Online Courses for Rutgers

James Olivo

04/18/23 Sociology of Communications 1

History of Distant Learning Colleges

• University of Houston

• George Brown College

• University of Phoenix

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University of Houston

• First to use televised college courses for credit.

• Over 100,000 hours taught over broadcast

• Opened the door to distant learning classes in the U.S.

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Helping the Students

• Allowing classes to be broadcast through television was a big help to students who needed the extra credits but also had work during the day.

• Students are also able to watch the classes in the comfort of their own room and are able to pay more attention to lectures.

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Helping the Students (cont.)

• “University of Houston’s distance education programs provide excellent value to busy adults pursuing a bachelor’s or graduate degree.” – Distance Education

• An approach to learning that might work better for those with learning disorders.

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George Brown College

• Course curriculum delivered on CD-ROM

• Instant access to tutorial support, counseling, and on-line exams.

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Electronics Technician distance education program

• Offered by George Brown College with over 10,000 students enrolled into the program

• Largest program of its kind in the world

• Has helped create thousands of electronics jobs worldwide

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Electronics Technician distance education program

(cont.)

• This new technology has brought up the number of female electronics majors from 2% of the class to over 20%. This is mainly because they are less worried about entering a predominantly male environment.

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University of Phoenix• Offers “Ground” classes that differ from

normal college classes in that students are urged to do learning outside the classroom as well as inside.

• Offers online classes via internet or other web-based interfaces.

• Offers FlexNet, where students meet the first week, then have three weeks of online classes, and then meet for the last week on campus again.

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Types of Online Classes

• synchronous classes – both teachers and students meet online at the same time for an accelerated rate of communication and learning while online.

• asynchronous classes – students choose when and where they want to learn with maximum flexibility and 24/7 availability of material.

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Benefits of Online Classes

• Certain students who are afraid of a college environment due to shyness or other problems are able to stay at home and avoid any worries.

• Obtaining a college degree is an easier effort and creates more jobs for graduates.

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Should Rutgers Go Online?

Although there isn’t much information making its way to Rutgers’ students about an online education, there are many that would like this opportunity. The 30+ crowd would especially benefit from online classes due to the fact that many of them have kids and full-time jobs. It is definitely something Rutgers should look into and evaluate.

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Where Rutgers Should Go from Here?

• Start to generate polls and questionnaires to see what students know and how they feel about taking online classes.

• Speak to faculty and ask them to propose ideas for online classes they could teach at one point.

• Always think of a better way to improve classes in general.

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