SEMO OFFERS ONLINE COURSES

Eric Domazlicky is enrolled in the online biology course at Southeast.

College students are going to class on the World Wide Web.

Their classroom is a computer. They get their assignments and turn in their homework via electronic mail. They take quizzes via the Internet.

At colleges such as the University of Phoenix, students can earn degrees through the Internet without ever stepping foot in a traditional classroom.

Family PC Magazine estimates that 1 million students are taking distance-learning classes via the Internet.

By 2002, some 2.2 million college students may be enrolled in online courses, industry observers say.

Southeast Missouri State University has joined the ranks of schools offering Web-based courses this fall.

It's a new venture for Southeast as it tackles the latest trend in college learning.

The university is offering 10 Web-based courses this semester -- four undergraduate classes and six graduate courses.

More than 100 students are taking the Web-based courses.

For the spring semester, Southeast plans to offer a dozen courses.

Dr. Pat Lipetzky, dean of extended learning, said the university plans to continue to expand its online courses in the coming years.

Web courses work best with mature students.

"It does take a student who can learn with less structure than what you get when you have to go to class every week,' said Lipetzky.

Web-based courses are one component of the new Southeast Online program. The other is classes offered through interactive television.

Dr. David Starrett directs the Center for Scholarship in Teaching and Learning at Southeast. He also team teaches a biology course on the Web.

The center holds workshops designed to educate faculty on how to teach online courses. The center staff also helps faculty design Web pages for courses.

Southeast has about 200 Web pages related to courses at Southeast. But only 10 are Web based. The others are designed to be used in association with traditional classes.

Starrett said Southeast in the future may offer entire degree programs online.

Most of the online students this fall are taking other traditional classes on campus.

But the ultimate goal is to provide a college education for students who live far from campus, Starrett said. "We are giving them another way to get here."

Starrett said teaching an online course isn't the same as classroom teaching.

"You really have to think differently," he said.

"You don't have walls, windows and seats," said Starrett. "You can't use body language."

But there are some advantages too. The students have to type their responses.

Gone are the days of illegible essays.

"They spell-check their thoughts," said Starrett.

Students also can tackle the classes on their own time.

Students in Starrett's biology class must turn in their assignments by the midnight deadlines.

In addition to their regular homework, students in the Biology for Living class have to keep online journals.

Discussion is handled via a computer bulletin board where students' thoughts are displayed on a Web page that can be called up by fellow classmates and the teacher.

Students are given passwords to access Southeast online courses. They also can check their grades in Web-based classes via the computer.

Students only can gain access to their own grades.

"It is the most popular Web component with students," Starrett said.

Dr. Tom Harte co-teaches a modern presidency course on line this semester.

He said one advantage of the online course is that students can access video clips of speeches by U.S. presidents.

Discussions are different too. "In a sense, the bell never rings,' said Harte.

"We have had some discussions that have been going on for weeks."

Harte said the obvious disadvantage is the lack of face-to-face interaction between students and teachers.

"I have not met the students," he said.

Harte said he regularly checks his e-mail from the students in the class.

"Your office door is never closed," he said.

Harte said he spends a lot of time answering computer questions.

One student said he couldn't find an essay question. "Finally after three times, I figured he was looking on the wrong page entirely," said Harte.

"Technology," he said, "is not error free."

Matthew Pierce of Patton is one of Harte's students.

Pierce commutes to his regular classes on Tuesday and Thursday. He takes the online class during his free time on campus at one of the university's computer labs.

"I have definitely enjoyed it," said Pierce, who likes the flexibility of taking the class on his schedule.

Online courses have led to new excuses for not meeting homework deadlines.

Students can't say the dog ate their homework. But they can complain that their computer crashed.

Starrett said students need to be computer savvy to take online courses.

Eric Domazlicky, a junior computer science major, is in Starrett's online class.

Domazlicky isn't much of a talker in the classroom. But on line, his thoughts get expressed equally with his classmates.

"It's good to see everybody's opinion instead of the three loudest in class," he said.

Shawn Arnell also is in Starrett's online class.

"It is definitely not as easy as you would think it would be," he said. Assignments are due three days a week.

Arnell, 27, is married and lives in Jackson. He works full-time as a temporary employment service coordinator and takes 15 hours a week of classes, including the online class.

"It is a helpful tool to have," Arnell said. "It saves time driving back and forth to campus."