CAS CONNECT 2019

Along with the opportunities offered by a fully online degree program come new challenges and complications. “The students who take online or distance classes are much more likely to drop out than ordinary students, given the lack of the personal connection to the school and the instructor,” Mayfield said. “And many faculty simply don’t realize the difficulty of teaching an online class. It is so much more than just putting a video lecture and your PowerPoint slides online. It requires continual interaction with the students to keep them engaged.” The College of Arts and Sciences has implemented several new features to facilitate and assist instructors in designing online courses. Instructional designer Caitlin Barnes, Ph.D., works with faculty to transition curriculum into an online format. The college also recently constructed the CASMultimedia Studio, where faculty members record lectures and multimedia producer Donovan Potts professionally edits the videos to create stunning, high-quality educational content. With OSU’s new learning management system, Canvas, the college’s online education is more streamlined and accessible than ever before. “CAS Outreach and Communications is doing everything they can to help facilitate online instruction,” Barnes said. “It’s exciting to see CAS expanding its reach to truly distant learners through fully online programs.” The Department of Computer Science, for example, is offering a new online course Mobile App Development with additional electives in the future such as Intro to Computer Security and Video Game Development. “Colleges and universities can either say, ‘No, we’re going to stick to the old-fashioned way,’ and continue to alienate potential students,” Mayfield said. “Or we can move forward with the future.” OSU COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SC I ENCES 23