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Side Effects

While the data given above represents only one freshman level class, it does raise some interesting questions. Is distance education going to prove to be more effective for more mature students?

My colleague, Dr. Pullen, has enjoyed great success with his senior level and graduate level Networking classes taught using a distance education model. But his students are more mature and technologically savvy. If it proves generally true that weaker students in lower division classes do less well in a distance education setting, are these students likely to be the more socially or financially disadvantaged? Is there some "safety net" that we can employ to prevent losing students at the lower end of the spectrum?

We need to ensure that campus lab resources and training are available and accessible to such students so that course-related technology is indeed constructive and not just another barrier. George Mason's STAR Labs (Student Technology Assistance and Resource Center) ably provides such services. Undergraduate "peer mentors" can also prove helpful, answering questions in lab and office hours (see more under the "Supplemental Instruction" program below)

On the positive side, providing course materials in multiple media unquestionably increases accessibility for those with special learning challenges and accommodates different learning styles. Furthermore, the process of developing web-based course materials and designing televised lectures gives the instructor a heightened awareness of both pacing and the complexity of concepts presented. It was my experience that a 60-minute lecture was usually reduced to about 30-minutes on TV. Since I was filmed without a student audience and therefore did not have the benefit of student questions, I found that I had to introduce short reviews and use many more examples to reinforce new ideas during the course of each lecture.

Another interesting "side effect" of this teaching experiment was that it helped to make the point (to the better students anyway!) that what we give them are just the plans, tools and building materials and that it is up to them to assemble the final structure. This is a point that successful educators have known for some time, but students are often unaware of the difference between being active and passive learners.

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Beating Cheating