feature // 14 Click and Connect to Learn » E-Learning at Douglas College Chitwan Khosla Features Editor 4 features@theotherpress.ca M e: “Why are you taking your laptop with you in the bathroom?” Friend: “My class is beginning in a minute. I need to connect to my course. Unfortunately, I can’t ignore nature’s call.” Me: “I don’t understand what are you saying?” Friend: “Girl! I got my online class starting in few you later after I return from the bathroom.” This conversation between my friend and I almost two years ago kindled a curiosity in me about online learning. I wanted to know more when | heard about a virtual classroom where I could attend lectures while sipping coffee from my comfy couch. I looked for the courses that I needed for my program that were available online at Douglas College. I found one Tuesday for three hours, and our professor posted an hour- or-so-long video every week following a task or assignment. Everything seemed interesting : and easy in the first week, but : soon I realized that the course : demanded more than what : I had anticipated. We were : going through the material at : a fast pace, and it involved a : lot of self-study. It had more : homework than my other : courses and I always needed : a phone reminder to keep up : with the deadlines. I cleared the : : course with a pretty fair grade : but I believe I could have done : better if I had evaluated the : pros and cons of a hybrid class : before taking the course. seconds and I will come and tell : When J later discussed my : experience with my friends, | : realized most of them didn't : have a clue that there were such : courses available at Douglas : College. Though recently many : students have become more : aware of these courses, they still : : feel apprehensive. As per the information on : the college website, Douglas : College offers three different : approaches with e-learning: : online, hybrid, and enhanced. : Almost every course at Douglas : College uses enhanced being offered in a hybrid setting : learning, where we (faculty and and I gave it a try. We met every : students) use platforms suchas : “MyDouglas” or “My Blackboard : : Community” to assist the : learning process by making : course material and teacher- : student interaction easier : and more accessible. Hybrid : courses use a setting in which : most of the material or other : learning tasks are available : online. They’re a mixture of : traditional classroom and : virtual classroom setting. The : teacher and students meet : once a week or sometimes only few times during the course. : Online courses offer the entire : course in a virtual classroom : setting and students come to : the college only for examination : : purposes. The students get : everything they need to learn : from just clicking. The Centre for Educational : and Information Technology’s : 2013/14 fiscal year shows that : 2,045 students enrolled for : 223 online courses and 1,427 students enrolled for 57 hybrid : courses. This winter semester : there are at least 44 online : courses being taught which are : mostly full. Online courses for : classes like PSYC 1200, MARK : 120, ENG 02 and CRIM 150 : are highly popular; they are : either almost full or with many : students listed on the wait-list : as of January 23. Hybrid courses } : : courses are getting increasingly : DACS 3430, and BUSN 1210 have : : high enrolment this semester. : : This suggests that many like ENG 1130, CMNS 1125, * : students are showing interest in : : such courses which offer them : flexibility and convenience. Online and hybrid courses : must be chosen wisely. Even : though you get to cut travel : time and the cost of commuting : : to school, along with adding the : : convenience of going through : the recorded lectures multiple : times anytime and anywhere, : you need to be self-motivated : and more responsibly involved : in the learning process in order to make the courses work. If you : : are not so enthusiastic about : self-study, you should stick to : traditional classes or you are : likely to lose track of things and : : perform poorly. : Dr. Brenna Clarke Gray, an : English Department faculty : member at Douglas College, : has been teaching in the hybrid : : setting for about four years now. : : She says that when she started : teaching hybrid courses, it : was more likely for students to : wander into her hybrid classes : without really understanding : what they should expect from : the course and themselves; : now more students are becoming aware as hybrid commonplace. Dr. Clarke Gray said that : these courses are not for theotherpress.ca - Reb TT TTT Photos by huffpost.com everyone, but work well for self- : directed and engaged students. : She added that it is the college’s : job to offer delivery modes : that tap into different learning : preferences. When asked if she thought that the college website could : elaborate and highlight the : expectations of such courses : more effectively, she replied, “I : think we can all do a better job : of communicating expectations : to students. I'd like to see a greater awareness of delivery : options across the college, : including the website. But also : through advising, and in the registration process.” Asa teacher, she likes teaching a blended course as : it has its own challenges and : benefits. She loves diversity at Douglas and gets to reach students from different walks : of life. Ending the conversation : with a note of suggestion for : students, Dr. Clarke Gray said, : “As with any learning choice, : making the right one depends : on knowing yourself and being : honest about your strengths : and weaknesses. In hybrid : (or online), the instructor isa : resource for your self-guided : learning a lot of the time. Make : use of him/her and go to office : hours!”