Job Discussion Forums

[KME0050]

Jimpellow,

I think I can provide you with the information you are seeking, for at least one university. From the U.S., I taught online PYP classes in a University program that was the result of partnership between the University eLearning Department and the College of Languages and Translation. There was no need for a spectacular internet connection as there was no virtual classroom and the courses weren't offered in real time. I developed highly interactive lessons that were a combination of PowerPoint, video, and audio, and students were expected to work their way through each lesson on their own, completing all of the exercises (and receiving immediate feedback via PP) along the way.

I believe that there are a number of reasons why the university was seeking to expand its online course offerings, not the least of which was financial. For each non-local instructor hired to teach online classes, it is free from the requirement to pay for annual travel, housing, and transportation expenses. Especially for teachers who bring their families, these expenses can be considerable. Furthermore, there is no lengthy visa process to contend with.

I am confident that the online courses are popular with students because the level of accountability is ZERO. They don't have prepare for class, to show up to class, participate, or submit homework. All they have to do is sit in a classroom for two midterm exams plus the final exam. I spent a lot of time preparing my lessons, but have wondered how many students actually looked at them, let alone worked all the way through even one lesson. You can see that there was no actual "teaching." I developed the courses, but the learning was 100% on the students.

In addition to posting my lessons on a 3rd party server (the files were too large for BB), I was also required to have a few "office hours" each week, which meant I was to make myself available to students and demonstrate that I was communicating with them. I posted messages on BB to students almost daily, sent audio and video messages, and emailed individual students in an attempt to engage them. Some students responded positively and sent their own video messages to me. However, most did not respond at all.

Lastly, teachers were required to submit a defined set of test items according to item type and skill area; however, I never saw any of the actual tests students took.

I hope you found this information helpful. I will PM you with the name of university and compensation offered for online classes.

[Lord T]

KME0050-thank you for posting. What you wrote regarding online teaching is interesting and informative.

Lord T

[KME0050]

You are very welcome. I don't know where else in the Kingdom university EFL courses are being taught online, but I know for certain that it cannot be said that it is not happening, will not happen, and that Saudis won't go for it. It IS happening, and it is popular with both students and university officials at at least one university.

And, while we may recognize that face-to-face learning in a traditional classroom of, say, 15-20 students is optimum, I am convinced that with the exception of language teachers themselves, very few Saudis in higher ed appreciate this. In my experience, university administrators are entirely comfortable putting 40-60 students in an English language class. A few students will learn. Most won't.

Putting 60-80 students in an online class (which my employer did) now becomes enormously cost-effective. (Whether or not students learn is as unimportant as it is in a traditional program.) In the online program model in which I worked, my work load was the same whether I had 10 students or 100. Plus, for these "classes" there were no rooms to schedule and no classroom equipment to maintain. And while I only did this work for a short time, had I continued for a longer period, there would have been no End of Service Benefit.

I believe that the inconsistency between Saudis not accepting online learning from international applicants to their universities, yet offering it to their own students is entirely consistent with the culture at large: one rule for them--another for us. Besides, at this university at least, students will likely be able to only take a handful of their courses online as there aren't that many available to them.

When I compare my experience in the classroom with my online courses, honestly, there wasn't much difference. In each case, I could reach and connect with a minority of students who cared about learning, and the rest I could not. I am reminded of something an old and experienced teacher told me during my first year of teaching (high school). I was frustrated with some of the kids who cared not at all to learn, and this teacher said to me, "Let it go. The worst students will not learn from the best teachers, and best students will learn in spite of the worst teachers."

Saudi students who want to learn, WILL learn, regardless of the course format. And those that don't--won't.

[Lord T]

What you have written KME0050 confirms much if not all that I have been thinking with regard to online teaching in Saudi Arabia since Jimpellow started the thread.

We know that the powers that be want the young men off the streets and into some kind of education/training environment. The huge reduction in oil revenue requires some fresh thinking. Online teaching provides a cost-cutting solution. It's much cheaper, and the young men are still off the streets.

The brightest and the richest will still go to the most prestigious seats of learning and will still have well-qualified native-speaker teachers, teaching them face to face.