The department of Political Science and International Affairs offered 12 online undergraduate classes. As early adopters of online education, the department has been committed to offering a variety of quality courses in an effort to meet the diverse needs of our students across five campuses. More and more students are choosing to complete their degree requirements online.

Senior Lecture of Political Science Maria Albo asked her online American Government students about their experiences in online classes.

Q. Do online classes offer the same opportunities for discussions as face to face classes?

A1. Yes. I actually feel like I have more discussions in my online classes than my classes that are not online. Personally, my two classes that I attend campus for are more like lectures. We do not really have classroom discussions. I am currently taking three online classes and write about seven discussion posts a week and communicate with my peers way more than I do in my classes on campus.

A2. I feel like online classes do provide more for discussions and questions. In a classroom setting you are able to pick off the first person’s response or just copy down what they say so as a student you are not learning anything. For these online discussions you have to think for yourself because there is no one you can steal answers from which allows for students to expand their discussion and have more questions.

A3. Yes; there are often several students will dominate class discussion in traditional class. Not every students have same opportunity participate in class discussion. However, the online classes give everyone have same opportunity express and participate in discussion.

A4. Yes, I think in a way online classes take the aspect of discussion even more in depth than it would be in an actual classroom. In regular classes, it is easy to hide or not participate, but in online discussion boards, it is required that we share our opinion and think critically about other responses. I think this does a good job of getting students involved with the class and thinking critically about different subject matter.

A5. Online classes definitely provide the same opportunity for discussion but not so much questions. I like how most online teachers assign discussion posts and require a certain number of original responses to classmates. It really has an in-class touch to it. Questions, on the other hand, are limited in a sense. It typically takes a good amount of time for teachers to respond. I feel like communication is the biggest issue with such classes.

A6. I think that online classes provide a better platform for discussion because it is easier to debate with someone when you are just disagreeing or agreeing with the points they make, not that person themselves. I find it easier to discuss as well when I have time to prepare and research what I want to say instead of having to think up a response on the spot. I think asking questions is a little more challenging in an online class because it takes a lot more effort to reach out to the teacher via email and wait for a response instead of asking in class and getting an answer right away. I think discussions provide the same opportunity if not a better opportunity, but questions may be discouraged because of the wait time and the effort of sending an email and trying to ask all the questions at once to receive the answer as soon as possible. This being said, questions have a lesser opportunity in online classes in my opinion.

A7. I feel as if online classes do provide the same opportunity for discussion, especially for shy students like me. In a traditional classroom setting I know other students as well as myself may find it difficult to speak up. In an online setting, there is no fear of judgement so it is easier to partake in discussion.

A8. Online courses are equal opportunity for discussion and questions in my opinion. Discussions open up a chance to express yourself and how you feel regarding a specific topic. It is unfortunate that sometimes you could come off rude over the computer when that is not the intention.

A9. Yes, it eliminates any social insecurities from the conversation. In other words, it makes it easier to share opinions.

A10. Absolutely, I like the discussions that we get to do because everyone has their own opinion and it lets you look at things from different perspectives.

A11. I think that online classes provide the same opportunity for discussion, since we have weekly discussions that everyone has to participate in. I do think that online classes may not provide the same opportunity as in person classes for asking questions, just because it is much easier to ask a quick question and get immediate feedback in class than online.

Let us know what you think! Do online classes offer the same opportunities for discussions as face to face classes?