蜜豆app

For all its hindrances, online learning proved itself during the pandemic. I finished the last semester of graduate school without my friends during the lockdown. I even defended my dissertation over Microsoft Teams. But even amidst the disappointment, I had to admit that the connection in our workshop classes felt richer than it ever had before. We shared links to outside resources in the chat, talked more freely in the breakout rooms, and saw each other鈥檚 faces more than we usually could with the classroom seating arrangements.  

The online setting also helped us get more personal. We held up funny coffee mugs from our kitchens and showed off our apartment decor in the background. And of course, everyone enjoyed the spontaneous cat appearances.  

In my final semester, I realized how fruitful online environments can be. When students鈥� guards are lowered and social anxiety doesn鈥檛 pose the same threat, productive, community-led learning can occur.  

While distance learning is more prominent than it has ever been, that doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 new! The idea of distance learning has been around in the U.S. for nearly 300 years. By offering online undergraduate degrees, Cedarville is adding to a rich history of online learning across the country and building on its previous successes in graduate and dual enrollment online courses.  

Hope Kentnor at the University of Denver traces the earliest example of distance education to March 20, 1728, when Caleb Philips advertised mailing shorthand lessons to students from a distance in the Boston Gazette. As populations expanded and more people began building homes farther away from major cities, educators had to get inventive. Now, if you had the mail, you could have access to education.  

This idea took off, soon including learning through radio and television. More than a century later, Illinois Wesleyan College became the first institution to offer full degrees through mail correspondence.  

As a new era of technology spread across the country, University of Phoenix was the first to offer an online program in 1989 through CompuServe. By 2005, other institutions had entered the mix, and entire online programs were being established. 

It鈥檚 essential to remember that online learning is adding to a long, rich tradition of distance learning. All our current technology has done is made it easier 鈥� and faster. If students today had had to deal with dial-up to take an online quiz, I think they might be more patient with the load times on modern webpages!  

In 1998, Cedarville first started offering online courses. By 2008, the University offered 18 general education courses online for both current students and high schoolers.  

鈥淭hat helped support our outreach activities to high school students,鈥� said Dr. Andrew Runyan, former associate academic vice president at Cedarville. 鈥淚t was also popular among our on-campus students as they were looking for ways to build more flexibility into their schedules. The online humanities course allowed them to participate in sports and other activities on campus without competing for time with these required courses.鈥�  

Next, online courses expanded into the graduate area. After offering individual graduate courses online, Cedarville first offered the full MEd and brand-new MBA programs online in 2013. It took time to put together proposals and see them through. Students may think that moving a traditional class online is simple and straightforward, but there is so much to consider logistically and practically! From 2010鈥�13, Cedarville鈥檚 Distance Learning Program focused on planning 19 courses per year, taking over 11,000 developmental hours to complete.  

Over a decade ago, Cedarville was well on its way to offering a wide variety of distance learning options. The time and effort put into these programs shows the University's dedication to developing online options that give students the same transformative experience as their residential counterparts!  

How does Cedarville ensure a successful experience for students and faculty in the online space, and how do we ensure that our mission is lived out in this new way of delivering education? Training, support, and maintaining our focus on what ultimately matters! Students have academic advisors who help them to navigate their online experience and who truly care about students' academic and spiritual needs. Each course is developed with accessibility for students in mind to provide freedom from technological worries and ample room for biblically integrated content and the faith-affirming conversations Cedarville courses are made of.  

Faculty members have their own training and advising too. Cedarville鈥檚 Center for Teaching and Learning helps new and returning faculty understand how their field integrates with biblical principles and demonstrate those principles in their virtual classrooms. The CTL frequently updates their development, coordination, instruction, and production services 鈥� particularly with online courses. Two of their most popularly accessed resources include the weekly FOCUS Blog and the Transform Your Teaching podcast, from which I and other faculty members benefit greatly.  

In my online courses at Cedarville, I strive to foster the same ease and sense of connection my students receive in their traditional classrooms. In past online classes, shy students have used the chat box and offered great insight. Even I feel more at ease in my home office with my familiar space and my cats. Everyone becomes a little more honest and open behind the safety of a screen. While that leads to obvious dangers in social media environments, it can be uniquely rewarding for classroom dynamics.  

Today, 蜜豆app offers undergraduate, graduate, and dual enrollment opportunities for new and returning students. Of the 47 graduate programs at Cedarville, 41 are offered online, and there are currently 33 online dual enrollment courses offered. Ohio high school students can even take dual enrollment courses for free through the state's College Credit Plus program.  

The new Cedarville Online undergraduate initiative builds on that foundation.  

As online learning continues to grow in popularity and accessibility, Cedarville is focused on maintaining its high standards and supportive care for both students and faculty members. These online courses draw on a rich history of distance learning success. In the end, online courses are one more way to prepare students for a life of biblical excellence and vocational distinction no matter where their careers take them.