Dr. Dan Surry

Dr. Dan Surry is an Associate Professor in the College of Education,Professional Studies Department. He teaches online courses on instructional design, training systems, and performance systems technology.  He started teaching online in 1998, while he was at the University of Southern Mississippi, because the Instructional Technology program, led by his mentor and role model Dr. Steve Yuen, decided to explore the possibilities of online learning.

When asked how he feels about teaching online, Dr. Surry said that he loves teaching online because it helps him do a better job keeping his courses focused. He also thinks it helps him better organize his instructional materials and student assignments.  He thinks online learning is a good set up for Instructional Designers who tend to think about instruction in an organized and structured way.

He explained that he offers a lot more flexibility in his online
courses because he feels that there is really not enough time for him to
spell out exactly what he wants done on an asssignment. As he explained
it, professors in a face-to-face setting can easily discuss expectations
and answer questions from all the students about the specific
requirements of an assignment. Online professors have a harder time
addressing all the issues and questions students have, so he feels
students should be given more flexibility and latitude in how they
complete assignments.

In order to get student interaction in his online classes, Dr. Surry
uses simulations and examples. He has a fictional company called "Dr.
Dan’s SpeeDee Pizza"  which he uses as an example to highlight key
points and bring up potential issues. He thinks scenarios give students
a tangible structure they can use to understand abstract concepts. By
using the pizza company scenario, he allows students to apply their
prior knowledge related to ordering, buying, making, and eating pizza to
the discussion of training problems and performance issues a large pizza
company might have.

To other online professors, Dr. Surry’s advice is, “The first time
you teach online, it is not going to be perfect. Use it as a learning
experience for yourself and your students.” He said that many
professors expect their online classes to be done and perfect at the
beginning of the course, but he states that “designing any course is
always a work in progress, especially a course you teach in a new way or
using a new technology”. Instructors, he says, should try to
constantly get better at their course design but shouldn’t get too
stressed out at first. He also encourages other professors to create a
way for students to get questions answered once to avoid answering the
same question many times. He suggested that one way to accomplish this
is through the use of a Frequently Asked Questions page. Also, using
something that ties the class together like a theme, concept, or ongoing
role playing activity is another suggestion that Dr. Surry offers to
other online professors.

For his final thoughts as an online professor, Dr. Surry said the job
of a professor is changing. “Our responsibility is to be intelligent
consumers of new technologies”, he said. “It’s okay to like or not
like teaching online”, he said “but as professors our challenge is
to figure out ways to use online learning, or at least some aspect of
it,  in a way that will help us do our job effectively in the changing
higher education environment.”