September 15, 1999 Web posted at: 1:25 p.m. EDT (1725 GMT) by Reena Jana

From...

(IDG) -- Nitin Guar, a systems specialist at IBM's offices in Austin, Texas, would urge any of his IT colleagues to take a class online. After all, he's already completed two online courses offered by the University of Maryland: one on programming for intranets, another on Web management.

"For anyone who majored in MIS or works in IT, there's no problem with battling the technical mechanics of an online class, something that's hard for nontechies to overcome and perhaps the biggest pitfall to online learning," Guar says.

Guar also believes students in an online class receive more attention from instructors.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
	IDG.net home page
InfoWorld home page
InfoWorld forums home page
InfoWorld Internet commerce section
Get Media Grok and The Industry Standard Intelligencer delivered for free
Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
IDG.net's personal news page
Year 2000 World
Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you
Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for IT leaders
Search IDG.net in 12 languages
News Radio
	Fusion audio primers
	Computerworld Minute

"One-on-one relationships with professors can be better than in a live classroom," Guar says. "When I've studied online, I'd e-mail a paper or a question, and I'd get a quick, attentive reply directly from my professors."

But his recollections of the virtual classroom experience include caveats as well.

"When I first took an online class, I found it somewhat frustrating," Guar says. "I found I had to be extra disciplined to do the homework and keep up. Plus, even though online classes are supposed to be interactive, it can get boring taking a class all by yourself."

Guar's mixed experience may be typical, according to experts -- and it illustrates the positive and negative aspects of online learning that you should consider before enrolling.

Pros and cons

"Those who thrive on the social aspects of the classroom might find online learning a challenge," says Cindy Yager, chief technology officer of geteducated.com, a distance-learning consulting company located in Waterbury, Vt., and co-author of The Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools: Earning Your Degree Without Leaving Home (Random House/Princeton Review Publishing, 1998).

Social aspects aside, online classes can be practical, particularly for IT professionals.

"Online classes in the technology areas can often zero right in on a specific skill set or subset that an IT professional is trying to gain in a way that campus-based classes aren't as able to," Yager says. She should know: She took an online class in Visual Basic via the University of California at Los Angeles.

"When I took the Visual Basic class online, I found it quite easy to follow the syllabus, get through the programming exercises, and learn some of the basics in a more hands-on manner," Yager says.

Andy DiPaolo, executive director of Stanford University's Center for Professional Development, in Stanford, Calif., who oversees development for Stanford's online course offerings, agrees.

"The highest demand for our online classes comes from the technology industry, because if you're in the computer science field, you require constant education," DiPaolo says. "And commuting to a university campus takes away precious time from work."

But online classes aren't for everyone in IT, warns DiPaolo.

"You've got to be extraordinarily focused and motivated," DiPaolo says. "People often don't realize that online classes are just as intellectually demanding as live classes."

Vicky Phillips, CEO of geteducated.com and Yager's co-author on The Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools, believes success in the virtual classroom boils down to effective time management and dedication.

"It's very easy to sign up for an online class, then get busy and forget to go back and complete it," Phillips says. "At the end of an online class, no one marks your name just because you showed up. You'll have to demonstrate that you've mastered the material."

Choose carefully

Frank Connolly, a professor of computer science and information at American University, in Washington, has taught both live and online classes and currently consults with other colleges to help plan effective online courses. He advises students to carefully choose the type of online class they want to take.

Synchronous classes usually require students to attend online chats and turn in homework at specific times. Asynchronous classes let students work at their own pace.

"Students should realize that synchronous classes provide a framework with specific deadlines and some peer pressure to attend that is not present in an asynchronous class," Connolly says.

For a database administrator at a financial institution in San Francisco, choosing the wrong format for an online class made him lose interest.

"With the first online class I took, all the material was already laid out, and I just surfed through all the pages. With a live instructor, the material could change and be more dynamic," says the database administrator, who enrolled in a multimedia course. "If the topics are hard to grasp, the professor can slow down. But in an asynchronous online class, all that is static."

Phillips points out, however, that asynchronous online classes have advantages.

"You can log on, isolate the skill you need to learn, and take only the individual lessons that relate to this specific skill," Phillips says.

Connolly says to consider the course's content when choosing whether to learn online.

"When the content is factual, as many technical courses are, then I think online classes stack up well with in-person classes," Connolly says. "But when the content is more subjective or is enhanced by discussion, it becomes more difficult to do online."

Reena Jana is a freelance writer in New York.