Relationships with Online Teachers

Posted by Pamela Gustafson on February 17th, 2009

Relationships with online teachers are a highlight of the online classroom. In a large lecture- on- site class a student might be able to get in a question or two, or set up an appointment with the teacher. If the class is exceptionally large the teacher might not be able to match a face with a name. In an online class personalization is through email. When the instructor requires a picture of the student, they can match a face with name. There was one class where the instructor did not respond enough to my posts and I felt I was not getting the feedback I needed.

Readings and websites assigned by my professors were also of a stellar quality. I don’t know how they selected these readings from the billions of online documents, but it shows how the teachers master their subject and spend long hours researching before they post assignments. Many of the readings were from current literature and not from out dated textbooks.

Recently, the Milwaukee Journal ran an article about a college professor who excels at designing online classes. Her classes helped marginal students succeed in their freshman year of college. The proof of the success was documented by a supervised exam given to students in both on-site and online versions of the same class. The professor incorporated quizzes, which were taken over and over again until students mastered the content. Students couldn’t even take the quiz until the computer recorded their participation of games based on the content being tested. The class is Psychology 101 and I believe she practiced what psychologists preach. She looked at the way young people communicate through technology, and adapted it for her class. A forum posted on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal followed this article and there were many interesting opinions. I put in my two cents worth.