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Are online classes are right for you? Self Assessment here! used with permission Jan 2007

What's D2L? ATC online orientation information.

"Desire2Learn" course stuff, click here. Above should be links to courses I'm teaching at Anoka Technical College. My intention is to keep the style simple and useful. Please comment on anything you think would be simpler or more useful. Help me make this better today.

Excellent, but a little boring, Desire2Learn web-tutorial. Only 8 minutes!

Oh, I'm part of the  2007-8 ATC All-Campus Multi-Cultural Book Club! Come join us as often as you can, even to just listen. In-progress, 2008-9 list

Class and office schedule 

Office: 148   direct office phone: 763-576-4920

college e-mail: dleigh@anokatech.edu

Mailing Address: 

My kids- If you have any questions about adoption, please ask me.

_{Online Learning: pros and cons
from www.learn-source.com/schools/pro_con_online.html}

Four Benefits of Online Learning

Online learning has grown dramatically in popularity over the past five years or so. There has been a noticeable rise in the number of online schools across the United States and North America. This increase in the number of online schools can be contributed to the great benefits that many of these schools offer their students. So, if you are thinking about enrolling in an online college or university, here are some benefits that might be particularly attractive to you.

 Excellent Education:

Online schooling is not just a pathway to achieving a quick degree or an easy grade. Nowadays, the majority of online schools are highly reputable and dedicated to providing students with an in-depth and creative learning experience. In fact, some of the most respected colleges and universities in North America and Europe are now offering online courses and programs in order to cater to the needs of their students.

Accredited online courses are taught by some of the most talented instructors and professors and attended by students who are interested in and excited by the learning process. If you sign up with a recognized online school, you can be guaranteed that you are going to receive an education that is interesting, well-organized, and competitive with those provided by traditional schools. 

Flexible Schedule

One of the major benefits provided by online learning is that it allows you to maintain a very flexible schedule. Unlike traditional schools, which require you to attend classes on fixed days and times, you can attend your online classes whenever, and where ever, you decide to. This means that online learning can help students who have very busy schedules.

Whether you are working fulltime or are managing an active family, online learning can easily fit in to any schedule. All you need to do is pick the time and days that you want to attend class. And online classes don’t take place on campus, which means less rushing around. As with distance learning, online learning allows you to learn from the comfort of your own home.

Student-Centered Learning

Unlike traditional schools, online schools offer students the opportunity to engage in learning that is centered around them. Because your instructor is not lecturing all of the time, you have the opportunity to dictate your own learning experience: you decide when you want to complete assignments and how you will complete them, and you decide which resources you want to use. And online learning is tailored for students with a variety of different learning styles, offering visual, audio, and oral components.

 Fair Playing Field

Online learning also attracts students because it offers the chance to start the learning process on a level playing field. Since you never see your fellow classmates or instructor, there are no judgements made based on race, ethnicity, gender, or physical appearance. Instead, you are evaluated based on your performance on assignments and tests as well as on the comments that you make on the course material. This fair playing field goes a long way to making learning more comfortable for a lot of students.

 Three Disadvantages of Online Learning

Though going to an online school can mean a lot of benefits for students, you may find that online learning just isn’t for you. Here are some of the disadvantages associated with the online learning process.

Requires Dedication and Time Management

Attending an online education course really requires patience and persistence. Because you don’t have an instructor there to guide you, it is up to you to make sure that you understand and complete all course requirements. You also have to make the time to study, contribute comments to student forums and chat rooms, as well as complete all assignments and tests. If you aren’t extremely dedicated or have good time management skills, it can make completing an online course very difficult.

Limited Feedback

One of the most important parts of learning is gaining creative and productive feedback from your instructors and fellow classmates. Unfortunately, the online learning process is not always that conducive to providing feedback to learners. Due to the nature of online education, instructors are not always present for you to inquire about course materials, assignments, or tests. When you submit assignments, it could take a while for you to receive any feedback from your instructor, and, because this feedback is not provided in person, it could be difficult to understand or appreciate fully. 

Feedback may also be harder to get from your fellow students, because you cannot talk to them person-to-person, or even on a daily or weekly basis.

