Ouachita Online faculty and staff seek to enhance online learning options
September 18, 2015 - Anna Hurst
In an effort to expand Ouachita Baptist University’s borders to include non-residential
online students, the university launched Ouachita Online courses in January 2015.
The program has seen growth since its establishment, and the university’s online staff
dedicated their summer to ensuring the program continues to grow.
Ouachita Online offers both a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and
an Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian studies. Courses are
offered in eight-week terms with two terms each semester and one summer term.
According to Ashlee Giles, director of online and concurrent enrollment programs,
the goal of the program is “to be able to offer a Ouachita education to students who
otherwise wouldn’t have been able to enroll as a residential student.”
Ouachita Online Fall Term 1 for 2015 began in August with 18 students enrolled. Numbers
are expected to continue to increase for Fall Term 2 which will begin Oct. 19. Dr.
Rob Hewell, coordinator of online course development, said he anticipates having “more
courses ready to offer to an already increasing online student community and more
faculty trained and growing as online course designers and instructors.”
To become well versed in up-to-date online teaching techniques, Giles, Hewell and
Marla Rigsby, instructional design and technology specialist for Ouachita Online,
enrolled in an online course, sponsored by the Distance Education Professional Development
program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“The idea is that we can better equip our online students with the tools necessary
to succeed if we better understand what it is like to be an online student,” Giles
said. “Within the course, we are learning more about who our online students are,
the role of the online instructor, planning course content and learning activities
and how to manage the course.”
Upon completion of the course, the three will each receive their “Fundamentals of
Online Teaching Certificate.”
“As with any specialized program like Ouachita Online, having faculty and staff who
have achieved a level of professional development through a recognized training program
strengthens the work of those persons,” Hewell said. “We hope to leverage the knowledge
and experience gained through the Certificate Program to develop people who, as designers
and instructors, create and teach courses that honor OBU’s tradition and reputation
for excellent academic programs.”
In addition to the certification course, the group traveled to Madison, Wis., in August
to attend the “Distance Teaching & Learning Conference.” The conference, also sponsored
by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, celebrated its 31st year of bringing together distance education professionals to learn about the latest
trends, techniques and research in the field.
“The conference immersed us in the distance teaching and learning conversation with
professionals and learners alike,” Hewell explained. “We were both challenged and
encouraged. Challenged because we began to catch a vision of where we need be headed
with Ouachita Online for a productive and successful future. We were encouraged because
even in this first year of offering courses through Ouachita Online, we’re doing quite
a few things right. We’re on the right path and gaining momentum.”
Giles added that the group was “so grateful for the opportunity to be able to attend
the conference” due to the insight gained concerning the needs, challenges and expectations
of online students today, along with helpful tools and technology that professors
can apply to create a more interactive, energetic and fruitful classroom experience..
“What the research shows is the ‘read and quiz, read and quiz, read and quiz’ method
is not effective in online learning and it doesn’t help with retention,” Giles said.
Noting that online students “want more,” she added. “Ouachita Online strives to offer
our online community the ‘more’ they are seeking – with professors who care, support
services at their fingertips and courses that will engage and motivate them to complete
their degrees.”
For more information or to enroll in Ouachita Online, visit www.obu.edu/online or contact Ashlee Giles at [email protected] or 870-245-5200.
By Anna Hurst
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