Planet eCampus

Diane Wright is an assistant professor  of adult and career education at Valdosta State University and teaches eMajor online courses. Often sought out by her colleagues for her expertise in online teaching,  Dr. Wright contends that s tudying and teaching online takes more time than learning or teaching in the classroom. In spite of the challenges, Dr. Wright says, "the  main reason I teach online is for my students.  The majority of my students are taking online courses to meet their work or life schedules.  I have some students who are holding several part-time jobs so the only way they can take courses is online." One of the most challenging aspects of teaching through eMajor is videoconferencing.  " We use Wimba for our video conversation, but it still can’t replace the experience of face-to-face interaction," she says.  "Students who like a quick exchange of ideas typically like a classroom environment.  On the other hand, students w...

One of the best kept secrets in much of Georgia is the dual enrollment program which allows high school students to take college courses and also receive high school credit simultaneously. eCore, the University System of Georgia's online core curriculum, offers several fully-online core courses through nine USG institutions . High school students who take dual enrollment courses often start college with a year or more of college already completed, and save money because Georgia's ACCEL program covers most or all the tuition. Furthermore, the courses taken do not count towards the 129 hours covered by Georgia's HOPE program. Last Friday, Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 131, which will provide even more incentives for high school students to participate. The legislation, which goes into affect July 1, will give bonus points to a student's GPA and count towards the "rigorous coursework" that the HOPE scholarship requires. "These partnership...