While Minnesota Office of Higher Education banned its residents from using Coursera, a free online college course provider, Boston University students said online education adds a new dimension to learning that is possible with current technology.
“The online environment can be very good for more thoughtful communications, more reflecting and interactive communications,” said School of Education professor David Whittier.
Coursera offers about 200 courses in topics including business, humanities, medicine, biology and computer science, all online and free of charge. However, taking these online courses does not result in a degree from a university.
Coursera was banned in Minnesota because it never had permission to operate there from the state government, according to Coursera’s website.
Although online learning adds to the educational experience, Whittier said it is no replacement for classroom learning.
“When you meet together in a classroom with people, there is an exchange of energy between people,” he said. “By having a hybrid learning experience, you can try to capture the advantages of both forms.”
Online forums provide information exchange and document repository for reflective discussions, Whittier said. The classroom allows students and teachers to build social intelligence and interpersonal interactions.
Some students said they support online courses and learning for its valuable flexibility and accessibility.
“A lot of adults in higher education, if they work, need some alternate to day classes in classrooms,” said Erin Robinson, a School of Social Work graduate student.
Some members of the BU community also said taking online courses, such as those offered by Coursera, is helpful for students who want to academically branch out.
“You get so restricted with one program, but with online courses, you can double up on programs,” said Lindsey Mann, a College of Communication sophomore. “Maybe you want a different focus and a different environment, [online courses] would help you diversify yourself further.”
Whittier said online education is just as beneficial as classroom learning.
“The research and the accounts of learners and teachers’ experiences are clear that people can learn online as well as they do face-to-face,” he said.
COM sophomore Christian French said people turn to the Internet for more casual learning.
“People go on the web for education anyways with Google and everything, so it’s better if they learn in a more professional setup,” French said.
Other students said they prefer a traditional classroom environment to the online format.
“I would not want to take an online course, because I would want an actual teacher in front of me,” said Jamie Mascarenhas, a SED sophomore.
Whittier said he does agree the absence of face-to-face contact in online education has a different feel than in classroom-style learning.
“I have taught more than 20 versions of different types of classes [online], and I became very aware that one of the things that is hard about teaching online is that you don’t get feedback from people in the same way,” he said.
In a time when higher education is more expensive than ever before, Mascarenhas said she sees a cost benefit to free online courses.
“I can see it affecting and helping a lot of people, especially as it is more accessible as a free resource,” Mascarenhas said.
Even without online course providers such as Coursera, Whitter said he recognizes BU’s use of online resources for its classes.
“In many ways, most everything is a hybrid environment,” Whittier said. “Every course has a Blackboard site, and it’s already kind of evolving by itself in that direction.”
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