Wednesday, November 7, 2001

2 Scholars Debate the Future of Online Distance Education By JEFFREY R. YOUNG Buffalo, N.Y. Is online education a godsend to busy professionals who cannot otherwise take college courses, or is it a low-quality option that should be avoided? The Chronicle asked a distance-education administrator to face off with a prominent critic of educational technology to debate the question "What is the appropriate role of online education?" Richard S. Jarvis The participants were Richard S. Jarvis, chancellor of the United States Open University, and Clifford Stoll, author of High Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian (Anchor Books, 2000), Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information Highway (Doubleday & Company, 1995), and other books critical of technology. Both men have taught traditional college courses, and each spoke passionately about the importance of teaching. Mr. Jarvis argued that online courses could foster better interaction between students and professors in some cases, while Mr. Stoll said that online teaching would always be a "second rate" form of education. At one point, Mr. Stoll stood up and hurled a plate of fruit toward a wall to make the point that face-to-face communication is more memorable and effective for teaching than anything that takes place online (a move that Mr. Jarvis then called "a bit of melodrama"). Clifford Stoll (Photograph by Maggie Hallahan) The debate was recorded last week in a conference room here at the north campus of the State University of New York at Buffalo -- the alma mater of both men. They were on the campus to give separate speeches at a two-day conference on the future of technology in society. Listen to the full audio recording of the debate (about 30 minutes long). Or, listen to the following highlights from the discussion: Mr. Jarvis outlines his vision of online education. Mr. Stoll calls online education "second rate." Mr. Jarvis says that in some cases, online students spend more time with faculty members than traditional students do. Mr. Stoll and Mr. Jarvis debate the merits of e-mail in education. Mr. Stoll and Mr. Jarvis discuss whether it is better to have one person or a team of experts design a course, and Mr. Stoll throws the plate of fruit to make his point. Requires RealPlayer software. To obtain the software, visit the Real Networks Web site. Additional help with installing and using that software is available at http://service.real.com.) Join an online discussion about the quality of online education, or any of the topics covered by Mr. Stoll and Mr. Jarvis. Background articles from The Chronicle: Open U.'s American Spinoff Finds Interest in Shakespeare and Computer Programming (9/15/2000) Laying Bare the Virtual Truth About the Internet (10/6/1995) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

Senate approves spending bill: NIH would see increase, Pell Grants would stay at current level Senators demand tighter security of university labs Lawmakers from both parties condemn Bush's restrictions on release of presidential papers Nursing professor fired for leaving job to help terrorism victims Auburn U. considers expelling 2 fraternities after party with mock lynching, blackface Federal judge backs Florida State U. in patent dispute President of Roxbury Community College resigns, denying accusation of mismanagement Scholar issues defense of his history of guns in America Mellon Foundation announces recipients of new award for humanities scholars  Israeli university reaches compromise with Arab students over protests Company identifies student downloaders and complains to their colleges Does "digital divide" rhetoric do more harm than good? In about-face, U. of Pennsylvania limits some student use of computer network U. of Cambridge report criticizes online accounting system 2 scholars debate the future of online distance education Senate vote effectively kills a distance-education grant program U. of South Africa seeks to gag faculty dissent over chairman's actions