Final Project
As participants in one of the first totally online courses offered anywhere we have both been pioneers. You have used Cybermedia to learn about Cybermedia.
Our exams have focused on the content of the course. In this paper, I want to give you the opportunity to focus on the process of the course. As a final paper I would like to get your very candid views on the nature of this online method of conducting a course. You will serve yourself and this course by being forthright in your comments. This will be graded, with the evaluation based on the qualities of thoughtfulness, specificity, and analysis.
You cannot offend me by being too critical and you cannot snow me with flowing praise.
Please e-mail me your responses by 5:00 pm on Friday, May 2, Subject: Final Project.
1. What are the things that you liked most about the online aspect of this course (if any)? You could address items such as interaction with the instructor, interaction with other students, the asynchronous nature of the course, reliance on "take-home" exams with 24 hour flexibility, format in which you accessed the assigned readings, etc. etc, What aspects of an online course, if any, did you find unsettling, unexpected, or unappealing?
2. a) Answer only if you relied primarily on the computer facilities at University for Internet access: Were the computer facilities adequate for the challenges of the course? That is, were you able to get access to a computer generally when you needed it. Did the computers have the right configuration to allow you access to the e-mail, Web sites, audio and video files, etc. that were required? What problems, if any, did you have with the facilities?
b) Answer only if you usually used a computer from home or work: Was the computer, modem and Internet access you expected to use at the start of the course sufficient to handle the requirements of the course? Describe the adjustments, if any, you made in the form of new hardware, software or Internet service provider.
3. One modification to the totally online format is to have a course such as this meet several time during the semester -- perhaps every other week, with online assignments and contact in between. Why would that have made this course more or less attractive for you?
4. Did you find the total workload in this course heavier, lighter, or comparable to similar traditional courses you have had? Factor in your assessment the three hours of time you did not need to spend in the classroom, plus any travel time that would have been involved in two or three class meetings a week.
5. How would you rate the value of each of these components of the course. Provide explanations, as appropriate:
6. This question is totally open ended. Add any other comments that you want to get off your chest: suggestions for improving the content or the process of the course, the quality of the instruction, the variety and quality of the readings, the assignments, or anything else that you want to say.
Thanks. Now, only the final exam is left.
07/18/97