By Mary Dondiego
When someone says “online course,” it is often accompanied by thoughts of a computer screen filled with confusing material and no professor to offer assistance.
“The term ”online course” causes some confusion with students and faculty due to the wide spectrum of options that are now available,” said Scott Howell, director of the Center for Instructional Design.
The online courses at BYU, however, offer students up to six variations of the traditional computer-based courses emerging on college campuses across the United States.
The oldest alternative to traditional classroom lecture at BYU is the independent study course, which began in 1922, according to the Independent Study office.
Independent study classes are available to anyone, even if the student does not attend BYU or live in the United States. These courses are now offered online, and students are required to complete the course material within 12 months.
There are currently 4,097 independent study courses offered through BYU, according to the Independent Study office.
The second online option, called semester online, began about a year and a half ago. These online courses have a teacher assigned to the class for lecture time, as well as online curriculum.
Only those admitted to BYU as a student can take semester online courses.
There were 14 semester online courses available this semester, Howell said.
Courses like Physical Science 100 can serve as a replacement for traditional lectures, said John D. Lamb, associate dean of general education and honors.
Lamb said the non-conventional teaching method is beneficial for students because it promotes interactive learning and it allows teachers to spend more time addressing the needs and questions of individual students.
A third type of online course, blackboard/course Info, also began approximately a year and a half ago.
According to the Center for Instructional Design, about half the students are enrolled in a blackboard course.
Blackboard classes meet with a professor for lecture, but some curriculum, syllabus information, grading, and quizzes are online.
Howell said one concern with the blackboard program is it has reached its capacity and many faculty cannot access it any longer.
The last three types of online courses include faculty-created online curriculum, commercial online courses to which faculty can buy access, and textbooks that include companion Web sites.
The many variations of online courses are one solution to accommodate a greater number of students, both on and off campus, Lamb said.
“Online courses raise the level of learning, are more efficient, and also enable the university to meet the needs of more people,” Howell said.
Online courses not only accommodate a larger number of students, but they also fit students” academic and lifestyle needs better.
“At first I thought I wouldn”t have the discipline, but online courses fit my learning style better because I can do the work on my own time,” said Ryan Fitt, a sophomore from Las Vegas, majoring in electrical engineering, who takes online independent study courses.
One of the four institutional objectives of BYU, as outlined by President Merrill J. Bateman, is to extend the blessings of learning to Latter-day Saints in all parts of the world.
President Bateman, in a 1998 Devotional address, said as the number of online courses multiplies, so will the number of students served across the world.
