One undergraduate and five graduate degrees are offered through distance education, including a master's in electrical or computer engineering
Online courses work particularly well for students of Vo’s generation, according to Tina Passman, a classics professor who was one of UMaine’s pioneers in distance learning. She introduced her first online Latin class in 2000. Because the language isn’t spoken, it doesn’t lose anything in an all-text presentation. And because the flagship is the only campus in the University of Maine System that offers Latin, Passman saw an opportunity to make the course available to students statewide. She has since developed 15 online courses, including several in peace and reconciliation studies, and one in universal design.
Passman is the first to admit that certain subjects, such as Latin, lend themselves more to an online format. But she is convinced that online courses are a perfect fit for today’s multitasking, computer-savvy students.
“There’s a different kind of richness,” says Passman. “I have a one-on-one relationship with every single student, because they e-mail, they hand in their work, they do all kinds of things, like upload photos of their dogs. It’s a different kind of relationship. It’s the kind of relationship that the student of the 21st century is really comfortable with and actually likes.”
For those who teach UMaine’s distance education courses, the experience is equally rewarding, once they get used to the idea. Music professor Anatole Wieck wasn’t wild about offering his music appreciation course online. For the live class, he plays violin, brings in musicians, and often plays recorded music and movies.
“My class is a multimedia event,” he says, laughing.
The course, which launched in 2002 and is one of UMaine’s most popular online classes, required a huge investment of time up front. But now, because everything is organized digitally, Wieck says it has improved the quality of his live class.
“The online version of my class works very well, particularly for students who live very far away. I’ve had students in my class who were studying abroad in Vietnam and Germany,” he says. “I do believe if a course is online you don’t have the vibes from the teacher or the performer, but it does have its own advantages.”
Though distance education is growing in popularity, don’t expect online courses to replace traditional classroom learning anytime soon.
Even Cross, who has taken the majority of her courses online, needs to come to campus once or twice a week. She is switching to an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree program, and has found her calling. Her own experience showed her what is possible worldwide through distance education.
Cross, who plans to graduate in 2010, recently founded the International Collaborative Educational Alliance, a virtual education initiative centered on sustainable community building and nonviolent conflict resolution. The school will reach out to individuals at risk to offer technical and academic courses.
“It’s literally all because of distance learning. With distance learning, there’s so much more you can do,” she says.
