A modern education

Inspired by the Oct. 9 article “Online in Iraq’s ‘Mortaritaville,’ a Professor Teaches Students in Fargo” in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Vanguard takes a look at three different online professors at Portland State. All make a difference in their students’ lives as well as in their respective communities and beyond.

Christy Khalifa, online professor and crime analyst

Daily Vanguard: What classes do you teach online?
Christy Khalifa: I teach two online classes for the online Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice program. Geographic criminology provides a theoretical background for the geographic study of crime. Applied crime mapping provides students with the technical and analytical skills used in crime mapping, and they learn to create useful maps that convey spatial crime data and the relationships between crime and other geographic features. Both courses count towards a certificate in crime analysis.

DV: How long have you been teaching online courses?
CK: I have taught for CCJO since spring 2008 and for the on-campus Criminology and Criminal Justice division in the Hatfield School of Government since 2005.

DV: Why did you choose to teach online? Do you have any special circumstances that don’t allow you to teach full time or on campus?
CK: CCJO is a fully online, distance learning program.

DV: What do you do outside of school?
CK: Aside from teaching for CCJO, I work full time as a crime analyst for the Portland Police Bureau in the Office of Accountability and Professional Standards. This involves looking at patterns in crime, emerging crime trends and using the data to inform useful policies for the bureau.

DV: What benefits are there to teaching online or taking classes online?
CK: Both teaching and taking classes online provide the kind of flexibility that both instructors and students need. We are all trying to juggle very busy lives and it isn’t always convenient to come to campus to teach a class or to sit in a classroom. In addition, I have found that the online environment allows students more freedom in terms of their willingness to ask questions and speak candidly about issues. Both of these things seem to increase student engagement in the courses.

DV: What are some disadvantages?
CK: One disadvantage is that the online environment does not allow for the personal communication that some students need to succeed. There is no substitute for a face-to-face conversation about confusing issues, whether it be a course deadline or questions about the material. Miscommunication through e-mail and discussion boards can be a frustration for some.

DV: What is your favorite aspect of teaching online?
CK: My favorite aspect of teaching online is the interaction I get with many students who might not otherwise be able to participate in an academic program, either due to geographic restrictions or time constraints. The CCJO program has students from all over the country, and three students from the Ukraine. As I mentioned before, the flexibility is also a big plus. I love showing students what I do for a living and don’t think it would be feasible if I had to spend hours in a classroom every week.

DV: Least favorite aspect?
CK: My least favorite aspect is that online teaching can feel impersonal at times. Like I said, there is no substitute for face-to-face conversation. However, many issues can easily be resolved with a quick telephone call and many students take advantage of that.

DV: Why are online classes important?
CK: Online classes are important because it brings the classroom to students who might not otherwise be able to participate. This type of enhanced access is particularly important in a field like criminal justice, where people’s work shifts vary on a regular basis. Online classes also allow students the opportunity to decide what kind of educational environment works best for them, bringing a sense of ownership to their school experience.

Kal Toth, online professor and creator of fully online programs in Vancouver, British Columbia

Daily Vanguard: What classes do you teach online?
Kal Toth: I teach the following master’s level courses in the OMSE program: principles of software engineering, software project management, software quality engineering, software estimating, software engineering practicum.

DV: How long have you been teaching online courses?
KT: Since 1999.

DV: Why did you choose to teach online? Do you have any special circumstances that don’t allow you to teach full time or on campus?
KT: In the late 1990s, I noticed that changing demographics and globalization seemed to be increasing the need for online education among working professionals, especially in technology fields such as software engineering. Online courses also enable us to reach students who can’t easily come to campus from outlying areas such as Beaverton, Wilsonville, Gresham, and Vancouver, Wash.

DV: What do you do outside of school?
KT: Skiing in the winter and occasional tennis and biking in the summer. Lately I started to transition from acoustic to electrical guitar for some fun.

