Comment Online at UOPhx--class interaction (reposted) (Score 1) 43
I teach at UOPhx, Online (OL) and Onground (OG). The OL program has as much or more interaction as the OG. It runs through newsgroups, so anyone in any timezone can participate.
Students must participate on 5/7 days, and are graded on the substantiveness of that participation. As all must participate, and say something meaningful that moves the class along and expands its learning, I find better overall class participation than in OG classes. Reserved students speak up, those who are thoughtful but want time to reflect on their comments before posting them have it, those who simply say "I agree" but add nothing new don't earn points, etc.
A large part of the grade (usually 30-40%)is based on one's Learning Team (3-4 students) assignments. There is as much team collaboration OL as OG. OL teams tend to form by timezone (just as OG teams do by who lives/works nearby), so they can all be online at the same time, or use instant messaging or phone calls. The out-of-newsgroup communication is best reserved for logistics of planning out a project, as all work product must go into the newsgroup to get participation points.
It's amazing to see how students form new learning teams (which they have to do for each class, which lasts 5 weeks undergrad, 6 weeks graduate--intense format). This is an accelerated program, with no time to waste, so students get right to it.
One other thing--students must be 23 and employed, average is 34, so everyone has lots of job experience to bring to the table. In fact, that's one of the goals of most courses: to relate the learning to practical experience. Each online program has its own format. Many are simply self-paced, with no interaction except for submitting papers to the instructor.
(No, I don't teach in the technology programs.)###
Students must participate on 5/7 days, and are graded on the substantiveness of that participation. As all must participate, and say something meaningful that moves the class along and expands its learning, I find better overall class participation than in OG classes. Reserved students speak up, those who are thoughtful but want time to reflect on their comments before posting them have it, those who simply say "I agree" but add nothing new don't earn points, etc.
A large part of the grade (usually 30-40%)is based on one's Learning Team (3-4 students) assignments. There is as much team collaboration OL as OG. OL teams tend to form by timezone (just as OG teams do by who lives/works nearby), so they can all be online at the same time, or use instant messaging or phone calls. The out-of-newsgroup communication is best reserved for logistics of planning out a project, as all work product must go into the newsgroup to get participation points.
It's amazing to see how students form new learning teams (which they have to do for each class, which lasts 5 weeks undergrad, 6 weeks graduate--intense format). This is an accelerated program, with no time to waste, so students get right to it.
One other thing--students must be 23 and employed, average is 34, so everyone has lots of job experience to bring to the table. In fact, that's one of the goals of most courses: to relate the learning to practical experience. Each online program has its own format. Many are simply self-paced, with no interaction except for submitting papers to the instructor.
(No, I don't teach in the technology programs.)###
