Learn Something New Every Day: How Online Education Can Foster Inclusiveness and Prepare Students for the Global Age

In a recent issue of Perspectives on History, a poll of professors and instructors on their relationship to the use of technology in the classroom revealed the history professions tenacity to cling to the past.  The responses were overwhelming underwhelmed.  Most professionals in the field seemed ambivalent or downright negative about the use of technological teaching aids like Power Point, Video, and very specifically about the use of online classrooms.  Other statistics reveal that the number of students demanding online classes rises each year and that more and more schools are creating offerings to meet that challenge.  The growth in for profit institutions which often offer entirely online degrees to any student willing to pay is another factor in the ongoing debate over the place of online classes in higher education.  In this presentation, I hope to address both the positive and negative outcomes of online coursework thorough my own personal experience.  I will demonstrate various online classroom platforms and illustrate how they promote diversity and information literacy.  I currently teach in the classroom for the University of Hawaii Hilo, but over the years have taught online for several other schools.  As I prepare to create my first online World History course for UHH, I find myself pondering the question, how do we foster inclusiveness in an online environment and prepare our students with 21st century skills?  After all, how many current job postings do not list familiarity with the internet or technological skills as desirable qualifications?       

I believe the purpose of teaching is to create active, considerate thinkers and to foster independent thought and inquiry on the part of our students.  Learning history is about mastering abstract concepts, as well as why those concepts matter and how they have shaped human lives.  My hope is to train students to critically analyze information, and to apply that information to their daily lives, instead of obsessing about getting an A in the course.  Can online classes achieve those goals?  I believe so.  Issues such as shyness, language barriers, insecurities about status that may prevent a student from participating in a traditional classroom are removed in the virtual realm.  I feel very passionate about online education and the ability it provides for students from all backgrounds and levels to obtain a higher degree.  My students range in age and come from many different cultures, but they all have one thing in common, they’re hoping to create a better life for themselves and their families by going to school.  Many of my students come from less affluent economic backgrounds, and many come from rural areas or reservations where there is a lack of schools.  America, and our classrooms, are on the road to greater, not lesser diversity.  The growth in technology and diversity must be reflected in our methodology and teaching approach.  Otherwise as historians, we may find ourselves even further down the list for funding, campus opportunities, and institutional support at our universities and colleges.