By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON -- As SUNY Canton continues to expand the number of online courses to nearly 200, professors as well as students are experiencing both the differences and similarities between online and traditional classes.

“Teaching online or teaching face-to-face, you still have the same amount of interaction,” said Assistant Professor Liz Erickson. “In the classroom they are right in front of you, but online you use message boards and interactive workshops.”

Erickson said she is able to employ more visual aids in her online courses as students are free to watch videos at their leisure. She has taught online and traditional classes at Canton for more than four years, but she has also been learning in an online setting as she works toward her doctorate in business administration and criminal justice.

She said online courses have grown in popularity over the years because of convenience and technological improvements. While there are some obvious differences between online and traditional courses, Erickson said the learning experience is just as involved regardless of which option students choose.

“In the classroom you have a set amount of time and you don’t want to use it all with videos,” she said. “Online, the students can watch them when it’s convenient for them. I think they actually end up spending more time with their course work than they do in traditional classes.”

Erickson said students taking online courses often have higher levels of participation and in some cases, more interaction with other students.

“I think students are more comfortable posting on message boards than they are in the classroom. They have more time to put their thoughts together and research their answers and opinions,” she said.

SUNY Canton currently offers about 190 online classes, all of which are taught by SUNY Canton teachers and faculty. Students working toward some degrees can actually graduate without ever attending a class on campus.

Kyle Brown, Director of SUNY Canton OnLine and Information Services, said the online courses have been a good fit for certain majors.

“This option has been particularly applicable in the development of our new four-year nursing program,” which allows students to graduate with an RN degree, begin their careers, and continue classes toward their bachelor of science in nursing, he said.

Brown said the law enforcement leadership program was designed the same way.

“Business and upper-level criminal justice courses are offered online so that working law-enforcement professionals can advance their position without taking time off from their careers.”

Erikson said that while the courses were designed to meet the needs of professionals, traditional students have gravitated to online classes for the same reasons.

“Originally (the online courses) were intended for people in law enforcement who wanted to further their education, but it sort of morphed into regular students taking the online route as time went on,” she said.

Erikson said she enjoys teaching and learning in an online environment and expects the trend of web classes to grow as technology improves.

“I think it’s something we will continue to see more of,” she said.