“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
Malcolm X
For over twenty-five years, I taught on campus Human Resources Management graduate courses at the University. Each course included a syllabus, class schedule, periodic guest speakers, and grading rubrics. As time went on and there were technological advancement both in the classroom and online, I was able to integrate YouTube videos. With the advent of cell phones and email, students could contact me to ask questions or schedule on campus meetings. Likewise, I had their email addresses and could share with them current and important HR trends, respond to questions, revise schedules, and inquire about the status of assignments and projects. At the end of a semester, students were given the opportunity to anonymously evaluate peers on their contribution to learning and teamwork. I shared the peer evaluation results with each student; answered any questions they might have about ratings; if asked about things they could do to improve, I made suggestions; and I reminded the students that peer evaluations are considered good management practice and were not factored into the final grade. Of course the students were asked by the University to evaluate my performance, something they willingly complied with. I don’t know what students did with the feedback they received but I do know the feedback I received helped me revise the syllabus, focus more on relevant HR issues students thought were important, and introduce new topics or teaching techniques. I assume students completed their graduate studies, and I continued to teach graduate courses for many years.
Then, unexpectedly, I was asked by the Dean to teach the course online. This was prior to Covid-19 and strategic initiative of the schools long-term strategic plan. Online graduate students could only take online courses, were never required to attend sessions on campus, had full-time jobs, and lived some place in this world. Since I had never taught online and barely could keep up with technological advancements, I decided that I had nothing to lose by teaching online and a lot I could learn. The University provided me with external expert consultants to assist me in developing an online course syllabus; preparing lectures; producing introductory videos for each session; creating podcasts; coaching me on the use of online technology and class facilitation; and explaining the difference between synchronous and asynchronous learning and how and when they should be utilized. In addition, the University provided a highly intelligent, competent and energetic Teaching Assistant. My TA had never taken an online course but was far more comfortable with and knowledgeable about technology than me. She turned out to be a Godsend. (I should note that she is now teaching online courses at another university.) All the lecturing, student communication, and class administration was done online. One would think that with all this help and support, online teaching would be a slam dunk. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
Whereas my on campus class enrollment averaged 15 students a semester, my online classes averaged 60 students. Class size was no longer limited by room size. There never seemed to be enough time for my TA or me to prepare for and teach a class, grade work, and be readily available and responsive to students. What I learned is that online teaching is a 24/7 commitment. There are no scheduled office hours or limits on access to a professor. This is especially true for professors like me that jumped into the boat “without a paddle.” My TA ended up towing me to the other shore and successfully teaching the course.
So when I hear and read that, thanks to the coronavirus, online learning is the future of education, I ask myself are they serious? There is so much more than just classrooms. Can students who only take online courses truly experience college life without making human connections, personally interacting with others, intellectual conversations, and the back and forth exchanges with students, professors and university administrators on a myriad of subjects? What about the feeling you get from just walking around a universities campus? I’ll never forget how it felt to walk around Yale University’s campus, sit in a Yale classroom, listen to a lecture by a renowned professor, meet and interact with students from all over the world, and explore the surrounding New Haven community that was the first “Model City” in the nation. I have to confess, I didn’t get a sense of interconnectedness with the students teaching online from my home office but there was a sense of personal satisfaction for having conquered the technological challenges of teaching online.
Things changed when classes went live. The focused changed from the student to technology; from looking into the student’s eyes to staring at a monitor; from reading body language to reading chat notes; and from real time exchange of knowledge to communicating by email or university blackboard postings. I never got the feeling I was able to engage in a dialectic about important and controversial HR issues or even call upon students for reactions to or opinions about what was being discussed. Why – for one thing, I really never got to know the 60 or so online students and found myself engaging with the same handful of students that took the subject seriously. One might say this is not any different than teaching a course in the classroom except that in the classroom, I had visual contact with the 15 students and could arrange the seating so that I can roam around, ask questions, and engage students. It is much easier for an online student to hide when they want to be left alone. Furthermore, I found that online students came up with more reasons not to meet deadlines, participate in team projects, or even participate in synchronous classes or take advantage of asynchronous class recordings. The “Community of Inquiry” teaching model is built on the simple principle that the more engaged learners are with their learning, the more likely they are to be successful. I once asked a learned faculty member if where you went to a school or university made a difference about how much you learn. His response was that it really didn’t matter what school you went to. What matters is how much effort you put into learning. One could make the same argument for in class versus online classes. Albert Einstein believed that education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. What does that say about paying for a formal education?
Donna J. Abernathy, Former Editor of Training and Development Magazine, states that “Online learning is not the next big thing; it is the now big thing.” The literature is replete with articles in support of Ms. Abernathy’s statement. The majority of her supporters are teachers and professors who successfully transitioned to online teaching, colleges and universities that offer online degrees, and companies marketing online teaching consulting services and technology. Everyone acknowledges that online teaching is the preferred teaching paradigm until there is a cure or vaccine for Covid-19.
