NCU Interviews Dr. Diane Hamilton
NCU Interviews Dr. Diane Hamilton
For more see the full article at Northcentral University Higher Degrees Fall 2013
Online Classes Offer Balance
Online classes offer a variety of advantages for working adults who have enough on their plate without adding the stress of finding time for an education. Probably the hardest part of attending a traditional university, for me, was finding time to fit it into my schedule. I worked the traditional workday and then I had to make it to three-hour class four nights a week. This was brutal because by the time I drove home and got to bed, it was close to midnight. I would have to get up at 6 am and start all over again. Thankfully I was in my early 20s at the time. I honesty do not think I could handle that sort of schedule now.
Online vs. Traditional Faculty Demands
MOOCs have drawn attention to the different requirements of online vs. traditional teaching jobs. I recently watched Dr. Dani Babb’s Udemy presentation titled How to Make Money Teaching as an Online Professor.  She said something that I thought was interesting. She had worked as a traditional professor prior to becoming an online professor. When she discussed the job requirements of an online professor, she mentioned that online professors have to deal with students who expect a lot more interaction in the online environment than the traditional one. This is very true. This is also something that I do not think gets enough attention in the media.
Advantages of Peer Interaction in Online Learning
One of the most important ways students learn in online courses is through peer-to-peer interaction. In my experience with traditional classrooms, there were far more lectures and much student involvement. The professors spoke “at us” in traditional courses. In online courses, there is more of a group discussion. Students receive the professor’s perspective as well as viewpoints from every student in the course. In my opinion, this makes for a much more interesting and interactive classroom.
Not all students are fans of lecture-based learning. MOOCs may experience high dropout rates due to their lecture-based format. According to the article MOOCs: Will Online Courses Help More Students Stay in School, “Critics of MOOCs are quick to point out their low completion rates (fewer than 7% of students complete the courses on average). They also note that the courses take the ineffective lecture format and make it the primary mode of learning.”
The types of online courses I have taught rely very little, if at all, on lectures. The courses include more peer interaction and written assignments. The peer interaction revolves around discussion questions. There are usually at least two discussion topics posted each week. Students must respond to the initial question and respond to their peers’ postings as well. This requires students to address the question, discover other students’ perspectives, and develop critical thinking skills.
Students’ responses to their peers must include substantive comments and well-constructed follow-up questions. These questions often develop the conversation and create a dialogue. Every student can see these discussions. Every student can interject their comments. It creates a pool of information that would not be provided to students in a lecture hall. It allows for much more depth to the exploration of the topic.
In a traditional course, the professor may give their insight and opinions about a topic. In an online course, this is possible as well. What is different is the amount of interaction required by the students. Granted, things may have changed since I took traditional courses in the 80’s. However, based on what I read and what I hear from my students, traditional college courses have not changed that much. I believe that is why there is such an interest in MOOCs. They add a new dimension that traditional courses have lacked. However, MOOCs may not provide the peer interaction is the same way that regular online classes can. The reason for this is due to the number of students in class. MOOCs are massive. Most online courses I teach include fewer than 20 students. When there are too many students, the discussions become overwhelming and no one takes the time to read all of the postings.
The best part of peer interaction is that students can learn from everyone’s experiences. Many online students have had decades of experience. This provides a wealth of knowledge that may be added to the professor’s perspective. This allows everyone, including the professor, to garner important insight.
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Online Student Safety and Behavioral Issues
The online classroom may make it easier for students with personality problems or even mental health issues to go undetected. It may provide a false sense of security for some students who make friends with other students who may appear to be well. However, in any online situation, it is wise to look for some behavioral signals that may indicate some problems.
I have had students who ignore netiquette, aka rules of proper behavior in the online classroom. I have had a few students who concerned me to the point that I believed, for safety reasons, I had to report them. Although I have not had this happen often, it can be frightening for innocent students who get bullied or are provoked by these behaviorally-challenged students.
I recently had a student send me a note that she felt uncomfortable by certain wording that another student used in class. She asked me to ask the student to refrain from using what she considered profanity. Although this “profanity” may have seemed very mild to some of the other students, it bothered her. It is important for students to realize that everyone may not be comfortable with certain words.
In the Wall Street Journal article When Social Skills are a Warning, the author explained that it may be important to look for social skills that may indicate a warning of behavioral issues. Instructors and fellow students might be able to detect some early signs that are symptoms of problems like social indifference, lack of empathy, and inappropriate behavior. Some students do not recognize when to “back off” in discussions. In the article, the author explained how our brains are set up differently. “Some networks act as emotional brakes and others as the gas. Everyone has a different balance of these networks, which contributes to our personalities, emotions and behaviors.”
When students notice something that makes them feel uncomfortable, they should report it to their professor or counselor. Many students are harmless and just do not realize how they may come across to others. The problem is that there have been incidents that make the news that scare people. These past tragedies may help to make people more aware of the importance of recognizing behavior.
Just because there is a computer screen between students, does not mean there is no danger. Some students connect in online chat rooms. Sometimes they exchange email and telephone numbers. Just because a student is in an online college classroom, it does not ensure that this person is harmless. In online, just as in traditional courses, there will be some students who have behavioral problems. It is important that students do not let their guard down too far due to a possible incorrect assumption that all students must be normal. I do not want to squelch the college connection experience. It is just important to remember that people may have issues whether they are in a traditional or online location. Students should be just as vigilant about their safety in an online class as they would be in any other situation.
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