Ms. Debra Chapman

 Ms. Debra Chapman is a Senior Instructor in the School of Computer and Information Sciences. She has been teaching online classes since the fall semester in 2004. Ms. Chapman started teaching CIS 150, Introduction to Computer Applications, online in the fall of 2004.

It is a requirement that all undergraduate students enrolled at the University of South Alabama demonstrate Computer Proficiency skills prior to graduating. They must pass the Computer Proficiency Exam, or pass CIS 150 (or another computing class as specified by their major).

Due to the fact that CIS 150 is the computer foundation class for most students, it is very essential it is taught in a way students learn as much as they can. That is why Ms. Chapman makes sure she organizes the course content effectively so students can benefit from this course. She understands if she lays a strong foundation for students’ computer skills, they will benefit during their entire college lives. She believes it is better to get it right the first time by being very organized.

Even though she accepts online student interaction is different from traditional classrooms, she tries to come up with innovative ways to encourage student interaction. She has created a virtual office where students post questions. She uses eCollege discussion boards and open discussion boards for student interaction. All students are required to post a discussion and respond to others’ posts. She also incorporates multimedia in the course.

When asked about what she had to share with other online instructors, she said, “Organizational structure and be prepared for your students” is the most important thing. “With traditional classrooms you can at times not be prepared and just swing the class but with online classes you just can’t do that.”

Ms. Chapman is in the preparation stages of transitioning almost all of the traditionally taught classes in the CIS department to a hybrid setting by spring 2008. She plans to use wiki’s and have students do group activities for interaction. For those new students planning to take CIS 150, Ms. Chapman is the instructor you are looking for because she loves teaching online.