The Internet has increasingly become an essential academic tool and prominent method of communication over the past two decades. Recent statistics show that virtually all affluent Americans routinely use the web. Many people turn towards the internet to complete tasks like tax returns, shopping, and more recently, earning a degree.

More and more institutions are beginning to offer online classes to meet the demand for accessibility and convenience. It is not uncommon now to see a commercial advertising “online degrees” that people can work for on their own time without sitting in a lecture hall. It is fairly common for the average undergraduate to have incorporated at least one or two online courses as credit by the time they graduate.

Furman has acknowledged these new advances in technology. However, there have been some questions as to how online courses could be developed for students in the future. Sociology professor, Ken Kolb, the head of the Computing Committee, said that the committee is considering several ideas and has taken steps to explore the world of online education at Furman University.

The introduction of new online technologies has attracted attention because of the possibility for these technologies to enhance the students’ learning experience. Many online courses provide video chats, access to live and recorded lectures, chat rooms with other students, and digital whiteboards where problems and diagrams can be drawn out. Some Furman professors are already using these types of technologies to enhance the in-class learning experience. However, Furman is pushing even more of these online tools into the classrooms as a sort of trial.

Most recently, Furman has been taking steps to incorporate more of the learning and studying process online. Dean of Faculty John Beckford instated a grant to develop “blended learning courses” which means that some of the class is supplemented with online lectures or activities. Currently, Biology professor, Dr. Wade Worthen is working on such a course.

“It’s not a radical departure [from in-class learning],” Worthen said. “It is just an incorporation of a new technology.”

These blended classes currently provide is a supplement to the material rather than require incorporation of the Internet. For example, Worthen has been working on a series of video lectures that allow him to incorporate many teaching locations such as a lab or outdoor experiments. He will offer the lectures as a dynamic and complete study tool for his new students next semester. Worthen stated that he is keen to see who will make use of these new online resources that he spent over 100 hours creating.

Overall, there would be both advantages and disadvantages to creating online courses for Furman students. For one, creating these types classes could provide students with the ability to take a course that is not being offered here at Furman. This might include classes that professors on staff could not teach or a summer course that students would not have to stay on campus for. It is possible for Furman students to transfer credits from institutions like the University of Phoenix, which offers a plethora of online classes.

As for the disadvantages, Kolb said, “The main concerns that I here are that it takes away from our strengths of being a residential college [and] having opportunities to have face to face interactions.”

Even with blended learning’ courses, “At some point the professors are still interacting with the students,” he said.

For now, it looks like online classes are coming to Furman in the near future. How or when this will happen is still up in the air, but the university is taking measures to incorporate these new technologies and opportunities into academics.