Ms. Cynthia Leigh Delaney

Leigh Delaney of Biology was one of the first faculty members at USA to teach an online course. She has used both eCollege and eCompanion since 2001.

She likes to personalize her class by making sure she's active. She gives the option of calling her, for more traditional students who want more interaction. Journals and chat rooms for study groups and review are ways in which she uses the tools of distance education. She notes that she sees a correlation between those who do well in class and those students who are strongly involved in the chats.

She said online education can be extremely specific with content, uploading handouts, reviews, PowerPoints. “You can bombard them with info. I email my class daily,” she said. She also notes students who might not participate in a traditional classroom participate more fully in online courses.

She said she had no distinct computer skills before teaching an online class, “I could run software, but that was about it.” She spent the fall semester preparing, and started as soon as she got the shell. Set up took from January to May.

Her advice to faculty members thinking of teaching an online class: be prepared for a little more work. “In class you can quickly answer questions,” she said, “but online you must check email, write a response, edit, send, etc., so schedule more time for such things, or use mass emails or the welcome announcements for frequently asked questions.”