Anne Elizabeth Murphy
SLM 521
Article Critique #2
Shoemake, Barbara R. “Cyberspace Class: Rewards and Punishments.” ERIC Digest. 1996.
ERIC # ED400574. http://ericir.syr.edu/plweb-cgi/fastweb?getdoc+ericdb-adv+ericdb+980695+0+wAAA+%28Shoemake%29%26AND%26%28073%29%26%3Apublication_type
Visited on April 2, 2002.
The Internet is becoming more powerful and more influential
in the business world than ever before. The realm of academia is now
making itself a visible presence on the World Wide Web. The author,
Barbara Shoemake, reflects on her techniques and methods for teaching an
online class. The use of email, as a means of interaction, was
not a novel concept when this article was published in 1996. Email
is now a standard method of communication in today's society, whereas in
1996, it was only beginning to become commonplace in non academia and business
settings. Experience and aptitude on the Internet could and can be
increased by exploration--chatting, and playing games have fueled the development
of online skills. Even though many schools made their schedules more
flexible by providing weekend and evening classes to the non-traditional
student, it was not always enough. The introduction of online classes
have allowed for more flexibility in scheduling and accessibility. Shoemake
conceived this course as a summer research grant to explore the aspects and
functions of Internet course contents. Since 1995, there has been a
huge increase in the number of degrees and courses that are available online.
Online course forums meet in a variety of situations--email, virtual
classrooms, discussion boards, IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and portals. Shoemake
sought assistance from computing experts to test the effectiveness of teaching
in the virtual environment. The class met in a computer lab for the
first three weeks and explored the Internet together. After three weeks,
the students were to be responsible for finding their own way to log on to
the Internet. They met online until the students requested that there
be a classroom meeting once a week because they were feeling disconnected
and isolated from one another.
I chose this article because it was from 1996 and that
was the period of six months to a year after I became familiar with
the Internet. In addition, I am currently enrolled in two online
course--my first such experience. Since the article was written in 1996,
there were some problems that are not as widespread in 2002, as they
were then. The majority of students today have ready access to the
Internet. If not at home or at the office, then at the facilities at
school. Most centers of education have access to the information super
highway. Also, in present the day, modems are standard issue in most
computers unlike in 1995, where they had to be requested or external additions
to the system. Shoemake mentions that the positive outcome of the class
was that the students were all on the same level---how can that be assumed
in all classes. For instance, in this class their a different degrees
of computer experience--newbies to advanced users.
