Beginning my Master’s Ed/E-Learning program at U. of I. Global Campus

I have just been accepted into a new Masters of Education program at the University of Illinois that focuses on E-Learning. Here’s the kicker. The entire program is online. I will not meet face-to-face with any of my fellow students or teachers, with the possible exception of a few scheduled meetings for the final course or two of my 18-month program. I had the same misgivings that I think anyone would have with an entirely online program, but I decided to join this program because of the reputation of University of Illinois graduate school and their reassurance that the degree I earn will be listed as a Master’s degree from U. of I. with no addendum or asterisk indicating that it is anything other than a brick and mortar degree. I may have faith in the ability of U. of I. to deliver a quality online program, but I do not have faith in future employers feeling the same way about my new degree.

So, along with other educational technology topics that I discuss in here, I will use this blog to document my experience with this program.

A few facts about this program. It is brand spanking new. I am joining this online Master’s degree program in just its second semester of existence. It’s a small program. I am joining a group of 31 students. I am pursuing the Master’s of Ed, but it is possible to enroll in some of the same classes I’ll be taking in order to earn a Graduate Certificate in Foundations of E-Learninig or in Management of E-Learning. The online interface for all the classes is called Desire2Learn (D2L), accessible through the Global Campus website once you are enrolled in the program. It seems that it is not possible to explore this interface in any significant (or useful) way, or to look at course syllabii and reading assignments unless you are enrolled as a student.

Some first impressions. This limited access to detailed course descriptions and teacher profiles before joining the program is a weakness. It almost kept me from joining this program. Again, the reputation of the institution of the University of Illinois (and that I qualify for in-state tuition) was crucial in getting me past misgivings over what could potentially just be an expensive correspondence course. Now that I have paid tuition for my first course, Foundations of Online Teachng and Learning, I’ll find out whether I made the right decision.

Navigating U of I Global Campus "Direct2Learn" interface

The first step, even before paying the tuition for my first class, Foundations of Online Teaching and Learning, was “claiming” my online student id and resetting my password. Nope. I will not share, except to say that the requirement for the password forced me to create one that has no numbers related to any of my personal info and no combination of letters that form a word. No shortcuts or easy to remember word/number combinations. I also spoke to my personal counselor, Jennifer, who sounds like she’s 20 years my junior and was sincerely happy to “meet” me over the phone and help me with every question I could possibly have. This personal attention is reassuring and may be the kind of detail that keeps this program from experience the kind of drop-out rate that seems to plague most distance learning.

Armed with my id and password, I logged onto Global Campus, selected my first course and paid for it (by credit card, of course). The interface was simple and intuitive. There was also a link to the textbook for my class, Teaching and learning at a Distance, allowing me to order it through for $53.30 With a shipping charge of $9.99 (for one book!). Amazon.com had a used copy for $48.85, with a shipping charge of only $3.99. And a newer edition. The Global Campus “bookstore” strikes out.

No information available about the class, yet. The syllabus won’t be available until May 7, which, I guess, counts as the official first day of class. I suppose that makes sense, since students in a brick and mortar class wouldn’t get their syllabii until the fist day of class