Make the most out of Ewha Cyber Campus

    Ever since the Ewha Cyber Campus opened in 1998, a number of online classes have been accommodated along with offline classes every semester. Especially in recent years, the number of e-classes has increased greatly: 3,410 in 2007, 3,865 in 2008, and 4,349 in 2009 opened on the Ewha Cyber Campus. Not only has the number of e-classes risen, but also the usefulness as a class tool.
    Professors can give out quizzes to students through the Ewha Cyber Campus and check for plagiarism among submitted papers using special tracing tools. 
    One advantage for students is that they have a fixed online spot for team presentation preparations.
    "Providing online classes started in 1997 by the Multimedia Education Institute. The Ewha Cyber Campus has complemented the constraints of offline classes,” said Professor Kim Youngsoo, the director at the Institute of Teaching and Learning (ITL). 
    Professor Kim Sung-hyun (economics) is an active user of e-classes. His class was chosen as one of the best e-classes introduced by the ITL. As Microeconomics is a study that includes a great number of numerical formulas and graphs, students try not to miss every little comment made by the professor. To help students prepare and review classes, 
    Kim also pursues a relationship with his students outside the class. Postings such as asking students to eat lunch together often appear on the Ewha Cyber Campus. 
    Another example is the Modern Physics and the Revolution in Human Thinking course by Professor Kim Chan-ju (Physics).
    One of Kim’s e-class’s outstanding features Sis that students have a free board where they can talk about anything they want. Some students ask for other students’ comments and write their thoughts related to topics the class covered, and some write about their daily lives. Kim replies to students’ postings.
    Moreover, there is a discussion board where students can ask and answer questions to prepare for upcoming tests.
    "Students ask many questions about materials and I cannot answer them all. So I set a deadline one day prior to the test for students who have questions,” Kim said. “After that, students can use the discussion board to solve the questions by themselves."  
    However, not all e-classes seem to be operated to get the most out of the e-class system. Kim Ji-in (Business, 2) said she feels inconvenienced in classes without the online component. Kim said spending time answering questions and making notices in classes is sometimes a waste of time. 
    “Professor called out five students each time to have them check the exam scores,” Kim said. “The whole procedure took 30 minutes.” Kim Ji-in added that many students have questions that they don’t have an opportunity to ask offline. 
    “I hope more professors open e-classes and use them as an effective learning tool. Also, students themselves should perform their roles to be a part of this learning community, by sharing information and knowledge in e-classes,” said Kim Youngsoo.