I've had many a debate with my fellow instructors about online courses. Most of them do not like them and gladly let me take them. Some have even said that the time for online classes and online degrees has past. While I'm not sure an online degree is best for everyone, depending on academic and career goals, I do think there are plenty of people who benefit from online degrees, and even more who benefit from online classes to supplement their f2f classes. It allows for more flexibility, better time management, and in the case of non-traditional students, an opportunity to take classes they might not be able to otherwise.
One of the biggest complaints from my colleagues is the lack of identity. If you can't "see" them, how do you get to know them? On this point, I have to disagree whole-heartedly. There are many students in my f2f classes that are only a name in the gradebook. I think I do a good job of having fun and engaging discussions in my classes, drawing a lot of quiet people out, but some have truly high communication apprehension, and I don't push it - that can make it worse. In the online classes, however, students seem to feel more comfortable talking to me, more willing to disagree with me or the book, more will to ask about a grade instead of just complaining to their fellow classmates.
New communication research backs me up on this. We develop more intimate relationships faster online than in f2f interactions. I know more about my online students in the first few weeks of a course than I do most of my f2f by midterm!
The downside is that, when online, many communication rules fall by the wayside, and some students feel comfortable being disrespectful or beligerent in an email or even discussion board post than they would in a f2f class. I've had more problems with this in online classes than in all of my f2f classes. Students in online classes also seem more willing and able to fight every little point, whine about deadlines and assingments via email, and other annoying behaviors that I don't see as often in f2f classes. So, while we all get to know each other more in online classes, it comes at a price - more electronic whining!
So, which is my preference to teach? Well, from a personal stand-point, the flexibility of online courses is condusive to my lifestyle, as I have to kids under 5 in my house. I also get frustrated with the statewide courses that, while alleviating the pressure of creating a course from scratch, completely bind my hands from teaching the class in the way it suits me and my teaching methodology. However, if I was forced to choose only one to teach, I think it would be the online classes.
But that could change tomorrow!
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