Professor creates unique online language course

Professor creates unique online language course

As online education continues to grow, many teachers are exploring the different options they have to deliver information to home-based students. Many universities offer online classes that use video conferencing, web-cameras and instant messaging.

For example, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, professor Tim Cook is creating a new type of online course, using Skype - a free service that allows users to make phone calls and video conferences via the Internet - to communicate with his class, according to the UAB Reporter. Cook teaches an introduction to Japanese course that combines language, literature and theater. He structures the class as a call-in talk show, which is presented completely in Japanese.

The professor will host classes from locations such as the Japanese Garden at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

"I don't want this to be an experience a student could get in a classroom," Cook told the news source. "This is going to be a visual presentation - something to look at and listen to - and at it's going to be interactive."

Japanese 101 will consist of three 30-minute video-conferences per week, a number of 30-minute recorded video lessons and 20-minute recorded conversation sessions, as well as other online activities.

According to a Babson-Sloan report, more than one in four students are enrolled in at least one course online, and most higher education institutions believe that increasing online classes and degrees is critical for the success of their students.

By Mark Danson