Kristen Utley is taking the last four classes of her graduate program without ever having set foot on campus.
Utley is taking distance education classes from the U. She said she is glad to see the program expanding to educate more people in rural communities, like hers in Richfield, Utah.
“You don’t have to move north and relocate your family,” said Utley, a graduate student in special education. “This allows for the best education possible in the communities that need it most.”
The distance education program is expanding this year, offering more interactive classes. Each class will have monitors and microphones to connect instructors to designated student sites throughout the state using the Internet. Instructors will be able to display PowerPoint presentations and students will be able to interact with each other.
“There is an increasing interest in the use of distance education across the campus,” said Helen Lacy, director of instructional media services at the U.
Lacy said the College of Education offered the first distance education classes at the U about 10 years ago and the program has expanded consistently since then. The College of Education, College of Social Work and College of Nursing are adding new distance education classrooms8212;nursing added the classes this semester. The Department of Physics will have a class online by January and the College of Engineering will have additional classes online by June .
Academic Outreach and Continuing Education plan to add student sites in Sandy and Murray.
There are about 500 sites for students to receive distance education throughout the state, which provides Internet connection between the sites, said Claire Gardner, assistant director for Utah Education Network.
“We have made it very much like a face-to-face class,” she said. “The partnership between the U and Dixie State is a perfect example. Students at Dixie have the benefit of special-education classes from the department up here.”
The special education department is one of the most frequent users of distant education programs at the U.
“In special education we’re dealing with a critical teacher shortage around the state,” said Matt Jameson, distance education coordinator for special education. “We need to be able to offer licensure programs to rural counties.”
Nicole Suchey, a clinical instructor in special education, began teaching her first distance-education course this semester.
“I’ve had to rethink some of the ways I teach, but for the most part I haven’t had to change a whole lot,” she said.
Suchey’s course is linked to classrooms in St. George and Sevier County. She said distance education is likely to spread at the U because of the simplicity of operating it.
Jan Day, a research instructor in sensory impairments, said her distance-education classes were videotaped before the technology allowed for streaming video.
“It takes some getting used to,” she said. “But I prefer it to every other thing I’ve done in terms of distance ed.”
Nancy Nielson, a graduate student in special education who lives in Millard County, said if she attended classes on campus it would take her about two hours to get home.
“It is impossible for me to get from my work to class in Salt Lake,” Nielson said.
She is earning her teaching license and vision endorsement in special education through distance education.
In addition to live connections, distance education at the U also provides online classes and televised courses. According to U online statistics, enrollment for online courses increases about 20 percent each year. About 3,940 students registered online during Spring Semester 2008, and approximately 5,600 students have enrolled this semester.
Ben KuhnsNicole Suchey teaches a distance education class to students in St. George and Sevier County.