<p>When my son (a freshman) showed for classes his first week, two of his profs said that the class will only meet once a week for "lecture" and that the other two days will be spent online with a website called elearning (the elearning website seem well developed suggesting that this is a popular alternative that traditional colleges are using). </p>
<p>Also, my son's "Intensive Review Spanish" class is supposed to meet 5 days a week, but instead, it meets 3 days and the other 2 days are spent using this online website (the kids are automatically timed and must log on those days and do their thing.)</p>
<p>I can see that this system allows a prof to be assigned to more classes than in the past since he's only lecturing on 1/3 of the class days. </p>
<p>I can see that this might be a cheaper and better system than using T/A's since the elearning is standardized. </p>
<p>What do y'all think? Are your kids experiencing this??? Am I just so new to all of this that I don't know what others have known for awhile???</p>
<p>I know that there have been strictly online classes for awhile, I just didn't know about this trend.</p>
<p>So... are your kids experiencing this, too??? Instead of going to 3 hours of lecture per week (for a standard 3 credit hour lecture course) they only have lecture one day a week and use online sessions for the the other two "lecture" hours. </p>
<p>I realize that couses that have "labs" (like foreign language labs) might use this method, but I'm surprised that it's being used for classes that used to be strictly lecture.</p>
<p>Many schools have adopted distance learning/on-line classes - some classes are completely done on-line - no class meetings at all. This is not new techology by any means. Many masters degrees are now completely done on-line.</p>
<p>On-line classes can actually be done for financial reasons - frees up profs - frees up facilities, etc....... Professors are still available for need support, etc..... - It makes the students pretty responsible for what they do as well.</p>
<p>My gal is now taking an on-line program - she loves it - can study in her pj's LOL - knows that there is support if needed - is in touch with the prof when she needs to be - by email/phone etc...</p>
<p>The drawback for some is the lack of interaction between other students - tho many on-line classes still encourage study groups. Even high schools have on-line programs/classes these days - it is not a new idea by any means - and seems to becoming much more popular across the country.</p>
<p>I'm quite the skeptic, and think online should be used sparingly. It is just not as rich an educational environment as interacting with professor and students in class.</p>
<p>jeepmom >>> Many masters degrees are now completely done on-line.<<<</p>
<p>I've known about that for awhile and I've known about distance learning. I just didn't know that this was also being used for kids who are actually "on campus."</p>
<p>I guess I just expected that kids who are "on campus" would have a prof or a T/A "teaching" all of their lecture classes. I'm not complaining, my son loves it and he says that he is learning a lot. Some of his elearning "classes" can be done in his dorm room (date is specific - time of day is not) but some must be done in a "computer lab" with a T/A present (I guess to insure that no "cheating" occurs.)</p>
<p>I'm not complaining... I just wanted to know if this was going on everywhere with kids who are "on campus".</p>
<p>DD, a freshman at our flagship State U., presently has a 1 credit writing course that meets only online. She has a real textbook, reading assignments (some are online), can interact online with the prof who only accepts assignments turned in online. DD loves it; it's one of her favorite courses so far. I don't see any problem with it, but I think that only certain courses can be taught this way.</p>
<p>My son has not had this kind of class. He did have one larger math class (50 students). The class met the usual number of hours in lecture, and had the usual office hours, but there were nearly daily online quizzes based on homework assignments. This gave the student and professor immediate feedback on the mastery of each concept. BTW, all of my son's professors have been available online for any questions.</p>
<p>I have heard of this at other large state schools. I think it's a rip off frankly. Clearly they are just trying to save money. It's one thing to design a course that way for adults or distance learners. But for students living on/near campus???</p>
<p>In his final year my son had two classes similar to what you describe. Both were introductory level, one a general graduation requirement, the second was major specific, and the subjects unrelated. Three or four weeks into the semester, the profs switched from the two class meetings a week to one meeting and one on-line class. In both cases, the on-line segments included readings, analysis, and forum discussions of case studies. Class sizes relatively small, one <20, the other about a dozen students.</p>
<p>He found it both interesting and convenient.</p>
<p>Granted, the selection criteria for admittance is extremely competitive but the process opens up a number of interesting possibilities across any number of fields.</p>
<p>weenie, I absolutely agree with you. I think that using the computer as a learning tool, in order to post professor lecture notes, homework assignments, and ask the professors questions, are all good uses of the computer. Paying thousands to take an online class on campus is a rip off.</p>
<p>One of my Ds picked up a couple of GE classes she needed via the community college's online program- the courses were actually more difficult than if she had attended lectures and been spoon fed the material, esp in the need to be incredibly organised, the possibility of computer glitches, and the fact there was little feedback.</p>
<p>It worked great in a circumstance where she had odd timing and just needed those two classes done, but I don't know that I would see it as effective for upper division classes in the major :eek: It was fine for checking off the box on a GE class in a subject for which D had no passion, it would also be great for computery classes, but not for upper div, in my opinion.</p>
<p>One of the biggest benefits of on-line classes is the scheduling issue - especially for freshman - on-line classes - because they are not time specific - really do open up time frames for students and open up schedules - as there have been too many times that freshman cannot get into classes otherwise.</p>
<p>We live in a technology driven society these days - high schools kids have been doing on-line learning for several years - so doing on-line classes in college is nothing new and will most likely continue to grow at many schools.</p>
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<p>It worked great in a circumstance where she had odd timing and just needed those two classes done, but I don't know that I would see it as effective for upper division classes in the major <<<</p>
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<p>I don't know if this being used for upper division. My son is just a freshman, but it seems, at least in his case, the online portion is reinforcement and/or extention of lecture and then online assignments/quizzes.</p>
<p>I do like technology that helps in classroom. In the math class, each student has a keypad on his desk. The prof presents a concept and then gives the students an equation to do at their desks. The kids then each punch in their answer and the prof is given immediate feedback as to how well the students learned the concept that was just presented. If a large number got the problem wrong, the prof goes over the concept again. If only a few missed it, the prof tells them to see him after class or during his office hours for further explanation. This hi-tech way is much better than just relying on students to admit (and raise their hand) that they didn't understand something. </p>
<p>I told my younger son's principal about this and he's going to get this for the math teachers. There's a version that uses the students Ti graphing calcs (which the school already requires)</p>