by Kimberly SchneiderEAST LIVERPOOL -- Assistant Dean Shawn Golden is teaching an online university-level technology course this semester to qualifying students of the Buckeye Online School for Success (BOSS), but he doesn’t have to leave his office to do it.
BOSS is a cyber-charter school located in East Liverpool that serves high school students from various cities across Ohio. The students are taking advantage of a program that allows advanced students to earn both high school and college credit.
Golden has worked with BOSS before, using the university’s Web CT Vista system, but this semester Golden is using the BOSS software interface. The class is monitored by technical support personnel in case Golden or his students have any problems during class sessions.
“We have offered courses to BOSS students, but they were web-based courses taught in an asynchronous manner,” Golden said. “This meant we used Web CT Vista to post assignments and quizzes and would interact through email and discussion boards. This semester, we are using the system used by BOSS called Virtual Classroom. It is a synchronous system that allows for live interaction of audio, visual displays and chat interaction.”
Golden’s Introduction to Computers class runs from 4-5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. The lectures are similar to traditional classroom, except Golden communicates with students verbally through microphone headset using his laptop in his Mary Patterson Building office. The students hear him as if they were in the classroom but without leaving the comforts of home. BOSS provides students with computers, books and all other required materials, including an Internet connection.
Golden said he does not use a webcam because it is not practical for those students who do not have access to a high-speed Internet connection.
The lessons are organized with Microsoft PowerPoint, and the slides are stored so students can review them anytime. When Eastern Flash visited Golden during a class session last week, he was giving instruction on using Microsoft Word 2007 using the same textbook he uses in his normal KSU classes. The only difference between the BOSS and standard university class is the course delivery interface.
Working with BOSS students fits well with Golden’s own research. “My dissertation idea is still in the development stage,” he said. “I certainly wish to do some type of research, study, or investigation of some aspect of online education. What I hope to explore is how students who take online classes socially interact during and outside of their cyber-school environment and how that might be helpful or beneficial to their education.”
