When students log in virtually on the first day of the new fall semester, they will begin an online learning experience that Springfield Technical Community College educators have been fine tuning all summer.
Online learning offers flexibility and quality
Mary Wiseman and Kyle Kraus, instructional designers at STCC, worked one-on-one with faculty to help them develop their online classes. Faculty will be using a number of digital tools including Zoom conferencing. STCC uses an online learning management tool called Blackboard to access course resources which include video, audio, PowerPoint slide presentations, graphics and more.
Wiseman is a big advocate of online learning, having studied the method for over 26 years. She highlights advantages to the approach, which include greater flexibility. Students who are juggling a busy schedule can access materials online 24/7 and complete the academic work at their own pace.
“An online experience is a very thoughtful, planned, unfolding of a course in the virtual space,” Wiseman said. “There’s a lot you can do online. It’s very exciting. When you take away the fact that somebody has to be at a particular place at a particular time, you take away a lot of constraints.”
Wiseman said online courses are as rigorous as face-to-face courses.
“I’ve been studying online for 26 years so I think it’s a really good way to continue your education and keep investing in yourself. You will never go wrong investing in your own education and your own self,” she said.
