I appreciate that colleges and universities, like virtually all other organizations – public and private – are facing a major disruption and severe financial challenges at this time. However, I am not persuaded that a temporary shift to (mostly) online education would be as big a disruption as most observers seem to think. I base this on an admittedly extremely small sample – and a dated one at that – which is my own experience with delivering online education almost 20 years ago.
My Experience with Online Education
“Warm and Fuzzy” are not words usually associated with technology. “Cold and impersonal” are probably terms that come more readily to mind. As the Course Director, involved in my first on line course, I was concerned about how to create on the Internet an atmosphere somewhat like the supportive environment that is usually found in an enjoyable class room experience.
I need not have worried. The students proved to be very warm and empathetic, often posting words of encouragement and support to those who seemed to be having problems with the course or at work. It was not unusual for a student expressing such concerns to receive half a dozen supportive replies. It struck me, as this pattern unfolded, that students were actually being MORE supportive than they would normally be in a class room environment. When you are facing someone in the next seat or across the aisle, there is a tendency to be somewhat reserved, to limit the extent to which you “bare your soul” even in sympathy. An on line course provides the distance and detachment that made students more forthcoming, more willing to share experiences and personal thoughts and feelings, precisely because they were part of an Internet course.
Yes, Today’s Situation is Different
The students taking my Internet courses almost two decades ago shared common working experiences which made it relatively easy for them to relate to each other. They had a common bond, as it were, that would not be found among university or college students of widely varying backgrounds, life experiences, and career interests. But today’s students are vastly more experienced in communicating via the Internet and the programs available today to support online learning are much more sophisticated than the rudimentary system (without any video component) that I used at the beginning of this century.
By their nature, some subjects do not lend themselves to delivery via the Internet. More importantly, learning online cannot provide the same experience that comes from shared classroom time with other students. But we are not talking about a permanent shift to Internet learning. We are looking at plans to provide courses online as a temporary means of allowing educational activities to proceed this fall until the COVID-19 pandemic has ended and it is safe to resume conventional teaching.
Combining Old and New
This is obviously a complex issue, but a good starting point is a recognition that we don’t have to deal with an either-or choice. It is entirely possible (and, I would argue, desirable) to combine elements of old approaches and new technologies. In other words, it is not a case of in class instruction versus the Internet. Why not deliver a course through both avenues? The core elements of the course – those matters that would normally be covered in lectures – could be “presented” by the instructor once, in the form of an online series available to those in the course on a cumulative basis over the life of the course. In addition, instructor and students could also meet weekly for discussions related to the core topics, essentially a variation of the tutorials that have been used in universities for eons. While I wrote this paragraph back in 2013, as part of a retirees column for the St. Lawrence College alumni magazine, I hope, and expect, that the online learning forced upon us by the pandemic will lead to a realization that it should remain – as one important component of future educational experience.