November 7, 1997

When the ivy-covered walls come crumbling down...

Dr. Greg Kearsley

You have to admit, logging onto a laptop computer with a cellular modem on a boat in the Florida Keys during winter does have a certain appeal.

For Dr. Greg Kearsley, it's just another day teaching his on-line students. Kearsley is a virtual professor. He doesn't use a classroom, doesn't need a library, couldn't care less about a faculty club, and never worries about parking. "The point of being a virtual professor is that you don't care about institutions. You care about courses and students," says the U of A graduate.

Kearsley teaches his courses from wherever he is in the world. Once it was at a payphone on a beach. Usually, it's from his 24-foot Hunter sailboat called "Thanks Mum." Another time. well, let's just say it was during an intimate moment. However, the educational technology expert is affiliated with an institution because that's the only way his students can get credit for his courses. Kearsley is based at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, one of the top institutions for distance-education programs in the United States.

Teaching and learning do not have to be confined to a lecture hall with podium and blackboard, he says. "Educators don't do what media know how to do really well." And that is using video and audio clips to hear and see experts in the field. Kearsley says that's changing-slowly. He says more and more professors and universities are using on-line teaching. He was recently guest lecturer for a course at UBC, along with a Mexican university-all done through electronic communication. "It adds excitement to classes . Once we use technology, we get a clear sense that it works," says Kearsley.

A classroom full of faces frustrates him because he can only hear from a small number of students. On-line, however, he says he gets clear, thoughtful responses from all his students, who can read everybody's answers. This is participatory learning, says Kearsley.

Interactive and asynchronous. Who needs scheduled classes with lectures crammed into one hour? Kearsley posts his assignments on-line. Students work and interact whenever they want, not when a university calendar says so. Deadlines, however, are firm. Kearsley got into virtual teaching out of necessity. As part of the corporate world in San Diego after graduating from the U of A in 1978, Kearsley was travelling frequently. He was also teaching part-time and had to find a way to fulfil his teaching commitments. As a result, his teaching tools became audio conferences, then video conferences, then posting information on bulletin boards before the birth of World Wide Web pages. Guest lecturers who met with students when he was away complemented his methods.

Dr. Kearsley, the virtual professor, was born.

The general consensus, says Kearsley, is that students are learning more. Although many studies show no negligible differences in learning with or without technology, Kearsely argues there is no theoretical framework to properly measure the differences. That's because theories of learning were created long ago and no longer apply to today's methods, he says. One suggestion, says Kearsley is to look at portfolios of students work, over a longer period of time, rather than exam results.

The downside to being a "virtual professor," as he calls himself is the lack of preparation time because, "we don't have a system which allows professors time to prepare materials. That's why we don't see a lot of technology used in education." We're also dealing with a generation of teachers who are not comfortable using new technology, he says.

So, how can administrators justify spending millions on classroom upgrades when there's no guarantee of their use? It's a necessary expenditure, says Kearsley.

"What we really need to spend money on is training faculty and teachers to prepare themselves. But then we need the facilities available for their use."

Do colleagues of the "virtual professor" think he's a "nutty professor?"

"Yeah, some traditionalists think I'm nuts," says Kearsley. But ivy-covered walls won't come crumbling down anytime soon, says Kearsley.

An on-line university is pretty threatening for a lot of people. A virtual university doesn't need a stadium, says Kearsley. That means it doesn't need an athletic director for a semi-pro football team. It doesn't need parking, cafeteria services, or librarians.

"Traditionalists can't imagine effective teaching and learning on-line. I can't imagine it any other way," he says.

For more information on Kearsley, see http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/~gregp.

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