UNESCO estimates that one and a half billion students worldwide were engaged in remote learning at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. On June 6, 2020, educations.com reported that over 30 percent of higher education students in the United States are taking at least one distance learning course. In 2019, Doug Lederman reported in “Professors’ Slow, Steady Acceptance of Online Learning: A Survey” that there is “a continuing uptick in the proportion of faculty members who have taught an online course, to 46% from 44 % last year. That figure stood at 30% in 2013, meaning that the number has increased by half in six years.” Mr. Lederman cautions us about misinterpreting the data. His survey indicated that professors are divided about whether online learning produce student learning outcomes comparable to face-to-face teaching.
Chris Drew, PhD, published in Helpful Professor.com “33+ Pros and Cons of Online School.” He acknowledges that online learning isn’t for everyone. He encourages faculty to consider the pros and cons of online learning before embracing online education. Some of the Pros he cites include:
· Flexible learning means you can still live your life.
· Gamified learning.
· You have more time to think.
· You can make friendships with people like you.
· You will learn in comfort.
· You will save a lot of time.
· You can hide when you need to be left alone.
· You can learn at your own pace.
· You can be anonymous.
· You can gain even more confidence to post your thoughts on forums.
· You can be as vocal or quiet as you like in online classes.
· You can take advantage of new learning technologies.
· You will develop a digital skillset.
His list of Cons includes:
You’re statistically more likely to drop out.
You need self-discipline as online courses are less structured.
Your study time and personal time clash (all the time).
There can be regular communication breakdowns.
You won’t get many social interactions.
You will have regular tech issues.
The ‘College Experience’ is missing when you study online.
You’ll go through ruts.
Online group work can be a drag.
You’ll feel isolated.
There is a lack of practical training and experiences.
There may be limited course options.
You’ll be glued to your email.
Be prepared to read and watch a lot of videos.
Dr. Drew acknowledges that he is an online learning convert. “Personally, the pros of online education outweigh the cons. I can live where I want, wake up when I want, and won’t have to waste my time messing around with face-to-face activities. I feel like my time is my own and I’m in control of how to manage it.” I find this to be a little condescending.
In a recent New York Times op ed piece, Hans Taparia writes that “online education, previously considered a ‘hobby,’ could be the silver bullet that rescues higher education from financial ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.” However, Mr. Lederman’s survey also reported that neither faculty nor digital learning administrators believe online learning is less expensive to offer than the on-campus alternative. I can certainly attest to my University having invested a lot of money in helping me prepare to teach online. This was certainly appropriate since my learning curve was much steeper than other online teaching faculty who had prior experience teaching online courses. They were much more knowledgeable about online nomenclature and more experienced and comfortable with technology. I and my Teaching Assistant certainly had to work much harder and longer teaching online than teaching in class. I doubt that the students really care about effort expended or how much I was paid. The real questions for the student are did they learn and get what they paid for?
Mr. Taparia in his op ed piece goes on to write “But for all their differences in age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, citizenship and intellectual preparedness, students universally agreed on their evaluation of online learning: they hated it.” He quoted one student wrote they watched the lectures posted, but didn’t learn the material. Another student wrote “the major benefit of in-class learning is that the classroom leaves out distractions but now I have the biggest source of gaming, shopping and socializing right in my face.” Finally a professor wrote that what students disliked the most is they basically had to teach themselves. “It’s like paying tuition to watch YouTube videos.” He found that online students felt an inability to engage in dialogue. Socrates would be rolling in his grave if he had been told this. Socrates believed that “it’s in dialogue, the teasing out of ideas, challenging them, argument and counterargument, than genuine education happens.”
Do I miss teaching online? No, but I am grateful for the opportunity. I did miss my inability to build personal relationships with the students. Whereas many of my in class students have continued to maintain contact, even join me on LinkedIn, and/or ask for letters of recommendation, this is not the case with my online students. I believe online teaching can play an important role in academia. Do I believe teaching online is the “New Pedagogical Normal?” No, I do not. In my opinion, online teaching works best for most college students when it is a blend of in class and online courses. Similarly, online courses utilize both synchronous and asynchronous technology. Synchronous technology affords the students to meet regularly as a class and with the professor to dialogue and exchange ideas. Asynchronous technology allows the students to not only have access to lectures but also other internet sources. There are many reasons why online learning is not for everyone just like in class learning is not for everyone. However, both options are now available to students. Both are means to end – Education. Let me share with you what Mark Twain said about formal education - “Never let formal education get in the way of you learning.”
Do you think students should pay the same amount for an online degree as they do for a live on campus education?