Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56805
Claim: Online learning doesn't engage students. Fact: Online learning can engage students more. One of the biggest criti- cisms of online courses is that they lack the face-to- face engagement of the physical classroom. How- ever, when online courses are done well, active engagement can be at the core of all of their activities. Each semester, the New York University School of Continu- ing Professional Studies (NYU- SCPS) offers 30 courses, of which approximately ten to 15 are delivered online. That includes the core courses in the Leadership and Human Capital Management graduate program. In each of these six-week courses, students meet online two times a week for three- hour synchronous, video-supported sessions. Outside of class, students must contribute to asynchronous forums and blogs. Courses are taught by adjunct faculty who are practitioners in the field. These classes are designed like consultant firms, in which the pro- fessor is the CEO and the students are C-suite executives. Compensa- tion is in the form of grades, and cli- ent projects are our "exams." Every synchronous online class session opens with a fast-paced, intense, and interactive exercise called the "CEO's Shock and Awe Roundtable." In this exercise, the CEO asks a ques- tion about the prior session's learn- ing, and his or her direct reports must answer in three thoughtful sentences that will engage the CEO 38 March/April 2012 BizEd A live online classroom, such as this one at NYU-SCPS, encourages interactivity through blogs and live chat. in a meaningful way. For example, after students have read a case study regarding the "Cola Wars" between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the professor might ask, "As CEO, what is the biggest mistake I can make in verti- cal integration?" Participants can see the face of the speaker on their screens. If their answer contains any "uhs," "ums," or "likes," the professor cuts the stu- dent off immediately. If the answer is too fundamental, the CEO typi- cally shouts back, "And you think I don't know that?" These sessions are recorded and archived, so that stu- dents can review their performances after class—a benefit that is often not available in an on-site classroom. After the online session, students often blog about how their heart rates increase and their palms get sweaty in anticipation of the discus- sion. One student even explained that during the first shock-and-awe session, she was sitting down on her sofa with her laptop on her lap. When it was her turn she began with "Um," before the professor cut her off. After that, she got up from the sofa, put her laptop on her desk, and stood for the rest of the session! This exercise demonstrates the undiluted power of virtual engage- ment, which any professor can incor- porate in an online classroom. This level of interaction, which is anything but passive, helps students enhance their abil- ity to think under fire and develop a habit of reflecting on their performances. These capabilities will serve them well in the business world. Claim: Online learning doesn't pro- mote critical thinking. Fact: Online learning tools enhance crit- ical thinking, especially in high- pressure situations. Today's generation has grown up in a world of ubiquitous com- munication technologies. They are master task switchers and can comfortably text, scan Web pages, and converse with friends in fluid sequence. Simply put, they are accustomed to "thinking out loud" in multiple online settings. The virtual classroom allows us to channel our students' capacity to "think out loud" into an ability to practice focused, multidimensional critical thinking. For example, when teaching a case study in an online class, the professor often begins by asking the group a question and calling on one student to answer. However, as the student progresses through his or her analysis, the professor texts related questions to the other students in the class. These texts appear to the entire class in a box onscreen, alongside the classroom whiteboard, roster of participating students, and a picture of the speaker. Now the entire class is thinking about both the student's ongoing analysis and the professor's