With a click of the mouse, students can attend class in their pajamas.

Online classes have been a growing interest for NIU students. There are about eight classes at NIU that do not meet face to face with an instructor, but are available only online. More than 500 classes have some section of the class online, according to Marilyn McConachie.

Aline Click, assistant director of Learning Services at NIU, said online classes are all about self-discipline.

“Students do learn as well if the online course is high-quality and if the students’ learning styles and preferences are suited to this kind of independent learning,” Click said. “High quality means that interesting lecture materials are not enough. An effective online course offers a great deal of interactivity with faculty, students and study materials. It is not a solitary or passive experience.”

Irene Rubin,a public administration professor, said face-to-face interaction in the classroom setting at a university is an important part of one’s education.

“While it is often invisible to students and to some administrators, faculty don’t only prepare classes; they meet with students, give them guidance, answer questions, provide role models and adjust their presentations to meet the interests and experiences of their students,” Rubin said. “Providing the same course over and over in exactly the same format doesn’t allow for that. It also suggests that there are texts, which must be read and learned, rather than knowledge which must be created, challenged and defended that can be built in the class during the class period.”

Jim Thomas is a professor of sociology who teaches online courses at NIU. Thomas has mixed thoughts on the benefits and drawbacks of online teaching.

“I support online teaching; I’m not a fan of fully online teaching,” Thomas said. “Online teaching provides a way of reaching students who might not otherwise be able to attend classes. People who work full-time, for example, might not be able to schedule classes in their schedule. Or, people who are unable to commute to a course have a chance to learn at the college level.”

Students need to be self-motivated in order to complete an online class successfully, Click said.

“Another problem is that students who do best are self-directed learners, those who can do well without supervision and who can show initiative in learning,” Thomas said. “Online courses wouldn’t work well for most students just coming into college, or for those who are still ‘finding themselves.’”

Thomas does, however, enjoy the benefits that online classes give students.

“In a blended class with some face-to-face, the online component just gives one more tool; so in many ways, the blended classes aren’t that much different than conventional classes,” Thomas said.