Online courses are met with mixed reviews

Scheduling season is here and classes are already beginning to fill up with students looking to fulfill those courses necessary to graduate. For those who missed a chance to reserve their spot in the class, taking an online course may be the only option to stay on track and finish school on time.

In a recent survey, ten students with varying majors, all of whom are currently in or have taken an online course and two professors who have taught multiple online courses, were questioned on the difficulty of online courses, the pros and cons of taking these courses and how they differ from the traditional lecture style of teaching.

Survey participants agreed on a variety of factors in online courses, one being the scheduling flexibility for students and teachers. Dr. Gilda Reed, a psychology professor who has taught online courses since 2002, said time flexibility and the lack of need to travel to campus were the main positives for students.

For a university known for being a “commuter school,” all of the students who answered in the survey agreed with Reed’s statement.

“They are probably the most convenient for commuter students or grad students,” said Zoë Alexander, a junior with a Pre-Nursing major. “As it gives them a lot more scheduling flexibility. You can do school work in between shifts, or forgo the drive across the city to go to class.”

Like anything, the good comes with the bad, and all of the negative factors in taking online courses varied among the participants with the most common factor being the lack of communication between students and teachers.

Students said the lack of interaction creates a dull and uninteresting class. Because everything is done through a screen, class discussions are largely nonexistent.

“I don’t usually ask questions in class or speak in general,” said Evan Kramer, a sophomore Anthropology major. “…I do like the spontaneity of an in-person lecture, which is absent from online classes. It’s cool to see the professor interact with his/her students.”

The lack of interaction also makes students feel alone when it comes to learning the material. Tests are taken online with the exception of the final. Taking proper notes, understanding the material and staying on schedule with the assignments and any changing that may occur are all solely on the students.

In an in-person lecture, teachers can react when a class is having trouble getting a firm grasp of the material. Online courses prevent teachers from being able to help their students.

“The lack of direct communication makes the whole experience very impersonal,” said Dr. David Berris, an associate professor of Anthropology who has been teaching online courses since the fall of 2005. “It can be hard to be sure students are making sense of the material, except during exams, which of course makes it harder to do a nuanced job of teaching.”

All in all, whether grades are better in online courses than in traditional lecture courses will depend on who you talk to.

Seven of the 12 survey participants said grades tend to be better in online courses.

Reed, in her online classes allows three hours for students to take tests, and all of her tests are open book. She also provides easy points in the form of weekly assignments that generally improve test scores.

In general, six out of 12 participants would rather take in-person courses than online courses and three were split on the choice.

“Personally, I prefer in-person lectures because I have had better learning experiences,” said Gabrielle Raedisch, a senior Film and Theatre major. “I have gotten more in-depth in learning and studying material. I also have the advantage of being more invested into making the grades.”

Three people were split on the decision, saying some courses are better for online and some are better for in-class style teaching.

“I guess because I see just as many pros as cons with online classes, I can't say whether I prefer online classes to lectures,” said senior Kaitlin Keith. “It's probably a good idea for the student to use their best judgment on which classes should be taken online or which one's should be taken in class. For example, psychology might be more appropriate for an online class than chemistry.”