Faculty Directions, Fall 2006 - MS Youth Development Online Degree Combines Technology with "Humanology"

Barbara Hoskins
College of Health, Education and Human Development

When the College of Health, Education and Human Development began to develop a new graduate degree in the field of Youth Development, the decision was made very early to deliver the program through the use of distance education technologies. The Youth Development profession is newly emerging and appropriate graduate degree programs are very few in number. The students are employed adults who work in various youth serving settings like youth clubs, land-grant extension programs, juvenile justice facilities, social service agencies, schools, and faith-based organizations. Since these students are located across the nation, an online delivery enables them to continue work, family, and community obligations while earning a Clemson University degree. As one student notes: "Moving to Clemson for two years is not an option."

This program has been developed into a model unique to Clemson University, but incorporating many of the nationally recognized "best practices" for adult students and online learning. The courses have been accelerated using a schedule of six weeks of content plus a final assessment. Students are admitted during the Spring session and enroll in two courses each term--one six-week course followed by a second six-week course. Current research on adult students indicates that they prefer shorter, intense courses and would rather concentrate on one subject at a time. The students complete this program in two years, similar to the length of a traditional, part-time master's degree program.

Youth Development students participate in team-building activites
one afternoon at the Outdoor Lab.Each course utilizes a mix of integrated communication, collaboration, and technology. The collaborative atmosphere begins in January when the students come to campus for a three-day orientation. During that time they have the opportunity to meet with each other and the faculty members. They attend several face-to-face sessions for their first course, learn how to navigate through Blackboard, have a practice Breeze session, and are introduced to DCIT/ETS, library, and other campus resources.

They also engage in team-building activities during an afternoon at Clemson's Outdoor Lab. They return to campus during the Spring semester of their second year to participate in the annual Research Forum. In the online world, course content in the form of assignments, readings, and discussion forums is delivered through Blackboard. Students are divided into virtual teams and assigned a group space for their collaboration. Team presentations are delivered through a weekly Breeze meeting via Webcams and microphones. Guest speakers attend the weekly Breeze meeting or meet with the students through a telephone connection. One or more discussion forums related to the current topic are posted following the Breeze meeting. Students are required to post a response to each discussion forum by Friday evening and then to reply to other student responses by Sunday evening. Assessment of the responses is based on the added value of the comments, the addition of outside links and resources, and the depth of the critique. The aim of the program is approximately 80% asynchronous and 20% synchronous interactions during formal instruction through Blackboard, Breeze, and telephone connections. Informally, the students communicate among themselves using the same technologies.
During a three-day orientation on campus, the students have the
opportunity to meet with each other and the faculty members.

The reactions of the students have been overwhelmingly positive. Many state that they would not have been able to participate in this degree program without an online delivery. Others appreciate the flexibility of being able to "attend class in my pajamas, snacks at the ready, without worrying about parking or the weather, at any hour of the day or night, and being able to send in assignments with the click of a button." One out-of-state student has commented about the differences between this online program and other online courses that she has attended. "I think a huge part of the success of the program (and I know for me personally) is the combination of technology and for lack of a better word - humanology granted to us by having spent time together as a group prior to the online class. It gave us a chance to personalize and internalize our commitment to the program, our professors, and to each other." Many of the students have expressed an appreciation for the chance to meet weekly in a Breeze session. "I look forward every week to the synchronous class, not only because of the interesting topics and new information but because of the connection it creates within our group." Another stated, "Who would have thought that graduate school could be this much fun?" The maturity of the students is evident as the program draws professionals with substantial work experience.

Faculty members have also reacted positively, but perhaps more guardedly. None of them had taught an online course previously, and they have been a bit overwhelmed with the possibilities. All have received instruction on teaching online by ETS and the HEHD Office of Distance Education. Someone from the Office of Distance Education or the Youth Development Program office attends each Breeze session to assist with any technology or procedural challenges. The faculty members appreciate the richness of resources that are available electronically and have adjusted to teaching without the benefit of reading the body language. As one faculty member notes, the fact that the students are working in this field results in "a variety of perspectives in the class discussions" and that the online environment is "quite a good neutralizer of race, gender, age - it is a very objective type of setting, assuming that all of the students are equal to the task, technology-wise." Most of the faculty members have discovered that it takes more effort to develop the course (at least the first time), but approximately the same amount of effort to teach the course as in a more traditional model. Some miss the opportunity to lead a verbal discussion beyond the short Breeze meeting. Perhaps the addition of podcasting will help with this transition. The faculty members have also discovered the flexibility of being able to teach from anywhere with an Internet-connected computer.

This program is continuing to evolve. The addition of podcasting will add another element of communication and collaboration. Some faculty members have discovered that multiple chat rooms can serve as break-out sessions for groups of students to discuss a topic and then report back to the larger class. Others have used a telephone conference call to provide access to a guest speaker. Most of the traditional classroom techniques can be modified and replicated through the use of Blackboard and Breeze, but the real success of the program is the emphasis on interaction with students and faculty members - the "humanology" that goes with the technology.