April 2001 — Features
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Teaching College Courses Online vs Face-to-Face
With the proliferation of online college classes, it is important for the professor to understand the flavor of online education and to be reassured as to the intellectual and academic integrity of this teaching environment.
Glenn Gordon Smith is a professor in the Department of Technology & Society within the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He teaches courses in educational technology and conducts research on the effects of computer technology on human spatial visualization, and on the differences between distance education and face-to-face education. In August 1998, Glenn received his Ph.D. from Arizona State University, where his dissertation research examined the effects of computers and computer games on spatial visualization. Prior to that, he worked as a computer programmer, specializing in computer graphics for entertainment and aerospace industries.
E-mail: glsmith@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
David L. Ferguson is a professor of Technology and Society and Applied Math at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He has been director and co-director of numerous projects, including NSF and FIPSE grants, for the improvement of undergraduate education in science, engineering and mathematics. His publications include articles on the use of advanced technologies in the learning and teaching of mathematics and science. He has given numerous conference presentations on the learning and teaching of problem solving. Currently, he is director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at Stony Brook.
Aldegonda (Mieke) Caris received her M.A. in Teacher Education at the Moller Institute in Holland. She founded the Institute of Electronic Fashion & Design in Almelo, Netherlands. She developed multimedia products and taught classes in linear and hyper media at the University of Twente, Enschede in the Netherlands for the department of Educational Science and Technology. She was directorof Technology for the College of the Arts in Kompen and has been involved in distance education since 1997. She is currently an adjunct faculty member at Stony Brook, NY and a full-ime member of the Faculty Development Center for Adelphi University in Garden City, NY.
References
Moore, M. 1993. "Three Types of Interaction." Distance Education: New Perspectives, eds. K. Harry , M. Hohn and D. Keegan. London: Routledge.
Peters, O. 1993. "Understanding Distance Education." Distance Education: New Perspectives, eds. K. Harry , M. Hohn and D. Keegan. London: Routledge.
Williams, V. & Peters, K. 1997. "Faculty Incentives for the Preparations of Web-Based Instruction." Web-based Instruction, ed. B. H. Khan. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
