Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, February 17, 2004, Page 4, Image 4

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L
Online-course enrollment
grows as program expands
About 145 more students
signed up for online classes
in fall 2003 than fall 2002
By Chelsea Duncan
News Reporter
Online education is becoming in
creasingly popular for both students
and professors as the Internet creates
new learning possibilities outside the
traditional classroom.
In fall 2003, about 750 students en
rolled for online courses, compared to
605 in fall 2002, 520 in fall 2001 and
331 in fall 2000, Distance and Com
munity Education Program Coordina
tor Sandra Gladney said. The number
of course titles available has remained
at 13 on average each year, but capacity
has been expanded as professors feel
more comfortable taking on more stu
dents and course sections are added,
she said.
"I think that people are becoming
more and more comfortable learning
this way," Gladney said.
Online courses are available through
the University Continuing Education
program, and classes from arts and ad
ministration to economics and geolo
gy are available. Tuition rates depend
on student status and whether students
are part time or full time.
Gladney said the primary benefit of
online classes is schedule flexibility.
She said the courses work well for
students who work during the day and
for students who have children.
"I also talk to a lot of students who
are just a few credits short of graduat
ing," she said.
Gladney said it is important for stu
dents to examine their learning styles
when deciding whether or not to take
an online course.
"You have to kind of know yourself
to know if it's a disadvantage or advan
tage," she said. "If you really like that
people interaction, it can be kind of dis
tracting to study alone."
Senior Julie Wigdzinski said she is
one credit shy of graduating so she
opted to take an online course to ful
fill the requirement.
"I thought it would make my sched
ule easier," she said. "It's a good way to
get some requirements without taking
a lecture."
Wigdzinski is taking a linguistics
course this term, and she said the
curriculum is straightforward and
doesn't require a professor to ex
plain the information.
"It's not really conceptual," she said.
"I can't see what benefits having a class
lecture would be. I think it would be a
big waste of time."
But she said not all subjects are ap
propriate for Internet classes. Wigdzinski
said she found herself struggling to
make the grade when she took an eco
nomics course online her freshman year.
"Basically everybody would bomb
the tests," she said, adding that the cur
riculum was difficult to understand
without a professor's explanation.
"You have to teach yourself the infor
mation, " she said, adding that the edu
cational value isn't as high for online
courses that deal with more conceptual
information.
"I think the quality is jeopardized,"
she said.
Arts and Administration Program Se
nior Instructor Kassia Dellabough, who
teaches online classes, said online
course quality is often questioned.
"That's always a debate, across the
country, across the world," she said.
Dellabough said-she was originally
skeptical of online courses, but now she
enjoys teaching them as much as tradi
tional classes.
"I'm surprised it's actually so effec
tive," she said.
Since 1997, she has taught the same
Art and Human Values class either on
line or in the classroom.
"I have very similar assignments and
curriculum that run parallel with both
classes, "she said.
She said she can better evaluate the
quality of education students are get
ting online because she uses both
methods to teach the course.
"I can track pretty closely the end
result," she said. She added that it
seems some students feel more com
fortable voicing their opinions online.
"1 get into more in-depth dialogue
with them."
Even though online courses do not
always require a physical presence,
Dellabough said she doesn't worry
about students cheating. Her classes re
quire personal written work and a final
group project.
"I have to trust it's original work," she
said, adding that students can just as
easily submit plagiarized work in tradi
tional classrooms.
Gladney said online cheating has not
been a serious issue in the program.
"There has not been an official prob
lem," she said, adding that most cours
es are monitored by proctors while stu
dents take online tests.
Dellabough said online courses cre
ate more possibilities for learning than
traditional classrooms because students,
professors and guest speakers can partic
ipate from anywhere around the world.
“They're bringing in a wide cultural
experience," she said.
More information about online ed
ucation and spring term class listings
can be found at http://de.uoregon.edu.
Contact the higher education/
student life/student affairs reporter
at chelseaduncan@dailyemerald.com.
Nation & World News
Iraq security officials regroup,
reinforce security after attack
Saturday's violence prompts
forces to add more weapons
By Bill Glauber
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
FALLUJAH, Iraq — They battled
insurgents last week, so Monday the
local security forces in Iraq's most
volatile city did what felt most natu
ral. They got more weapons.
They stationed gunmen on
rooftops, crammed soldiers armed
with AK-47s into snipers' nests and
created an unusual welcome mat
for any would-be assailant: A
masked trooper with a rocket
launcher aimed squarely at cars,
trucks and pedestrians.
Yet despite the new security
arrangements, local forces remained
under threat and seemingly ill-pre
pared to repulse fresh attacks. That
wasn't just bad news for the front
line troops; it also revealed major
gaps in U.S. plans to quickly return
Iraq's security to local forces.
"We need weapons, cars, commu
nication devices, food and uniforms,"
said Capt. Ahmad Ismael of the local
Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. "And we
need our headquarters rebuilt."
Security in Fallujah appeared to be in
disarray Monday and the city's residents
still in shock over Saturday's daring day
light attack that killed at least 27 people
— 22 police, four attackers and a civil
ian — and injured 35.
Early last week, car bombs in Bagh
dad and Iskandariyah killed at least 100
police and military recruits. The attack
Saturday involved about 70 insuigents
who fanned out across Fallujah to at
tack the mayor's office, paramilitary and
police headquarters. U.S. commanders
said the attack appeared to be an at
tempt to free four men accused of firing
on a civil defense corps bus. At least 50
prisoners were freed.
"Places like Fallujah are not ready
for local control," said U.S. Army
spokesman Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt.
Kimmitt disputed initial reports
that the four insurgents killed and
two others captured during the attack
were foreign fighters.
At the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps
building, shell casings still littered the
entry. U.S. commanders lauded the
defenders for reacting quickly and
killing some of the insurgents.
But the local forces sometimes still
need a nudge. When a report filtered
in that a black BMW with a cache of
weapons inside had been sighted, the
local paramilitary forces looked to
the U.S. troops to respond.
"Push your people out on patrol,"
Pullen told a local commander. "It's
their job to go shoot them."
Nobody moved. Then, Pullen told
others in the compound, "If anyone
comes here and attacks, we're going
to kill them. That's the bottom line."
Saturday's attack was particularly
troubling as insurgents displayed a
flair for battle, while local police re
treated beneath their desks.
The guerrillas were "a very, very
well-trained unit" Kimmitt said.
(c) 2004, Chicago Tribune. Distributed
by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information
Services. Tribune foreign correspondent
Evan Osnos contributed to this report.
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P.O. Box 3159, Eugene OR 97403
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