Your ass should be in class, not online

I was offered the opportunity to experience e-learning when a class I wanted to take went over… I was offered the opportunity to experience e-learning when a class I wanted to take went over capacity. The professor e-mailed me, suggesting I take the class online. Online? Was he crazy?

Although I may not be the poster-child for stellar class attendance, I appreciate and respect its importance. It gives me somewhere to go and new faces to see.

Anyway, the traditional classroom is the perfect learning environment for me. Quirky personalities can’t hide behind a screen and fancy rhetoric in a classroom. In class, what I see is what I get, and I like that. Rather than depending on a built-in thesaurus, if used properly, the classroom can also teach students to think on their feet — or their asses, rather. Not to mention that the classroom gives the potential to enhance each student’s social capital. Soon, some of those nameless people in class become recognizable faces on campus, and eventually a conversation may spark because, “Didn’t we have that class together?” You just don’t get that online.

Some disagree with me. For some students, online education offers more mature discussion and flexibility. There’s no snoring, and everyone has time to fully develop and proofread his or her thoughts before clicking “submit” on the discussion board.

According to a U.S. News article currently appearing on America Online’s Web site, enrollment for online education has shot up by almost 20 percent this year. And by 2005, the e-learning market will top $4 billion. There are also federal financial aid dollars available for online students.

The University of Phoenix — a popular source for online courses and degrees — boasts the advantages of its program: You can earn a degree in only two or three years; tuition costs may be partially tax deductible; all administration, registration and book buying are done via Internet. It seems as if the boom in e-learning is likely to continue.

Don’t let the popularity fool you, though. People are signing up, but they aren’t staying. The fantasy of instructor-less education quickly fades as courses have little or no personal interaction — sometimes online courses are just the contents of books uploaded onto Web sites — and posted dropout rates are as high as 60 percent. To make up for this, several online courses have been adjusted to allow for more dialogue via discussion boards and e-mails. According to the article, there is also a push for smaller class sizes. Some courses have a capacity of 12 students.

Regardless of the modifications, cyberspace cannot serve as a substitute for the classroom. It’s like thinking a phone call from a friend is the same as having that friend show up to talk with you. Utilizing technology and having resources for class discussion available online is a great supplement to, not a replacement for, education. It doesn’t even offer training for those who will need to master the art of zoning out, for those important board meetings of the future. Glaring blankly at a monitor is very different from having to convince a room full of people that you are being attentive while you daydream. Even with the best technology, e-learning needs a human touch.

Maria Nicole Smith can be found in a classroom near you — a real one with desks and stuff, so don’t even try to e-mail her at mns51@pitt.edu.