Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 31, 1994 TAG: 9501040034
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
``I can tell you honestly I would not have been able to meet my goal of a business management degree if these classes had not been offered,'' said Connie Lowe, a counselor at the Virginia Tech College of Arts and Sciences. ``I didn't have a single class on campus and I graduated.''
Lowe, 43, of Blacksburg, was talking about the distance learning courses offered at New River Community College where she earned an associate degree in business management.
Today, technology is transforming rural education in the New River Valley and around the nation.
Distance learning courses offered by video allow busy students such as Lowe to graduate from New River Community College while rarely setting foot on campus.
``This type of class can fit into any schedule, any time, anywhere,'' said Lowe, who had also taken classes at Virginia Tech and had the credits transferred to New River. "Whether you believe it or not, they are harder than regular classes.''
There are a number of reasons for this. In traditional lecture classes, teachers might drop hints about what will be on tests or exams. Another factor is that the independent learning student must work out his or her own schedule for watching the taped lectures and covering the other material provided.
``I've been in college, on and off - Lord, about 14 years now,'' said Jeff Spooner, 31, of Christiansburg, a deputy and dog handler with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. ``The independent distance learning classes have really been of benefit to me.''
He hopes to get his degree in general studies from Radford University next spring.
``I have a wife, two young children and two very demanding police dogs within my family unit,'' he said. With rotating shifts and emergency call-outs, he finds it hard to fit traditional classes into his work schedule.
He is taking a weekly Thursday night class at Virginia Tech and has already missed two three-hour sessions because of work. Each time, he said, ``It's like missing a week of class.''
Spooner likes being able to rewind the taped lectures. ``I like to watch them twice,'' he said. He also has recorded the audio and listened to it during three-hour drives to Richmond.
Fifteen years ago, Spooner said, he had no video tape recorder at his home. Now they are everywhere. That is how fast things are changing technologically.
``I think this sort of course work is the trend of the future,'' he said. He sees it as a natural outgrowth of something like the Blacksburg Electronic Village.
Some professors are good with the camera, just as some are better than others at lecturing, Lowe said. With the tapes, ``you can rewind ... or you can stop them if it gets boring,'' she said.
Lowe misses the one-on-one contact with the instructor that she would have gotten in a lecture course, and the occasional hints - ``You might want to know this for the test'' - that might be dropped. ``That is what the trade-off is, and it's worth it.''
Spooner also misses the little hints but, he said, ``I'm glad [the exams] are more difficult.'' Students must be better prepared, he said.
He generally finds he needs little contact with his instructor because the outlines containing the main points for the courses are good. But the student has to provide his own push to get his work done.
``You have to be motivated,'' Lowe agreed.
Dr. David Wood, 40, of Draper, a veterinarian and registered nurse, figures he could probably go to any community college and see a dozen courses that he would like to take. He would be lucky to find two that fit his schedule, he said, as a veterinarian by day and emergency room nurse at night.
``I don't have the luxury of coming to class every morning for two hours. I wish I did,'' he said. Distance learning has been his solution, too.
``It requires more personal responsibility,'' he said. ``Time efficiency is the bottom line.''
He finds it frustrating when he does come to the campus and the instructors are not always keeping their announced office hours. ``I think the commitment required on the part of faculty is major,'' he said.
And he misses the anecdotes and little life experiences a lecturer might throw in during a traditional class. But he agreed with Lowe about the trade-off being worth it.
by CNB