Using Web-Based Instruction In Political Science

Video Presentation
Conference Discussion

Business has always needed employees who can learn new skills and acquire new knowledge quickly and on a continuing basis. New ways of learning are designed to meet demands for speed, flexibility, and spatial location. Today’s learners are dispersed both temporally and geographically. Employers are looking for less expensive and more effective solutions – solutions that do not include costly educational facilities and lost work time. This need has led to the growth in the private sector of a variety of learning options now being adopted by higher education. According to a 1997 National Center for Educational Statistics report, thirty-nine percent of educational institutions that offered distance education courses during the Fall 1995 semester targeted professionals seeking certification, and 49 percent targeted other workers seeking skill updating or retraining (NCES).

In higher education, instructors are not necessarily being utilized to the fullest since traditional methods limit the number of learners instructors can reach. Distance learning reduces the costs of instructor and student travel and increases instructor productivity. Distance education occurs when a teacher and student, separated by physical distance, use technology to replace the traditional instructional methods. These types of programs can provide adults with a second chance at a college education, reach those disadvantaged by limited time, distance or physical disability, and update the knowledge base of workers at their places of employment (Moore & Kearsley). A wide range of delivery options is available to the distance instructor.

Print instruction is still important in distance education programs despite today’s sophisticated technologies. A number of print formats are available including textbooks, study guides, workbooks, course syllabi, and case studies. Voice technology, such as telephones and audio conferencing, and audio and video technology, such as tapes and two-way video, have been in use for some time.

Computer applications for distance education are new and varied. Computer-assisted instruction uses the computer as a self-contained teaching machine to present individual lessons. Often CDs are used either in the home or in a lab as a substitute for texts or lectures. Computer-managed instruction uses the computer to organize instruction and track student records and progress. The instruction itself does not need to be delivered by computer, although computer-assisted instruction is often combined with computer-managed instruction. Computer-delivered instruction includes computer applications that facilitate the delivery of instruction.

Community and junior colleges have always attempted to find innovative ways to deliver programs to students. They have pioneered innovative uses of technology to serve the educational needs of their market. During the last decade, community and junior colleges have strengthened their ability to deliver education through distance learning technologies. In studying distance education programs, the NCES found that increasing student access was an important goal for most distance education programs. Making courses available at convenient locations was rated as very important by 82 percent of institutions, and reducing time constraints for courses was rated as very important by 63 percent of institutions. Making educational opportunities more affordable for students, another aspect of student access, was rated as very important by about half of the institutions. Goals concerning increasing the institution's audiences and enrollments were also perceived as quite important, with increasing the institution's access to new audiences and increasing the institution's enrollments rated as very important by 64 percent and 54 percent of institutions, respectively. In general, institutions indicated that most of the goals were met to a minor or moderate extent (NCES).

A number of factors make teaching online attractive. Time constraints are increasingly important in the lives of both faculty and students. Distance education is particularly important to the growing population of community college students who do not fit the mold of the traditional college student. These students are older and most work during traditional class hours. They need flexible, nontraditional schedules and classes that fit into their professional development (ITC). Faculty members frequently hear student complaints regarding the time needed for family and work. The average age of the community college student is 29. In addition, nearly half of all community college students and almost a quarter of all fulltime students also work full-time while attending classes. Online classes allow students and faculty to work at their own pace and according to their own schedule. The main reason for choosing distance education for these students is the ability to work at their own pace and at a convenient time and location (ITC).

Geographic constraints have always been a problem for certain students, especially in states with large rural areas such as Texas. Distance learning is an important method of program delivery for institutions located in rural areas to reach students who simply live too far away from the college to attend class in person. Distance education and Internet courses in particular, can reach previously unreachable students and free up faculty to attend conferences and other off-campus activities without fear of missing class time.

Resource constraints are increasingly important in this period of government spending restraints. Government is increasingly tightening the amount of money budgeted for all items and is increasingly holding education accountable for how the money is spent. Education can make better use of its resources with Internet courses. More students can be reached more quickly with fewer traditional requirements – classrooms, parking spaces, desks, and so forth. While some institutions are charging more for Internet courses, students who enroll online may face lower net costs because of savings in time and travel expenses (Gladieux & Swail).

