Online Professors Managing at a Distance

Posted by Jen Zeman on February 20th, 2009

The online classroom at UMUC was managed by faculty via WebTycho (see my previous entry “WebTycho Technology from UMUC”). I found the instructors in each of my classes responded quickly to any questions I had, whether posted in the Class Announcements section or via email. By quickly, I mean most were answered within a 24-hour time period. Books had to be ordered for each class – they were not available via a virtual mode (e.g. my husband is currently attending the University of Phoenix online and his reading materials are all online), but any additional reading materials were available via a link on the course homepage.

The management of the UMUC classrooms was very effective for me because the layout was user-friendly. It was easy to find any additional required material and was easy to communicate with other students. The setup of the classroom made my educational experience a positive one by helping me to maintain a sense of organization. I never had to go on a wild chase to find pertinent documents or deadlines. Posting assignments was straightforward, as was looking up my grades.

The course materials and readings greatly assisted me in learning the many facets of the law. Each of my law classes provided ample opportunity to put my new knowledge to use by analyzing case studies. Non-law classes such as the philosophy and religion courses I had required research papers which helped me absorb the new material I was learning.

My advice to new online students is regardless of where you plan to attend, try to “test drive” the online technology to get comfortable. Once you are enrolled and experience difficulty in contacting an instructor (i.e. they are unresponsive), be sure to contact an advisor to make them aware of the problem.