Scott Nicholson taught his gaming and libraries course every week this summer. But he didn’t just teach Syracuse University students, he taught the students from around the world.

Nicholson, an associate professor at the School of Information Studies, taught his class entirely through YouTube. Though it was an online course designed specifically for distance learning, the trend of using the Internet and video in education is changing the way students learn.

Nicholson feels that online learning is a better gauge of class interaction and student participation.

‘In most face-to-face classes, the act of occupying a seat is enough to count for attendance and participation in the class. Students may be on their laptops doing other things, but the fact that their body is in the space is enough for attendance,’ Nicholson said. ‘In most of our online courses, students are required to participate in weekly discussions about course content. Attendance is judged through substantive participation rather than simply existing in a room.’

Nicholson said he also feels that the discussions online are limitless. They can continue for however long the students feel like discussing without having a set class time for discussion.

Nicholson considers himself a part of a culture of teachers called ‘Edupunks,’ which he describes as instructors who turn away from traditional teaching tools and take it upon themselves to explore new technologies for education.

‘We seek ways to combine traditional pedagogy with innovative technology. We tinker, we experiment, we succeed and fail, and we bring iSchool students along on this journey,’ Nicholson said.

Classrooms across America are getting a facelift as digital technology becomes more and more of an integral part of campus. Online videos and other forms of social media such as Facebook and Twitter are now considered classroom requirements rather than distractions. Some schools, like the Missouri University School of Journalism, are even making iPods a requirement for class. With the iPods, students are able to re-watch lectures.

Even textbooks are now offered through an iPhone application called CourseSmart. For students who are subscribers to CourseSmart LLC, 7,183 textbook titles are available to download and read.

Textbooks can be digitally downloaded on computers or onto Amazon’s Kindle e-readers. This year, Amazon is starting 400 pilot programs at universities across America where textbooks from three major companies will be offered through the Kindle. Some textbook companies such as Cengage Learning are beginning to offer rental textbooks as an option. When students want to rent a book, they can get the first chapter in an e-book format for between 60 and 120 days and then decide to either have the book shipped or download the rest of the textbook online.

Jeff Edmonds, an instructional design professor in the School of Education, disagrees with Nicholson and believes that face-to-face class time is a better measurement of how well students are retaining readings and lectures.

‘You can accommodate the lessons based on what direction the class is taking, but online you can’t accommodate the classes the same way,’ Edmonds said.

Edmonds said he thinks that the biggest change technology has had on education is accessibility to professors through the use of e-mails, discussion boards and widgets on home pages.

‘I have this tool on my Web site where if I’m currently online it’s visible on the site so that students can ask me questions right then and there,’ Edmonds said. ‘Students expect a quick response.’

Edmonds recognizes that this brings a change to traditional office hours, but he feels that the online interaction enhances rather than takes away from the learning process. For his marketing research class, MAR 356, Edmonds utilizes wiki pages and downloads his lectures online for students to watch, in addition to posting study guides, Podcasts, threaded discussions and a Google Map giving directions to his office.

Despite the heavy online presence, Edmonds feels that students should still think it’s worthwhile to physically go to class.

‘I follow up my online material with the classroom interaction. Students should still feel the need to go to class because I expand on the materials and give lots of examples,’ Edmonds said.

David Skubis, a sophomore accounting major, said, ‘I would still go to the class. I don’t know why, but I still would feel obligated to go. It’s not like we’re all paying to go here and skip class.’

Not all professors can sustain the same amount of class interest when they utilize online materials with their classes.

‘One (teacher) did (post lecture notes online) last year, but none have put them up so far,’ said Sonny Gold, a sophomore broadcast journalism major. ‘If she put everything online, I probably wouldn’t go to class because I wouldn’t need to then.’

A study reported by The New York Times and conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education discovered that students who receive the majority of their education through online methods perform better than students who receive face-to-face interaction. The majority of participants were college and adult students. The study suggests that online learning will only grow more and more over the years, perhaps even challenging the very design of a traditional classroom.

Edmonds says he can’t predict what a classroom might look like 10 years from now, but he hopes that the collaboration between technology and the classroom will continue.

‘Who knows,’ Edmond said. ‘Maybe it will be students in a room where everyone has an iPhone that would be constantly updated by the professor.’

kaoutram@syr.edu

Published on August 30, 2009 at 12:00 pm