Virtual Office Hours
It’s been a crazy week – midterm wek for my students, which means I’ve been putting review material together and getting tests ready. Way back in the 90s, when I had to walk five miles to class in the snow uphill both ways, this was the time that students would flood professors’ office hours to try and figure out that which confounded them. This week, only one student has stopped by office to ask a question. (Since I don’t have an office at one of the schools where I teach, this is probably a good thing.) Instead, every night I’ve been answering e-mails and holding instant messenger sessions with students who want to go over material.
Now, especially since I’m an adjunct, this is a great help for my students and for me. I spend a lot of the working day running around from one campus to another, so I don’t have as much time as I’d like to make sure that I can be avilable to students at the different times that their schedules allow. (If you have a class during the window I’m able to schedule office hours at a particular campus, you’re pretty much out of luck.) But this way, I’m actually available at the time when, let’s be honest, many students are actually realizing “Holy crap, I don’t get this and the test is tomorrow!”
It really is amazing how much technology has changed education in just ten years. When I started writing this post, I tried to remember if any of my professors had e-mail, and I don’t believe they did. Most of the campuses I teach at have built new classroom space over the years that include built-in audio-video systems with DVD players, PCs, and high-resolution projectors – a far cry from the VCRs-on-a-cart of days gone by. And I love all the new toys, don’t get me wrong – I get a kick out of showing scenes from Monty Python on a big screen and calling it work. The one thing that it does make me wonder about is, the more technology we build into the educational experience, the more expensive education becomes. And given the issues we have in this country with education affordability, that does give me some pause.
About Dave Thomer
Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.