0.3 Findings  (Page 16/22)

Neal believed it was important for students to be able to observe experienced counselors demonstrating the different theoretical models being studied. He felt the videos were an important component of learning about counseling. “There are three ways I know of to experience a counseling session. You become a client, you become a counselor, or you have a videotape of it.”

Attitude toward technology

While Neal thought the online Day resources added significantly to the learning experiences of his students, he felt strongly that teaching totally online was not adequate to teach the subject.

I use [technology] as a tool. I don’t want to be an online instructor. In the helping professions we must learn face-to-face. I give the students certain assignments because I want to replicate how to find a core, talking in committees, talking to your supervisor, talking with colleagues resolving conflict, finding solutions, working out a plan, being a part of interdisciplinary team meetings. I want to replicate as many of those skills as possible, and you cannot do that online.

Neal didn’t seem to consider that online communication in the workplace has become more prevalent than typed memos or telephone calls. Although face-to-face communications skills are vital, good online communication skills cannot be overlooked.

Neal spoke of his dean as a “techno-geek,” who pushed the instructors to use more technology:

I prefer to use either a white board or a chalk board as I develop my lecture materials. I’m very hesitant to bring [technology] into the classroom. Teaching is about relationship, and you build relationship by interaction. I think PowerPoint and videos can detract from teaching and make students more passive. I would rather have book, teacher, and the students. These things are tried, they are true, they are dependable, and they last.

At another point of the conversation, Neal reflected on the focus of his work and training as a therapist and teacher:

All of my professional training has been how to work with people, not technology. But I would welcome more stuff on technology as long as it were designed as a supplement to my teaching, as opposed to the primary way of teaching.

Although Neal could be dogmatic, he allowed himself to consider different options and adopt changes, such as incorporating technology in his teaching, as long as it served to enrich the learning experience and didn’t encroach on the way he liked to teach. His defensiveness made it seem as if teaching with technology was being forced upon him. He had been willing to devote a major portion of his Christmas break to learn to use the Online Day interface, to post his materials on it, and to create the chapter quizzes from the online test bank. However, Neal would not be won over to teaching completely online.

How teaching was different

Neal was grateful for the test bank questions and the automated grading function of the software. He thought the ease with which students could check their grades from the quizzes online helped give them confidence in knowing where they stood in the class. The ability to select questions from the test bank and create the quizzes online made his workload considerably lighter. He stated that the biggest difference in his teaching using Online Day from previous semesters was attributable to using the testing and grading functions.