Has anyone taken an online course or program at a college and been underwhelmed/disappointed by the experience? Perhaps there weren’t any live elements, or there weren’t regular interactions with the professor, or there were frequent tech and accessibility issues, etc.
If so, which college?
From the faculty side I can say that a lot (possibly / probably most) faculty were not prepared to go online, or provided adequate training to do so. In general i believe even the best of online classes are not as good as in person or hybrid, but the pandemic threw a lot of folks into teaching online who we’re clearly not good at it, ready for it, and in some cases even willing to try.
UI Champaign Urbana. Ridiculous two hour videos of professors only talking then completely wrong scoring of tests noted by all students on discussion boards. No customer service responses the whole semester so I had to complain to the platform to demand money back.
Do you recall what course/program, and when you took it?
Instructional design
Asking a faculty member who has not been properly trained to take their in-person class and quickly transform it into an online course (as happened with the pandemic) is not an example of the right way to offer online options. Online education, like any type of education, requires training and dedication on the part of the professor.
I am a professionally trained online educator, and I disagree that online classes are inferior to in-person, provided they are done right. I teach graduate-level courses at an R1 institution. My students are expected to adhere to the same rigor as on-campus students, but they learn in a different modality. I am able to address various learning styles, challenging schedules, and the need for repetition when we cover difficult topics (i.e., ungraded self-checks, student support discussion boards, and impromptu videos to address questions).
I regularly receive feedback from students indicating that they not only enjoy my asynchronous, interactive online courses, but they make friends, get to know me personally, and feel a sense of community. In fact, in my 6 years of college teaching, I receive >60% response rates to my course evaluations, and have never received a negative comment (my lowest rating was a 4.4/5 but that was related to a textbook delivery issue during COVID).
If universities want to invest in online learning to attract students, they need to hire more professors like me who have been trained to design online courses from the ground up and adhere to quality standards. Students should be told up front what qualifications the faculty have to deliver an online course, and how the course is designed to address the needs of the learner.
What platform(s) or tools do you use to teach online?
My university uses Canvas, but I supplement using Articulate Rise. The subscription is a little pricey, but I can create really nice interactive content very easily.