Virtual university education in cyberspace

Thanks to a new education software system, people previously shut out by distance, disability, work or family responsibilities can now go to university — over the Internet.

The software system, dubbed Virtual-U, was created by researchers at the TeleLearning•NCE, which is funded through the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence program. Virtual-U uses a computer system connected to the Internet to create a set of virtual classrooms where students can interact with each other and their instructor although they may be miles apart. They can view course material, have group discussions, upload assignments to their professor, and even check their grades.

Students can take individual Virtual-U classes, or tailor their own degree, selecting various on-line courses. Courses officially began in May of 1996 and over 2,500 people have logged on for classes since. A total of 45 on-line classes were offered out of Virtual-U's 15 Canadian field sites in the 96/97 school year alone.

In Virtual-U classes, there are no time constraints and almost no full courses. Because the system works on asynchronous time, people don't have to be on-line at the same time or on the same day, so classes are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and open discussion is continual.

It will particularly benefit students who need to work full-time if they are to afford school and the cost of living, or parents who prefer to study from home. With Virtual-U, they can work and study without having to compromise one for the other. Proponents also note that because you can't 'see' people in an on-line environment, there is less discrimination based on race, gender, or disability.

And because one does not physically have to be in a classroom, there are plenty of benefits for both teachers and students. They can go to class in their pyjamas and don't have to worry when they get sick or miss the bus. Plus, studies show that students learn more efficiently when they choose a convenient time in which to do so.

But despite the practical convenience of at-home computerized education, some skeptics fear the Internet will have the same mind-numbing effect of television. But experts say those fears are unfounded because studies show that students learn and remember more when their learning is active, as with Virtual-U, rather than the passive kind students get from a TV set.

"Instead of questioning new technology, people should be critical of the old," says Thérèse Laferrière, a University of Laval education professor who has been teaching Virtual-U courses for a year. "Once you discover that you can do it, then you don't fear technology anymore."

Studies at the University of Phoenix show test results for students studying course on campus vs. on-line are about equal. Dr. Linda Harasim, TeleLearning network leader, says people shouldn't think in terms of one kind of teaching versus the other, but should see on-line education as complementary to the face-to-face — as something that will improve both.

And while some fear technology will erase jobs, teachers are far from obsolete with Virtual-U. They have to design their courses, assign readings, guide discussions, lead tutorials, answer students' questions, and put lectures and notes up on the web in an accessible and attractive form.

By teaching on-line, professors will even be able to enrich their courses by bringing on-line guest lecturers from across the globe who previously would only have been accessible if they were physically in town. They can also join forces with other professors and team teach.

Researchers are now looking at ways to try to create on-line virtual labs for science students. They have also recently expanded Virtual-U into the realm of workplace training for such large organizations as the Bank of Montreal, which logged on in May 1997.

The scope of disciplines offering Virtual-U courses is also expanding. Dr. Harasim says the program was originally used in social science classes, but it has quickly spread to such areas as nursing, engineering, native languages, and business.

In fact, given the choice between an on-line versus a face-to-face SFU business course offered in spring 1997, more students chose the on-line version, even though they lived in Burnaby. That doesn't surprise Denise Stockley, field site co-ordinator and former Virtual-U student, who says: "Even students who have traditionally come on campus prefer a choice."

In May 1997, Ms. Stockley visited 10 of Virtual-U's 15 field sites across Canada, and had a chance to talk to students taking on-line courses. Many said they like the fact that they have more access to their instructors and more time for interaction. And it shows. Many of the students whose courses ended this spring are still taking part.

"How many times have you heard of students wanting to stay in a class after it's done, even in the summer?" says Ms. Stockley. "The students just don't want to leave their new on-line community."

Another popular tool among students is VGroups, the computer conferencing system developed for Virtual-U, which lets students engage in discussions, debates, team projects and seminars.

Stockley says in a regular seminar a few students usually dominate the discussion, but because computer conferencing is asynchronous, everyone gets heard. Audio and video links are also available on the Internet, which students can use if they want to see their professor and ask questions face-to-face.

Virtual-U is the first program of its kind on a national level, anywhere in the world. And according to Tom Calvert, co-leader of the TeleLearning•NCE, Canada must lead the way with this technology before U.S. universities start offering their courses here. American companies currently supply up to 90 per cent of electronic course material.

And if competing internationally for students is the wave of the future, one particular Virtual-U course, Dancing in Cyberspace, is making inroads. Thirty-five dancers and dance students from Spain, France, the U.S. and Canada all signed up for the on-line choreography course offered from a Simon Fraser University site in spring 1997. Students learned to design choreography, creating their own 3-D computer dance animations and sharing them on-line. In one application, a person from Vancouver could draw a dancing male and someone from Spain could draw in a female — and they could co-operate to make the figures mambo together.

Lucio Teles, who helped professor Iris Garland produce and deliver the course, says they may expand it in the future so they will actually be able to teach people how to dance, using the animations. So people may soon be learning to Cha-Cha-Cha on the world wide web.

The NCE funds going to TeleLearning result in an average annual research and development investment of $3,275,000. They help fund 56 projects, of which Virtual-U is probably the best known. The TeleLearning•NCE links 130 researchers at 30 universities and 20 other public and private sector organizations. The NCE program is jointly funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Medical Research Council.

For more information please visit the TeleLearning•NCE Web site.