Extending the Classroom with the Internet

While most people who think of online learning think of it in terms of distance learning, I would argue that the best use of online learning is actually in the classroom, or, more specifically, in connection with it, as an online supplement for the traditional course.

My first experience with “online learning” happened over 10 years ago when I decided to create a supplemental website for a Freshman Composition course I was teaching. It started out as just a spiffed up version of the syllabus I had handed out on the first day of class, but I soon realized that I wasn’t bound by paper limitations. I didn’t have to economize my use of space anymore.

I started supplementing my “page” with images and links to additional resources. After awhile, I started putting assignments online, saving paper and, perhaps more importantly, the time I had been spending in line at the copy machine. Then, I started using threaded discussion boards and even chat rooms.

Of course, doing all of this from scratch took time: both in learning how to do it and learning all the kinds of things I could do. However, my ultimate goal was to improve the learning opportunities for my students, to expand the pedagogical possibilities of my classroom.
I soon learned that the more substance I was able to give to my site, the more students took advantage of those opportunities. In fact, one month my website had over 60,000 hits, so there were definitely opportunities. The important thing, however, is that I was giving them things to do once they got there.

All of this combined to elevate not only the level of class discussions, in person and online, but also the level of student performance on papers, projects, and exams.

Of course, it took time for me to discover the various pedagogical applications of Internet technology, and there are plenty more applications out there or on the horizon for all of us to discover. But what I find most important in all if this is that the Internet is a resource of virtually limitless possibilities, and the more we are able to take advantage of those possibilities for our students, the better teachers we will be. And our students will be the ones who benefit.