Lessons from the Field: An Online Class Can Run Itself, But Should It?

Online courses have become remarkably sophisticated.

A well-designed course can guide students from one week to the next, provide access to readings and resources, deliver instructional content, administer assessments, calculate grades, release materials according to a schedule, and remind students when work is due. With thoughtful course design and the capabilities of today’s learning management systems, much of what once required ongoing instructor intervention can now happen automatically.

In many respects, that is exactly what good course design should accomplish.

But after more than two decades in online education, I believe it also raises an important question:

If an online class can run itself, should it?

My answer comes from years of teaching online students and working with online faculty. The most meaningful feedback I have received was rarely about the learning management system or even the course content. Students remembered whether I was there. They learned whether I would respond. They discovered whether I was accessible. And over time, they determined whether they could trust me.

That is what I mean by instructor presence.

A course can deliver content without it. Students can submit assignments without it. Grades can be calculated without it. An entire term can technically progress from beginning to end with very little of it.

But a course running successfully and students experiencing meaningful learning are not necessarily the same thing.

Technology will continue to change. Learning management systems will become more sophisticated, and automation will undoubtedly become even more capable.

I welcome those developments. Good technology and thoughtful course design can remove unnecessary barriers and create better learning environments.

But I have learned not to confuse an efficient learning environment with a complete learning experience.

Students still need instructors who show up. They need to know someone is paying attention. They need meaningful feedback, responsiveness when uncertainty develops, and opportunities to connect with someone who recognizes that there is a person behind the student name appearing on the screen.

Perhaps that is one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from the field:

An online class may be designed to run itself. Meaningful learning should never have to.