Technology In The Internet Classroom

The number of college classes available through distance learning and the internet has grown dramatically in the past years. With the growth of the internet and the number of students that don’t have the time or ability to attend college in the traditional way the online format has been a good answer. These classes offer the student benefits including flexibility, availability of courses and varied schedules. One of the drawbacks of these courses is that they lack the some of the personal interactions between students and the instructor that occurs in a group setting. Even with this drawback the communication level between students and instructor is high due to the increased level of email communication and the participation between students on group discussion boards. However, these courses can be difficult for those students who favor the auditory learning style. These students tend to grasp more when there are verbal discussions. They also retain and understand concepts more thoroughly when the explanation or discussion is given verbally. (Child & Family Canada, 2000)

In the standard online class at Baker College the format consists of a list of expected assignments and readings that will go on through the course. The information is expected to be learned through reading the material, lecture handouts and sometimes a simple power point presentation. Discussions and all communications are through a written format, primarily though posts to the blackboard system. This format is passable but it has its drawbacks and limitations. For many students and some instructors this can lead to a dry and monotonous tone. You are not able to see or hear the other participants, so inflection, tone, and body language can not be determined. This can lead to misunderstandings between students and instructors due to one student commenting in a serious manner when the other comment was made in a light-hearted way or visa versa. Another and more serious problem is that students might not state their opinion to a comment or discussion for fear of it being taken in the wrong manner.

Granted this format was as the forefront of technology when the online class format was getting just beginning. In 1981 Andrew Feenberg was starting an online class format for the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in La Jolla, California. The equipment issued to the students to access this online class consisted of Apple IIE’s with 48k of memory and a 300 baud modem. (Feenberg, 1999) The price for these computers and modems would have been out of the price range for most students at that time so the university purchased the equipment to test the online format. As time passed and technology advanced, the speed of computers and their capacity doubled at a rate of once every eighteen to twenty four months. (Moore, 1965) As a result the cost for computers has decreased while the availability has increased at dramatic rates. In addition the speeds available to consumers to connect their computers to the internet have also decreased in price while increasing in availability and higher bandwidth. The online format of many Baker online courses would still run adequately on the machines that Andrew Feenberg used in 1981.

As a result of the increased power of the average computer and the availability of reasonably priced connectivity to the internet it would follow that the online class format would have grown as technology has. This unfortunately is not the case at Baker College. The format for the most part has stayed in the format of text based communication with little improvement. Colleges and Universities that offer online classes should take advantage of the power of technology and available resources. The online format needs to include more than text and typing. At a minimum there needs to be a requirement that instructors should make their lectures available in a video format available either live or recorded and available for download to supplement the text version. The course content should also be updated to include either audio or video explanations or comments from the instructor or book publisher about the material being covered. This could be as simple as the instructor explaining a case study in the book to a professional video produced by the book publisher covering a specific topic. The students should also be required to leave some explanations or questions in an audio or video format.

Although there would be some cost associated with implementing these requirements it would be minimal. For the students it would be a one time cost as the equipment could be used for all online courses taken through Baker. The instructor of the online course would not need to have expensive video capture equipment or software just a simple web camera and microphone. Logitech manufactures the Quick Camв„Ñž Orbit MP that offers up to a 1.3 mega pixel resolution, has a built in microphone, will track the movement of the subject, and auto focuses, all for a price of $129.99. (Logitech, 2006) This simple device is all that would be needed to capture the instructor’s discussion or the lecture given for that week. The instructor would then just upload the video to the online portal were students could either stream the video or download it for viewing later. The benefit provided by these additions to the online format would increase the online course experience and interactions between students. This same Logitech device or a less expensive model along with the upload process would also work for the student and allow them to ask questions, offer comments, or otherwise add to the class discussion. . To address bandwidth issues the video file could be converted to a MPEG, WMV or other video compression format with widely available and inexpensive software.

While there is a potential issue of reluctance to change by both students and instructors to the new format, this can be addressed with proper training and support for the instructors. For the students, instructions on how to accomplish uploads and downloads could be easily written into the course documents avoiding the need for expensive technical support. One of the requirements for many online Baker students is the online course College Success Strategies. This course familiarizes the student with the policies and procedures of Baker College, the Blackboard system, available online library resources, and how an online course works. Modifying the existing class to include directions and examples on how to upload and download videos would provide good support for the students. Once this is mastered the same process would be followed throughout