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Kaplan University
Jayne Yenko
Former Adjunct Professor
Kaplan University
With more than 20 years of teaching experience, Jayne Yenko has taught all age groups and a variety of academic subjects. As a teacher looking for job opportunities in a rural area, Yenko came across an opportunity to become an online instructor. Since then, she has taught for several online universities, including Kaplan University. She believes that the online learning medium is a solid educational choice as online courses are just as rigorous as those conducted face to face, if not more so, given that they are battling the stigma of being online. Currently, Yenko is enjoying her job as a freelance writer on topics such as health and fitness, nutrition, education, and science.
What about the online learning medium do you think makes it a solid educational choice?
In general, online courses are as rigorous as face-to-face courses, if not more so, since they are battling the stigma of being online.
What types of courses did you teach at Kaplan University?
I taught a variety of subjects from science and nutrition to education. Topics in those courses covered a wide range of objectives and subject matters.
What was your experience like teaching online courses at Kaplan University?
For many online schools, the curriculum is already prepared. Online instructors facilitate discussion – which functions as a classroom – grade assignments, respond to emails, and answer questions.
What are Kaplan University’s methods for teaching online and how do they help students learn and master course material?
Most online schools use the same basic format: discussion questions, assignments, quizzes, lecture materials, textbooks, exams, and labs. Students sometimes create their own learning groups too. Some schools offer online chat rooms with the instructor, so students can ask questions and explore topics in more depth.
Did Kaplan University use a course a delivery platform?
There are a number of Learning Management Systems that schools can choose from, but they’re pretty much the same and once an instructor has learned one, the others are pretty easy to adapt to. Instructors do have their preferences for various reasons – some have slightly different designs for discussion for example. The LMS all have the ability to include multimedia as well as eTexts. Email can be sent and received within the course platform in some, others it can only be sent, but all include an email system which is specific to that institution.
What types of assignments did you give students in your classes?
All of these are used online in one way or another. Group projects are also used. Homework that allows students to develop critical thinking skills and the ability to apply course content to the real world are important to any class.
What can students do with the knowledge they gained from taking your courses?
This depends on the course, but in general, applying the content material to their own lives or careers along with critical thinking skills, exposing them to the world in ways they’ve not thought of before can open a variety of options to them.
As an online instructor how much interaction did you have with students?
As an online instructor I had a lot interaction with my students, either by email, phone, chat rooms, or instant messaging. Students are provided with a lot of feedback, from comments on their discussion posts to feedback on their assignments and exams. Online students are actually likely to receive more feedback than those on-ground.
Do you feel as if the subject matter in the courses you taught translated well in an online environment?
Any course can be taught online if enough thought and creativity are put into its creation. Some students do better in the online environment than others. It takes a lot of self-discipline and self-direction in order to be a successful online student.
Given your experience there, what is it about Kaplan University that makes it one of the best online institutions?
Different schools are good matches for different students. It depends on what the student is looking for in terms of education and career development. Some schools have more involved instructors than others, some provide a good deal of professional development to their instructors, some don’t. That shows how interested the institution is in the quality of education they are providing. Instructors are a vital part of the process, so a school that treats its instructors well is going to be a good online institution.