As a summary, Internet classes can reach nontraditional students of all types. The physically disabled, parents and single-parents, full time workers, and many others that would have previously been unable to attend college. Recent research has indicated that disadvantaged and minority students are being left behind by Internet courses (Gladieux & Swail). Our experience has indicated just the opposite. Distance education brings learning opportunities to many students that in past years would have been impossible.

Why teach political science online? Three-quarters of the institutions that offered distance education courses during the Fall 1995 semester used courses developed by the institution's subject area departments or schools; only 30 percent used courses developed by commercial or noncommercial vendors (NCES). Faculty members seem to know what they want in online teaching. The Internet lends itself to political science in particular for a number of specific reasons.

Political science is a changeable subject. The speed of information available through the use of the Internet is astounding and of great importance in political science courses. Students can learn about critical and relevant events almost as quickly as they happen. A related advantage is the ability to use the Internet to access information of all types. Students can follow the progress of a bill through the U.S. Congress or through their state legislature. They can take a virtual tour of the Supreme Court or access the web page of almost any major candidate in the country.

Of greatest importance, however, in using the Internet to teach political science is the issue of relevance. This is especially important to today’s nontraditional students. Fewer and fewer students are taking courses simply to learn or because they enjoy the subject. Increasing numbers of students approach school with a ‘what will this do for me’ attitude. Political science is relevant to every student. The key is to demonstrate this to them, to make them see the importance of the course to their lives. If this is done correctly, online political science courses will not only teach the theory of political science, they will teach the application as well.

Making political science relevant is not especially difficult. What is important to remember is that bells and whistles and assignments simply for their own sake are recognizable to and disdained by today’s student. The idea, then, is to keep it simple and keep it relevant. Synchronous and asynchronous chats are not necessary. I often offer asynchronous chats as an option to students who have the time and inclination. On line chat rooms are today’s coffeehouses. In fact, I often envision my students, kids in bed and televisions off, sitting back with a good cup of coffee and "talking over" current events with their on line peers. However, many (and perhaps most) students simply do not have the time or energy for chats. The test should be this: if I force my students to chat, what will I have accomplished in the learning process?

Written lectures should be tight and concise. Tie them directly to the text if one is used. Above all, tie them to a myriad of relevant web sites. Write about the legislature in a direct, to-the-point fashion and then hot link students directly to that web site. Bring them back with questions to think about or questions relevant to the exam and move on to the next point.

Be available. I always have online office hours as well as traditional hours in my office. Students communicate via email. Knowing that they can get an instantaneous answer from me during certain hours is important to them. Too, I like to have several online office hours during the late night. I find that if I am online from 11:00 p.m. until midnight, I can reach many otherwise unreachable students.

Use several short written assignments that are tied to the wonderful resources available on the web or to activities in the local community. My students have an extensive list of activities from which to choose. Students may find and visit the site of an interest group. They may attend a school board meeting, county government session, district court trial, or candidate forum. Surprisingly, most students – even today’s older student – have never done these things. They write wonderful papers on their experiences and, most importantly, they are inspired to continue the involvement.

Finally, teach students how to approach web resources critically. Even sophisticated students often are under the misconception that everything they read on the Internet is true. Students need to learn to be discerning surfers. Much information is true; much is valuable. Students need to learn to discriminate. There are several good critical surfing tools available. I have developed my own evaluation tool for students, "Critical Surfing." Whichever evaluative tool you use, make sure students learn how to be discerning users of online resources.

Distance education serves an important market. It fills a critical need. Increasingly, higher education institutions are turning to distance education to solve some real problems. Among institutions that offered distance education courses during the Fall 1995 semester, most plan to increase their use dramatically (NCES). As with any delivery system, however, distance education and the Internet should be used not because they exist, but because they work. The critical issue remains not the delivery of learning, but the content delivered.

References

Gladieux, L.E., & Swail, W.S. (1999). Virtual universities and educational opportunities – issues of equity and access. [On-line]. Available: http://www.college board.org/

Instructional Telecommunications Council (ITC). (1994). New connections: A college president’s guide to distance education. [On-line]. Available: http://www.sinclair.edu/community/itc

Moore, M.G. & Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance education: a systems view. Belmont, California: Wadsworth.

National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). (1997). Distance education in higher education institutions. [On-line]. Available: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/distance