Putting the cyber into eLearning

Matthew Bisanz never set foot on the UI campus when he was taking Spanish III during the summer of 2005.

A senior at Hofstra University on Long Island, N.Y., he took the course through the [ eLearning ] independent-study program, which was developed to allow students to take classes without physically being on the university grounds.

"I thought it would be a convenient way to complete credits," Bisanz said. "You take the class, but you can take it whenever and wherever."

Online learning is a rising trend among universities nationwide. Roughly 63 percent of schools with traditional undergraduate courses also offer online versions, while 65 percent are doing the same for graduate courses, according to the Sloan Consortium's 2005 report on the condition of online education.

The UI also offers other online options to help students complete credits and earn degrees, ranging from basic introductory courses, such as Online at Iowa, to a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree.

"Distance education increases enrollment for the university without decreasing on-campus activity," said Anne Zalenski, the UI associate director of credit programs.

Some universities have established [ eLearning ] communities. Pennsylvania State University's World Campus features 359 courses and both graduate and undergraduate degrees and certificates.

Meanwhile, Harvard University's Extension School offers degree programs as well as online versions of classroom courses, and the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign recently announced plans to launch a Global Campus, which will start offering comprehensive online courses in February 2008.

Despite the popularity of the courses, critics say online courses lack the effectiveness of classroom courses. But online instructor Rebecca Bohde, a program associate in the UI Language Media Center, disagrees.

"Except for access to online materials, the class is like others," said Bohde, who teaches German language courses. "There is a textbook, and students turn in papers; some of them send them through e-mail, but there is still a workbook on paper."

Source Article: Daily Iowan