Students in professor John Lippold’s welding class do many of the same things they would do in a traditional class. They take exams, listen to lectures and participate in question-and-answer forums. They also write a paper and do a project.

Because it is a distance learning class, however, they don’t have to be in Columbus to do so.

The course is part of a master’s program in welding engineering offered entirely online. Lippold said students throughout the country – from Alaska to Florida – are enrolled.

The students do not have any hands-on welding instruction, which can be tricky online. Instead, they learn about different kinds of metals and different welding issues with those metals. They also learn how to identify problems in the welds and how to correct those problems, Lippold said.

He said about half the students this summer will be from the masters program, and the other half will be graduate or undergraduate students who, for various reasons, have decided to take the online course.

OSU offers more than 60 distance-learning classes during the summer in subjects ranging from dentistry to welding.

There are a variety of reasons to take an online course. Sreeja Pedapudi, a sophomore in exercise science, said distance learning is good for busy students.

“I think if you have a hectic schedule … it kind of gives you a break, some time to do other things,” she said.

Graduate teaching associate Leah Robinson, who teaches an online class about avoiding cancer, said an advantage of online courses is students have control of what they learn. They have to be self-motivated to learn the material and do the activities, she said.

Of course, freedom from the classroom can be a major benefit. Robinson said in the past, students took her class while studying abroad.

There are, however, challenges to the online format. David Evans, a graduate teaching associate, said communication can be a problem. The time lapse with e-mail slows down the process. Also, he said if a question on a quiz is poorly worded, students cannot simply ask him for clarification. Evans said he gives out some bonus points to make up for this, and also has a forum to discuss this problem.

“I let them vent,” he said.

Online courses are also less personal. Robinson said she misses the face-to-face interaction with students she had when she taught a traditional class.

Online classes have a reputation for being easy. That was one of the things Pedapudi said she liked about an online class she took.

“It was an easy A,” she said. “The quizzes, they were online. You weren’t really supposed to use your books, but … who doesn’t?”

Evans said although he does not try to control whether people use their books, he does do several things to prevent collaboration. The exams and quizzes are open for only a limited amount of time. Also, the questions on the quizzes are in different orders and may not even be the same questions.

He said people take his class thinking it will be an easy A, but find out differently.

Andrew Sharp can be reached at [email protected].