Lack of a Classroom Atmosphere

Online learning is very different from traditional learning, particularly when it comes to the social aspects of education. Unlike traditional classes, online distance education courses don’t take place in a classroom, where you are surrounded by your fellow classmates. Instead, you have to learn and study by yourself. This can make the learning process very difficult, and quite isolating,particularly if you enjoying meeting with other students.

Online learning can also be frustrating if you like being able to meet and speak with your instructor on a weekly basis. With online learning, you will not be able to meet personally with your instructor, and this can be off-putting for many students.

Why Do Students Like Online Learning? By Stephanie Coleman

With over 4 million students are enrolled in online schools and universities (and that number is growing 30% per year), there are many compelling arguments for attending a cyber classroom (Lewis, 2005).

1. Students can "attend" a course at anytime, from anywhere. This means that parents can attend to their children, then sit down to class; working students can attend classes no matter what their work schedule might be, folks that travel for business or pleasure can attend class from anywhere in the world that has internet access.

2. Online learning enables student-centered teaching approaches. Every student has their own way of learning that works best for them. Some learn visually others do better when they "learn by doing."

3.Course material is accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Students have the ability to read and re read lectures, discussions, explanations and comments. Often spoken material in the classroom passes students by due to a number of distractions, missed classes, tiredness or boredom.

4. In an online environment, attendance to class is only evident if the student actually participates in classroom discussion. This increases student interaction and the diversity of opinion, because everyone gets a say, not just the most talkative.

5. Online instructors come with practical knowledge and may be from any location across the globe. This allows students to be exposed to knowledge that can't be learned in books and see how class concepts are applied in real business situations.

6. Using the internet to attend class, research information and communication with other students teaches skills in using technologies that will be critical to workers in the 21st century business community that works with colleagues globally and across time zones.

7. Participating online is much less intimidating than "in the classroom." Anonymity provides students a level playing field undisturbed by bias caused by seating arrangement, gender, race and age. Students can also think longer about what they want to say and add their comments when ready. In a traditional class room, the conversation could have gone way past the point where the student wants to comment.

8. Because online institutions often offer "chat rooms" for informal conversation between students, where student bios and non class discussions can take place, there appears to be a increased bonding and camaraderie over traditional class environments.

9. The online environment makes instructors more approachable. Students can talk openly with their teachers through online chats, email and in newsgroup discussions, without waiting for office hours that may not be convenient. This option for communication provides enhanced contact between instructors and students.

10.Online course development allows for a broad spectrum of content. Students can access the school's library from their PC's for research articles, ebook content and other material without worries that the material is already "checked out."

11. Students often feel that they can actually listen to the comments made by other students. Because everyone gets a chance to contribute, students are less irritated with those that "over contribute" and can ask for clarification of any comments that are unclear.

12. Over 75% of colleges and universities in the U.S. offer online degree programs, with online degrees as respected as "on the ground" degrees. (Lewis)

13. Online classrooms also facilitate team learning by providing chatrooms and newsgroups for meetings and joint work. This eliminates the problems of mismatched schedules, finding a meeting location and distributing work for review between meetings.

14. Students often comment that online learning lets them attend class when fully awake and attend in increments of convenient time block, rather than rigid 2 or 4 hour stretches once or twice a week.

15.Because there are no geographic barriers to online learning, students can find a diversity of course material that may not be available to them where they live or work. This is especially true for professional training such as medical billing training or purchasing training and for students in remote rural areas that cannot support college or vocational training centers.

 I have taught at ATC since 1995. I earned a Master of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Communication from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 1991 and 1993, respectively. I was a member of Speech Professionals Across Minnesota, a group of MnSCU Communication faculty. In 2004, I completed my training in Sociology at Saint Cloud State University. In 2005, participated in the seventeenth annual leadership training for SEED, Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity and began leading a SEED class at ATC. SEED training came from the Minnesota Inclusiveness Project, but has since been discontinued.

Courses taught:
Currently: Introduction to sociology, Sociology of work
Previously: Interpersonal Communication, Public Speaking, Work in America, Oral Communication, Critical Thinking, Written Communication, and Basic English.