Nassau Community College offers many program software and web 2.0 technologies to its online students. However, just like any other organization, there is always room for improvement. To decipher the areas of improvement, two interviews were conducted. Both interviews were with students who currently attend this college's online program. The first student named Alexis Robinson is studying English; the second student Cheryl Scott is in the beginning nursing program. When questioning each student about upgrades or changes, both came up with the same ideas. These ideas are to include options of webcasts or some form of real-time chat between teachers and students, and to provide the test online instead of in a face-to-face environment.
Providing real-time programs such as webcasts as an option for students caters to individuals who are visual learners. When interviewing both Alexis, and Cheryl, they both mentioned how it would be nice to receive faster feedback from their instructors. Presently, the only way to receive feedback is either through e-mail, or blackboard. Although this is great, they are both students who enjoy being in interactive environments. Alexis stated " I love the online program, however, I would feel a lot better as a student if I can actually see my professor through a webcam. I think class would be more interesting if students and teachers were able to communicate at the same time, at some point in the week" (A. Robinson, personal communication, June 27, 2013). She also mentioned listening to audio recordings can hinder her learning because they become boring and monotonous. She does love the idea of retrieving a lesson at her leisure; however, she also believes lessons in real-time will improve integration for adult learners with busy lifestyles.
Nassau Community College only offers proctor exams in a face-to-face setting. This can become a problem for those adult learners who are always on the move. During the interview with Cheryl Scott, she mentioned, the on campus exams are very time consuming. Although the college offers different time slots, it is very difficult for her because her work hours have little flexibility. One of the upgrades or improvements that will benefit Nassau's online program is to create a program that is designed to provide timed online exams. This option will be provided for those students who have hectic schedules. During the interview, Cheryl stated "It would be so much easier if I was able to take my exams online. I understand the concept behind proctored examinations, but it hard for students with little flexibility in their schedules. The only upgrade I would really love, besides real-time sessions is timed online examinations" (C. Scott, Personal Interview, June 28, 2013). The timed examinations can be an option to replace the proctored examinations. The school can give the student a specific amount of time to complete the examination once they began. Timing the exam or test makes it possible to judge the students knowledge without showing up for a proctor exam (Littlefield, 2013, para 3). The student is only given a certain amount of time to complete the exam, therefore, there would not be enough time to cheat or open a text book. This will prevent conflicts with trying to schedule a face-to-face exam. At the same time, it will put instructors minds at ease about possible cheating.
These interviews has given Team C the opportunity to deeper examine the upgrades needed in Nassau Community College's online program. The two upgrades mentioned above (real-time sessions, and timed online exams) are beneficial to improving the attitude and academics of the school's adult learners. Making these changes will not only benefit the school, they would benefit and cater to differentiation in instruction as well.
References
Littlefield, Jamie. (2013). Online College Testing Requirements. Retrieved from
http://distancelearn.about.com/od/distancelearning101/p/OnlineTesting.htm
Robinson, A. (2013, June 27). Personal Interview.
Scott, C. (2013, June 28). Personal Interview.
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