FIU Magazine - Spring 2000

Claudia Owen, a member of Florida International University's Geology faculty since 1990, was recently chatting with the students in her "Introduction to Earth Science" course. Several students had questions concerning minerals and volcanism, subjects that would be included on an upcoming quiz, as well as a recent homework assignment on weathering.

Kristi Lozano, assistant director of the University's
Instructional Development Center (IDC)

This may sound like a typical classroom exchange, but there was one huge difference: a gulf of thousands of miles separated professor and students, and the session was taking place in a virtual, online "chat room." Owen was in front of her computer in Oregon, while the students were in front of their computers at their homes and offices in South Florida.

Owen, who was on a leave of absence from the University, was teaching her second course on the Internet, a trend that is becoming increasingly popular at FIU as well as countless other universities throughout the country.
The use of the World Wide Web as a tool to deliver courses - either partially or in their entirety - has grown dramatically over the past few years. Utilizing WebCT (Web Course Tool), powerful software designed for instructional use, the number of courses has increased from two in the fall of 1998 to 286 in spring 2000. The 286 courses include those that use supplemental web content (web-assisted); courses where some of the classes are replaced by web content (campus/online); and courses that have no class meetings except for optional orientations and tests that are conducted at a proctored location (fully online).
"I originally expected the students to not do as well as in a regular course, because they didn't get the instruction in a classroom," said Owen, whose course was fully online. "But I thought it was worthwhile to offer the course on the Internet for those who wouldn't be able to go to class. The first semester grades were lower (than the regular course) but the grades are now higher. These students have been doing better on the Internet."
"I think it's more personal (teaching on the Internet), which is really weird. You'd think it would be less personal. But when you're sending e-mails back and forth to a student, they're getting more one-on-one feedback. It's very interesting.
"I think offering courses on the Web is valuable for two basic reasons: for students who can't make it to campus or fit it in their schedule. You can still help them and that's very valuable. The other aspect is different. It's very valuable in helping students succeed - it enables them to learn how to learn on their own. They have to be more self-reliant, and I think that's a valuable lesson."
Every college and school at FIU, as well as several centers and institutes, are now using WebCT to deliver course content in some fashion. Kristi Lozano, assistant director of the University's Instructional Development Center (IDC), has taken the lead training faculty on the software. Last year, the IDC held 54 workshops, ranging from WebCT Made Simple to intensive WebCT Institutes (five days). In the workshops, faculty learn how to create and publish Web-based course materials and use WebCT's full suite of web authoring, course delivery and management tools. In addition to WebCT, faculty are exposed to an array of online teaching and learning strategies and other multimedia tools for creating multisensory and interactive content.
"The faculty love this stuff, they've been very receptive," Lozano said. "These are new tools for teaching and the students like it."
Some of the WebCT tools that have been incorporated in the University's online courses include:

Homepages and linked content pages

bulletin boards for threaded discussions

e-mail

chat rooms and white boards of live discussion and instruction

glossaries

calendars, to post assignments and events

online quizzes with instant grading and recording in the gradebook and feedback to students on their performances

articles for critiquing and for interacting with other students

digital video and audio clips

special areas where students can build their own web pages and share group projects and presentations

"Work and personal commitments often create many demands on our time," said John Carpenter, professor and chair of the Educational Foundations Department in the College of Education, who has taught several online courses. "Busy lifestyles demand a flexible approach to study, a way of catering to the individual needs of all students. Learning is not as simple as reading a book. Concepts often have to be examined, discussed, and digested before they can be understood."
"EDF 6608 (Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education) online has been developed as a fully interactive classroom," Carpenter said. "In this virtual classroom, the students and I may be involved in group presentations, compiling modules for printing, search tools, viewing one's own progress or student record. Some topics may not require a lot of discussion and may be presented as a structured set of notes. As the students progress through each module, the tools provided in EDF 6608 online become more familiar and more comfortable to use."
As chairperson of his department, Carpenter has initiated an online "homesite" for the development of this large unit as a "virtual department." The "homesite" serves as a means of rapid communication where information, discussion and decision-making are accessible at any time and at any location for the faculty members.
For more information on FIU's growing online programs, visit FIU's Online Campus page at www.fiu.edu/~online.