DV: What benefits are there to teaching online or taking classes online?
KT: There are several obvious benefits such as saving travel time and flexible, self-paced learning. In my opinion, one of the most valuable benefits is the ability to engage students with each other as well as with instructors through online (asynchronous) discussions. The students are able to delve much more deeply into topics than in the classroom, and they learn a tremendous amount from each other too.

DV: What are some disadvantages?
KT: “Face time” with instructors and fellow students is [sic] certainly decreased. However, synchronous teleconferencing and asynchronous discussions can compensate to a large degree. Instructors need to devote a lot of time to preparation and participation to leverage all the benefits of online education. There are often a few technical and performance hurdles and some learning management systems perform better and are easier to use than others.

DV: What is your favorite aspect of teaching online?
KT: I enjoy the flexibility it gives me—it enables me to communicate with students virtually at any time including occasions when I am out of town for business and personal reasons.

DV: Least favorite aspect?
KT: There is a lot of preparation work initializing and coordinating course content. Some of this effort could be offloaded to increase the quality and quantity of teaching one can actually accomplish.

DV: Why are online classes important?
KT: In my area of interest, software engineers often work in widely distributed teams and are constantly needing to upgrade their competencies. There is a natural fit between online education and various professional and academic disciplines. Why not use online processes and tools to integrate learning and practice and thereby bring them into closer alignment? Academia and industry will mutually benefit from such synergies.

Talya Bauer, online professor and co-author of Organizational Behavior and Principles of Management

Daily Vanguard: What classes do you teach online?
Talya Bauer: Organizational behavior (BA302), organizational management (MGMT 550), understanding power and interpersonal influence (MGMT 510).

DV: How long have you been teaching online courses?
TB: 11 years.

DV: Why did you choose to teach online? Do you have any special circumstances that don’t allow you to teach full time or on campus?
TB: I value the three components of teaching, research and service. I am on campus five days a week and enjoy coming into the office daily so online teaching wasn’t so much about being off campus for me. It began as an experiment to see if students could learn as much online as they do in person. What I found that term in 1998 was that my two sections taught side by side in person (class one) and online (class two) did equally well on exams. This demonstrated that individuals could learn online.

Many of my students that first term didn’t even have e-mail accounts and I had to help them set up Yahoo! or Hotmail e-mails so they could receive information from my class listserv. Many of them had unique schedules and could not have taken my class in person. It was great to help that population. At that point students had taken only one or two online courses ever.

Now I frequently have students who have taken 20 or 22 online courses before mine. The sophistication of students has increased which has allowed me to increase what I do to match their readiness levels.

DV: What do you do outside of school?
TB: I have two children who are 7 and 10 years old and I volunteer at their school and stay pretty busy with their swimming, soccer and basketball schedules. We also have a cabin up near Mt. Hood, which is a great place to get away. We have a “no work allowed” rule when we go up which helps with balance.

DV: What benefits are there to teaching online or taking classes online?
TB: The flexibility is pretty amazing. I have taught from Spain, Costa Rica, Amsterdam and around the United States. Students can be literally anywhere and do well although I find that most are in Portland full time. The best students thrive in the online environment.

DV: What are some disadvantages?
TB: Online courses aren’t for everyone. Students who are not self-motivated or able to structure their own learning environment may struggle. To be honest, online learning can also be less “fun.” The classroom environment where everyone is there at the same time is something students and faculty can miss when teaching online which is a different kind of, asynchronous, fun since everyone is not online at the same time.

DV: What is your favorite aspect of teaching online?
TB: I like seeing students really engage and interact. With online teaching I’ve found that there is actually more participation because everyone has a chance to engage rather than just those students who are most comfortable speaking up in class. This has been especially great to see.

DV: Least favorite aspect?
TB: Students can feel more comfortable sending a rude message online compared to speaking rudely in class. This is something I continue to work on so that each student understands the norms. This is my least favorite aspect of the online environment. Luckily it is fairly rare.

DV: Why are online classes important?
TB: Online classes are important because they allow students and faculty greater flexibility, more opportunities to explore the course material, and because virtual teams are becoming so prevalent across industries and jobs.