Photo by: David Lorish

DU began a university-wide program to digitize some of its traditional curriculum in offering four online classes winter quarter.

Two of the classes taught online winter quarter were math classes, one was through the English department and one was a NATS class.

There is currently one online class being offered and there will be 10 or 11 offered during DU’s summer term. 

DU has offered online classes in the past for non-traditional and master’s programs.  Winter quarter was the first time it offered these classes through its traditional undergraduate curriculum.

The effort to introduce more online classes came about from Provost Gregg Kvistad and other academic administrators who felt online experience is important for students to have when they graduate and enter the job market, said Bridget Arend, associate director of instructional development at the Center for Teaching and Learning. 

The flexibility and convenience of the classes also lend themselves to helping students who have jobs or are athletes.

Participants take voluntary surveys before and after their online class experience to determine the successes and weaknesses of the program.

For the most part, students are finding an experience that is comparable to or better than a traditional setting, said Arend.

According to winter quarter’s survey data, 86 percent of students who responded said they would take another online or digital course and 75 percent said they agreed or strongly agreed DU should make online courses available to more students in traditional programs. 

All of the professors said they would teach an online class again. 

Professors for online classes are encouraged to use Blackboard as a starting platform for teaching, but may also expand to other Internet resources like Wikis and blogs, said Arend.

Scott Howard taught an online English class called Renaissance Poetry and Prose:  Digital Archives winter quarter. 

The class studied the literary, cultural, political and historical implications of digital archiving of 16th and 17th century works.

The class, which had five students, gave students greater responsibility for both assignments and class discussions, because the conversation was recorded in a digital format.

“The real advantage [of an online class] is that students have greater ownership of the intellectual community,” said Howard.

Howard used a blended environment to teach the class, in which he had some face-to-face contact.  The majority of instruction and discussion was online, but students met every other Friday for an hour to work on research in the library.

Howard has integrated online elements into his classes in the past through Blackboard and other Web platforms, but this was the first time the experience was fully digitized. 

Deb Carney taught Calculus for Business and Social Sciences (MATC 1200) online winter quarter.

The online format was not a good fit for all students, Carney said.  The successful students were those who were self-motivated and realized they had to be proactive in learning the material. 

“You have to be comfortable learning on your own,” Carney said.

The MATC 1200 class has used online resources in the past, including the WebAssign program for students to turn in homework.  Carney’s class was taught entirely online, though students took tests in person. 

In the future, Carney would give students more opportunities to interact with her. She held online office hours during the course, but few students took advantage of them, she said.

She would like to strengthen the instructor/student relationship through offering more online and in-person office hours from the beginning of the course. 

“In an online format it was challenging to communicate with students,” Carney said.