“It really gives schedule flexibility, and it encourages more people to enroll,” said Brendan Guenther, director of MSU Virtual University Design and Technology.

The introduction of online classes at MSU stemmed from the growing popularity of video lectures and students’ desire for schedule flexibility in the early ’90s, Guenther said.

“It started as somewhat of an experiment,” he said. “There were a few faculty members that were early adapters and recognized the potential of online learning.”

In 1996, MSU began its first online undergraduate course, Crop and Soil Sciences 110, Home Computing. By 1998, the School of Criminal Justice became the first MSU school to offer a complete master’s program online.

“Some of our early online programs were just a natural outgrowth for the societal needs of convenience in education,” Guenther said.

Now, using the Internet is second nature to students, and MSU caters to the millenial generation by offering 117 distinct online courses in 46 different graduate and undergraduate subjects.

Reaching across the digital divide

Despite increasing enrollment in these classes, online classrooms pose new challenges for instructors and students.

Verifying that class content makes it past football scores and drink specials into a student’s brain can be a difficult for any professor, and MSU assistant zoology professor Stephen Thomas said getting through to students can be tougher with online courses.

“It is harder not seeing your student’s face and being able to immediately understand whether you made your point,” Thomas said. “You have to be a little more mindful about how you assess whether your students understood the point you were trying to make.”

For students, online classes require more organization and motivation, said Jenna Chabot, an advertising sophomore.

“You have to put out more effort because it is really all on your own,” Chabot said.

One of the biggest challenges of teaching an online course is creating a sense of community for students “so they don’t just check out,” said Ethan Watrall, an assistant professor of history and telecommunication, information studies and media.

One way to overcome that challenge in an online course is with social networking Web sites, Watrall said.

“I use Twitter to communicate with students in the class — to create a connection to me,” he said.

When technology fails

Remember the day Google crashed because Web users were itching to know every detail about Michael Jackson’s death?

This is similar to the conundrum professors of online courses might face if they are overly dependent on ANGEL, Watrall said.

“We are strongly encouraged to use ANGEL, but if you put all of your eggs in the ANGEL basket, when it goes down, you are really out of luck,” he said.

Watrall writes for Prof Hacker, an online publication specializing in technology and issues in higher education. He recently wrote an article reacting to the ANGEL failure in early September.

To avoid another ANGEL calamity, Watrall suggested instructors take advantage of other digital outlets — including keeping student records on an outside server and using social media sites — and encourage students to store course materials in a permanent space.

Online classes that don’t utilize available technology can be more difficult, said Monica Finkbiner, a biochemistry junior.

“I had one really bad online class,” Finkbiner said. “There were no online lectures or assignments — you basically just showed up and took the exams.”

A balancing act

The effectiveness of an online class depends on both professors and students, said MSU education professor Yong Zhao, an expert on classroom technology.

“You have to do a lot more to have continued communication with the students,” he said. “(Instructors) have to imagine how to approach content differently for the online learning environment.”

The most effective online classes balance some sort of face-to-face contact with the online content, Zhao said.

But finding that balance can be a challenge. Communication junior Ashley Foster said without seeing a professor regularly, it’s hard to stay motivated.

“You have to motivate yourself,” she said. “It’s harder when it’s on your own time. I’d rather have a set time to go and listen to what the teacher has to say.”