By Jordan Fouts

Showing up for class in just your underwear is a familiar nightmare for many students, though maybe a few consider it a dream.

Either way, it’s among the less serious study habits made possible by computer-based distance learning.

Dubbed "e-education," distance learning is a practice gaining ground at institutions worldwide.

It uses software that enables professors to take their course materials, ranging from schedules to syllabi, and make them accessible to any student with a computer connected to the Internet.

The university advanced in the field of distance learning last year when it started My BGSU, a toolbox that puts dozens of class-related tools in one place known as a "web portal." It uses software from the Washington D.C.-based company Blackboard Inc., whose programs are used at hundreds of organizations internationally.

Usage of My BGSU has grown exponentially since it went online at the beginning of last semester.

"It’s always had a positive response, even from the very start," said Don Schumacher, My BGSU system administrator. "At least a third of people with active [university] accounts have used or at least tried it."

Schumacher noticed a spike in usage by several thousand users on the morning grades from last semester were released. Grades, bills and schedules are some of the portal’s services that are tied to real-time information from university administration departments.

"How silly is it that you couldn’t print your own schedule until now?" said Linda Dobb, university executive vice president, who was in charge of finding software on which to build My BGSU.

She said she was looking for something that was both easy to use and had much to offer students and faculty.

"You take a chance every time you adopt a new technology," she said. "But it turned out well, we’re very proud of it. It’s taken on a life of its own."

Blackboard’s software provides services in three areas: administrative, academic and community. The administrative component is where grades and financial aid information are found. The academic area contains online course components and tools like calendars and task schedulers. The community section consists of message boards to help students find housing, arrange rides, or buy and sell things like textbooks, cars and furniture.

The portal also links to other university services like organization web pages and e-mail.
Sophomore Chad McKinney discovered My BGSU a few months after it went online. He said he enjoys checking his grades and turning in his homework without leaving his room.

McKinney also uses the Trading Post message board—through it, he was able to get a free couch and buy a cheap DVD player.

Vincent Gargiulo, freshman, is taking an English class that has a good portion of the material on the portal, including a class discussion board and weekly assignments that can only be completed online.

"It’s better typing out things instead of handing them in," he said. And though Garguilo said he still attends class faithfully, now there’s less need for him to set foot in the classroom.

My BGSU now hosts more than 200 classes that are at least partially online. Most are computer-related, but classes in nearly every discipline can be found on the portal. Some have a preview option so students can see what the course involves without having to audit it.

During the summer semester, about 30 classes will be available entirely over the Internet; this is more than the university has offered before. Dobb said she would like to see the university host enough online courses for people to earn entire degrees through it.

The key for students to remember about online courses is that they have similar requirements to physical ones, said Terry Herman, interim director of online learning with the university’s Continuing Education, International and Summer Programs.

"They have the same rigorous demands, quality instructions [and] end results as face-to-face classes," she said. "It’s a challenge to let students know that."

"The twist," she continued, "is the student must be more motivated and self-directed to take an online course. Without a set class time, they have to be goal-oriented and stay on task."

Though each class has different demands, the basic anatomy of an online course may include live components like student-professor chat rooms as well as delayed-time components, such as downloadable lectures. Some professors even use pictures, audio and video on their course sites.

"We’re only limited by our imagination here and our ability to devote time to this," Dobb said.

Schumacher said he sees a lot of eagerness from designers: "I just make the organization areas that people can use. It’s their enthusiasm and energy that actually populates those areas with content."

Besides the programs provided by the software, My BGSU uses some that Information Technology Services are developing themselves. Currently in planning are online bill paying, degree auditing and course registration.

Dobb said the university is seriously considering an online registration system after the phone registration system, Star 90, cost $200,000 to upgrade.

"It’s a growing area of technology with lower costs that could allow us to do away with areas that are no longer growing," she said.

She added she would also like to see My BGSU being used to attract future students, perhaps by offering courses that show them or their parents what to expect at the university.

"We want to make potential students part of the community before enrolling," she said.

Spring 2002 Contents

Laptop Mania

My BGSU Web Portal

Remembering the Silent Victims

Defending Yourself

Heeding the Call

Arthur Andersen and BGSU

Extra Income

Buying Better Eye$ight

Random Humor

Experimenting with Stereotypes

Women vs. Men

Stressed Out

Interracial Dating