Technology and the

College Experience
Some say the more it changes,
the more it stays the same.
By Gustavo A. Mellander
From The Hispanic Outlook
in Higher Education
When I attended college, all
my professors lectured, even the
science and mathematics ones.
A few innovative ones used the
chalkboard, but sparingly. Few of
us dared ask a question, never con-
tradicted a teacher for fear of being
humiliated. We survived by learn-
ing early to take copious notes and
regurgitate those “professor-given
pearls” on our exams.
The system worked—at least
it did for those who followed the
routine. We learned what we had
to. Training was acquired; educa-
tion would come later—normally
at the workplace.
Most faculty are thoughtful,
innovative, open to new ideas—
except when it comes to changing
their teaching methods. Many
merely mimic their teachers for
years on end. Some even use old
college notes to teach their classes
throughout their careers. There
are exceptions but they are just
that—exceptions.
Single one-way oral communi-
cation still dominates most class-
rooms. Teachers pontificate, stu-
dents regurgitate. Some changes
have filtered in. Inquisitive “kids”
have forced changes to the blind
lockstep methods of years gone
by.
For instance, students have
forced many faculty to become
computer literate. The role of
the teacher has changed in many
cases from the “sage on the stage”
to the collaborator on the side. I
might add, with mixed academic
success.
I visit a variety of colleges ev-

Gustavo A. Mellander was a college president for 20 years. More recently,

he was a graduate dean at George Mason University. Condensed, with permis-
sion, from The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, posted online October
3, 2011. Published at 80 Route 4 East, Ste. 203, Paramus, NJ 07652.

September 2012 65
 THE EDUCATION DIGEST
ery year. I still observe a lot of
faculty only lecturing, using anti-
quated notes and once in a while
strolling to the blackboard. That’s
their level of technology. I fear the
classroom revolution so often bal-
lyhooed has yet to arrive on many
campuses nationwide.
Before I go off supporting more
modern technology than chalk and
blackboards, let me pay homage to
those antiquated professors who,
I fear the classroom
revolution so often
ballyhooed has yet
to arrive on many
campuses nationwide.
armed with vast knowledge and
a love of their subjects, kept us
spellbound—and learning. They
were great lecturers. In my case,
most were histori­ans or literature
teachers, but I also recall that my
biology teacher was an effective
and inspirational teacher.
Let’s face the future. We can be
optimistic for some faculty who
have adopted modern technology
to reach their students.
Some concerned faculty and
administrators have changed their
col­leges by establishing a variety
of new teaching methods. Technol-
ogy has led, if not forced, these
changes. Now more and more we
have three modes of teaching:
66 www.eddigest.com
face-to-face lectures, online, and
hybrid learning.
Many students don’t know
much about online classes when
they first arrive at college. Ste-
reotypically, online students are
perceived to be older and more
career oriented. But teenage, so-
cial swinging freshmen get swept
up in online classes as well.
The result is that in many uni-
versities, students enroll in online
classes or blended classes every
semester. A good number take all
three modes at once.
At the beginning, online courses
were established to serve distant
learners living away from the uni-
versity. Later, many institutions
were surprised to discover that
the majority of their long-distance
students were actually living on
campus. Frequently, more students
enrolled from their university dor-
mitories than real distance learn-
ers did miles away.
An example: Central Florida
began experimenting with online
courses in the mid-1990s. The
target population has been poten-
tial students who lived far away. But
the university discovered that about
75% of online students were already
on campus or lived nearby. Why?
The university had a severe class-
room crunch. It had grown from
a commuter campus with 21,000
students in 1991 to 56,000 today;
it remains 40% short on classroom
space. Thus its evolution to a hy-
brid institution is understandable.
 Technology and the College Experience
Some students prefer watching
lectures online to enduring a two-
and-a-half-hour class in person.
Web courses also free up time for
more campus involvement.
In the future, most students
will have some online education.
Marc Parry from The Chronicle of
Higher Education reports that the
Maryland University System now
requires undergraduates to take
12 credits in “alternative learning
modes,” including some online.
The Minnesota system is plan-
ning to have students earn 25% of
their credits online by 2015. The
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
has made “blended learning” a
cornerstone of a new $20-million
education-technology grant pro-
gram.
State planners hope that Web
classes will expand access, reduce
the time spent earning a degree,
save money, manage classroom
needs, and more.
Those trends raise a number of
issues that could change the face
of higher education. For instance,
why pay to go away to college if
you’re going to sit in your dorm
room taking online classes? Stay
home, complete your education—
and save a lot of money.
Critics have raised issues about
academic standards and contend
that the lack of personal supervi-
sion with online courses has led to
increased cheating.
The Chronicle trailed students
to study how the shift is changing
September 2012
the student experience—and how
students feel about their growing
digital freedom. It found that new
uses of technology have provided
good and not-so-good practices as
universities move “from bricks and
mortar to clicks and mortar.”
Some Findings
It is now exceedingly rare for
all of one’s classes to be face to
face. Most students shift between
classroom, online, and offline mo-
dalities.
Even in lecture classes, profes-
sors descend from their stage and
prowl the classroom. Aided by a
remote control device, they can
flash PowerPoint charts on the
screen regardless of their location
in the room.
Some courses are known as
“blended” or “mixed mode,” mean-
ing students meet their faculty face
to face only once a week; the rest
of the work is offered online.
Blended classes generate the
highest student evaluations of any
learning mode at Central Florida.
Students feel they get as much
from the online work as they would
from more time in class. Some
mixed-mode professors like the on-
line component because it forces
students to grapple with material
before they meet for class. Others
worry that students view the re-
duced class schedule as time off.
Learning online can provide
an opportunity for distractions.
Some students, while watching
67
 THE EDUCATION DIGEST

a lecture, also have Facebook students should learn in college,

open right behind it. A logical they contend, is self-discipline and
question is—how much time does self-reliance.
one spend on each? Are students Some students who have suc-
paying attention, actively taking ceeded with the new modalities
notes, or are they surfing or chat- have developed guidelines such as:
ting with their friends? There are a Establish a study schedule. Select
lot of potential distrac­tions when a quiet place, probably away from
pursuing courses on the Internet. your bedroom, to study. Never
Professors have complained that socialize in person or on the Web
students are checking out their in that area. Create a serious work-
Facebook accounts, tweeting, and place. Concentrate on that day’s
emailing their friends even while assignment.
in the classroom during a face-to- Not that different from what
face lecture. previous generations were told to
Students who attend superior do. As much as things change, as
high schools do not expect to much new technology we adapt
take classes on the Web. They are and adopt, the human element pre-
accustomed to student-oriented dominates. Education is a lonely
teachers, far more supervision, journey. A person’s motivation and
and frequent classroom tests. Not dedication go a long way.  n
much chance to coast.
First experiences with an online
course can be a struggle. It is easier
to procrastinate, to skip a lecture,
to fall behind. Since there is less
personal­i zed assistance, educa-
tors who prize human contact say
it’s a poor devel­opment.
Some faculty aware of that pos-
sibility bird-dog their students.
They email students, call them,
tweet them, Facebook them, chat
with them. They create a variety
of safety nets.
That would seem helpful and
commendable. But some critics of
that approach call it inappropri-
ate, they call it mothering. They “We’re being taught history today.
argue that such intense assistance Instead of using computers,
prolongs adolescence. Part of what we’ll be using books.”

68 www.eddigest.com
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