COLUMNISTS

Times have changed, but some things never change

Dr. Ken Van Winkle
Guest Columnist
Dr. Ken Van Winkle

Over the past 35 years, the traditional European college lecture model of instruction that we continue to use in the United States has been enhanced by new delivery platforms.

The traditional face-to-face class with a professor standing in front of a room of students patiently listening and taking notes is no longer the only way learning is achieved. A large number of courses in various disciplines are now offered online.

There have been many iterations of long distance education over the years, but until the inception of widespread internet, technology-driven long-distance education was neither effective nor desirable in many cases. Colleges currently promote online degrees and certificates at all levels. Times have changed.

For those of you who have not taken or experienced the new version of online college classes, I believe you might be surprised at the rigor, difficulty, and quality of these courses. The experience of an online class can be invigorating, motivating, and most importantly, educational. Times have changed. 

The ability to earn a college degree online is now available through almost every institution of higher education across the country. Initial online courses were intended for students who could not physically attend a particular college because of its geographic location. A student may have lived out of town, state, or even country and, therefore, the only option was to take courses online.

The typical reasons for taking courses online today are quite different. In fact, a student may be living in a community where a college resides and choose to take an online course instead of a face-to-face course for either convenience (time) or, believe it or not, quality. Times have changed.

I’ve been frequently asked about the quality of online classes versus traditional face-to-face classes. For example, how rigorous are online courses and do they exemplify the same high-quality characteristics required of top-notch traditional face-to-face courses? I can honestly write that not too many years ago, the answer to that question was simply, “no, they do not.”

Many of the early online courses were modeled after the old correspondence course, and the speed, quality, and consistency of the delivery method was subpar. Because of advanced technology, the internet, and immediate access to information, I contend the answer to the question is a resounding “yes, they do.”

Current technology makes disseminating information faster; it also allows for the monitoring of responses, so the likelihood of cheating is all but eliminated. But there is more. The same standards by which an outstanding class is designed and delivered face-to-face are now required of online courses and are incorporated into quality assurance guidelines that must be met for institutions of higher learning to maintain or acquire accreditation.

New Mexico State University-Alamogordo is no exception. Every online course taught at NMSU-A is certified through a Quality Matters review to ensure quality design. In addition, every teacher is trained in online pedagogy and must adhere to strict delivery standards to ensure overall quality.

Times have changed.

I was speaking to a parent of a high school dual credit student recently in which they expressed to me how impressed they were with the quality of coursework their child was receiving in one of our online courses. They made a compelling case for the amount of information, the level of interaction, and the excellent content in a class their child was enrolled in online.

Interestingly enough, they admitted they were of a generation that did not believe that real education could actually take place without a teacher in the room. They now completely embrace this mode of teaching and information delivery. Times have changed.

What may not surprise you, but what I find most interesting about meaningful online instruction, is that it remains the knowledge, skill, care, and organization of an excellent teacher that makes the difference. It is not easy to teach an online course. It takes a master teacher to provide rigorous, well-designed, well-managed, outstanding online classes, the same qualities that are required of a superior face-to-face teacher.

Just as in a face-to-face course, the instructor makes all the difference in the world. Unfortunately, a weak instructor will deliver a boring, slow-moving, unmotivated class online or face-to-face. The expertise of a teacher determines the level of quality imbedded in a class regardless of the delivery platform.

Some things never change.

Dr. Ken Van Winkle is the president of NMSU-A. Van Winkle was named NMSU-A president in 2016.