Virtual learning — Online classes' popularity surges among Utah students

Utah college students can hit the snooze button all they want.

Punctuality is a thing of the past and pajamas in class are no longer taboo with the increasing popularity of virtual classrooms.

With more than 2,000 courses now offered online through Utah state colleges and universities, students are signing up in droves for the convenience of online learning instead of traditional classrooms. Nearly 22,000 students across the state signed up for an online class this fall.

"It does help students balance their time schedule between work and school, it allows students to take that one extra course they might not be able to fit in their schedule and it decreases the time it takes to finish a degree," said Chuck Wight, assistant vice president for academic affairs at the University of Utah.

At the U., the popularity of online classes has surged since 2000, with a 200 percent increase in the number of students taking courses this semester. Nearly 4,000 students enrolled in the roughly 100 courses offered online this year, which means students never have to meet with teachers and can submit assignments and tests via the Internet. Lectures and course materials are also accessible online, along with class discussion boards for virtual participation points.

The classes, which cost the same as standard tuition, are no different than a regular classroom, Wight said. Students still interact with one another via e-mail or chat groups, and the same material is covered.

The students, however, are able to set their own schedules for reading lectures, taking quizzes and doing their work, he said.

"It's accessible right off the bat. You're not schedule-driven," U. psychology professor Tom Malloy said. "Students want to be able to juggle other classes, have jobs and family time. The flexibility of scheduling online courses is a major advantage, students say over and over."

Malloy noted, however, that the online classroom can have its drawbacks, like less human interaction. Opting out of face-to-face with a professor isn't the answer for all students, he said.

But the online class can offer learning tools traditional classrooms lack, Malloy added. In a statistics class he designed, students are able to navigate through a virtual reality and must discover the laws of the fictional universe that have been preset by the professor.