remain a distinct pleasure of a text-based online course such as we have today.

But there are two other large differences between an online course and a live (some say "grounded") course.

1. If you are used to being able to sort of "float along", usually coming to class but not doing too much, especially at the beginning, until you see what is going on, and then catching up, perhaps at the very end, forget that! It is much easier to tune out of an online class, but since outside work substitutes for class time, the backlog piles up very quickly and can easily become overwhelming early in the semester. It will primarily be up to you to set a schedule and keep to it. I have considered requiring each participant to write down a schedule, but even though some of my colleagues think that would be a good experiment, I feel it would be overly controlling to do this. I may still do it, though, especially if it seems that some are falling into this trap. I am planning to send out weekly emails, with return receipts checked off, and I will also be assigning weekly course progress reports via email, that will be part of the course grade.
   
2. If you do in fact "drop out" there is less there to pull you back in, so that can much more easily become permanent. There are ways to fix this, and I will be trying some of them out. But so far, this has been another stumbling block along the way to finishing an online course.

Clearly in online courses, as in most other apsects of life online, the control of the experience shifts toward the user, or in the case of online courses, the student. You can open up aspects of the discussion in a way that you can't in a live class, and work much more on your own schedule. Students can do a lot to help other students, with technical questions and help with the readings. Suppose that I log on to the computer conference three times a week. There is probably a 50-50 chance that a student will answer another student's question before I get to it. Should I chime in, either to confirm or correct? I will, of course, chime in to correct, if I feel that is needed. But I think it is a good thing if students can help each other, and generally I won't say anything if, as often happens, I feel that the response was correct. Online courses will give students much more control, and I am interested in learning how that works, and in working with it, not working against it. We are all adults here, right?

So those are some of the advantages and problems with online courses, as they currently exist. Here is an analogy. My wife and I have moved a lot. We have always enjoyed where we live at the time, and part of that is because our approach has always been to find out what there is in the new place, and not expect it to be like the old place, or to complain that the things we enjoyed in the old place aren't the same in the new one. To come back to the topic of online courses, we will all be going to new places more frequently, and I urge you to adopt the practice of looking for what there is in the new situation that you can enjoy. Otherwise you are sure to be unhappy about several aspects of online courses, and many other things as well (just try getting older!). But also, if there is something that you keep on missing no matter what, it may be there for you the next time.

From Students:

Here are unedited messages from three students in my earlier online courses, all of whom have enjoyed them, been successful, and taken more than one! Two of these students are taking this course.

Wiley Crawford
	Subject: online comments Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2000 19:37:48 EST From: Wiley Crawford To: d.r.bowen@wayne.edu Hi Dr. Bowen, Here are some of my thoughts on taking on-line courses: first of all, how else can you take a university course, stay at home and avoid the bad weather and long distance travel time? Second, the classes give an opportunity to participate in a class anytime day or night. Of course within given guidelines. I personally found it challenging because it helped me to be able to use my computer in a professional way. It gave me the opportunities to learn things that I would not have been able to do otherwise. The class that I took, Creativity, was one of the most interesting classes that I have taken on or off-line. This class challenged me to look at my own creativity as well as looking at others. It was not just about making things, it was about the whole realm of Creativity. It is important to understand in an on-line class that it is not just point and click. There is required reading and any other reqirements in a class that is taken on campus. But you don't have to be there. And working all day, I don't want to spend my evening looking for a parking spot on the WSU campus. Wiley P.S. Thanks Dr. Bowen for asking me, I enjoyed your classes and hope that I can take more on-line courses in the future.
Sharon Finch
	Subject: Re: Online courses Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 21:58:11 EST From: Sharon Finch To: d.r.bowen@mail2.wayne.edu WHY I TAKE ON-LINE COURSES I have taken several courses in ISP with either total or partial on-line components. I enjoy them very much, obviously, since I keep taking more. Why is this? First of all, there is the total luxury of working at my own speed, on my own time, without regard to winter weather or having a cold or time pressures from other parts of my life. When I want to work, I sit down in front the keyboard, a place I love in any event, and I do as much as I want and however I want. I can work very early in the morning or very late at night. With my laptop, I can work anywhere in the world (and have). Turning in assignments as attachments to email is terrifically easy, and removes all the dreaded "printing problems" which always seem to occur when a paper is due. Generally, when at home, I print and then edit on the printed page and then correct the screen version. However, there have been times when I have been away and have written papers and exams totally on the screen. This has been doable, if a little more challenging. And I must say, being able to travel without missing class is also a real luxury. I enjoy the WebBoard computer conference, but I notice a lot of students don't use it much. I like to discuss what I am reading and thinking, and that is a very easy way to do it. Also, no one interrupts you or cuts you off! The only downside to the online class is the lack of IRL interaction, but that is cured by having a few class meetings where we get to meet each other. All in all, I think it is a wonderful adjunct to the traditional classroom education mode, especially in bad weather! My bottom line about on-line classes: "Try it, you'll like it!"
	Subject: Re: Online courses Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 22:03:00 EST From: Sharon Finch To: d.r.bowen@mail1.wayne.edu In a message dated 11/15/00 3:00:36 PM, d.r.bowen@wayne.edu writes: << And how did you feel about the topics, e.g. Creativity. (I am not counting eCommerce and Computers, the Internet, and Society as fully online - that was never my intention. >> Forgot to speak to this. Addendum: I enjoyed the Creativity class immensely. The reading list was terrific and the reading was fascinating, the WebBoard discussions were lively, and luckily I picked a topic for my paper which I really got into and enjoyed researching and writing. I learned a lot about some very creative people, about the topic of creativity itself, and about my own mental processes. The topic really lent itself to the online process -- cyberspace seemed to be just the place to think about creativity.
Carolyn Mills
	I decided to take an online course because the idea of completing a class from the comfort of my home appealed to me. I think that I, like others, believed that it might be an easier way to get through a class. What I found out was that it required every bit if not more time than any class that I could attend physically. There were benefits, too, that I had not anticipated. These were the ease of contact with other students and the instructor. I felt as though I were attending a class where I was able to get help from someone for any question I might have. Dr. Bowen's weekly requirement that I post a comment helped me to overcome any shyness I had about posting. After I had posted for the first time, I realized that it was no different than talking to my neighbor in class, it was helpful and it put me in touch with everyone painlessly. I also realized that when it came to questions about the course, I was one-on-one with the instructor. It was an aid to the learning process. My method of attending was this, each day when I arrived home from work, the first thing I did was sit down at my computer to see whether any messages had been posted to "our" site. I would answer if I could, but I might just post a "hello" to everyone. Then, I would go about the business of coursework. That might be reading or composing a paper, but whatever, I would do something. I might have plans or have to clean or do laundry, but first I would do coursework. It was important for me not to put it off, because if I did, it became easier and easier to do so. I have much experience in procrastinating and have learned that the more I put it off, the more I feel guilty about it, and the more I put it off. I need to police myself. I need to keep myself in the work and do something each day or it becomes easier to quit acting. I begin talking myself into quitting. Internet classes were the most enjoyable classes that I took at WSU. I know that they're not for everyone, some prefer the interaction of a classroom. I prefer to settle down at home and work. I like the personal contact with the instructor as well as the students. We're all there to learn something and we all do!