by Cynthia L. Corritore, Ph.D.
Most faculty in higher education tend to teach the way they were taught—I know this is true for me. And like most of my colleagues today, I have never taken an online course as a student. So when I was asked to put my course online, I felt quite unprepared, even though I had done it once before. (I taught one course online seven years ago as a trial, and it did not go well.) So I started the experience with great reluctance and trepidation. Much to my surprise, I finished it jubilantly. It turned out to be one of the best classes I have ever taught.

The Mandate 
I saw my previous experience with teaching online as an enormous time sink that did not improve learning. And I had hoped never to do it again. But the Dean of my college had a plan, and it involved an online version of a required MBA course I have taught in early summer for the past five years. It's a survey course that covers how information technologies are used in business. The students are working professionals, bright with little spare time. They do a fair amount of traveling for work and internships, which often precludes them from taking courses during the summer. In fact, that was the main reason this course was chosen to be put online.

I was not terribly fond of the course—in fact, I thought it was pretty boring, pedantic, and dry, and the MBA students who take it do not share my love of technology. While I try every year to communicate a deep appreciation for the pervasive role technology can and will play in their careers, most are simply there to get through the course as painlessly as possible.

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