CLC a Leader in Online Education in Illinois

The below information comes from a College of Lake County press release. 

The College of Lake County consistently ranks among the top three leaders in enrollment in online courses at Illinois community colleges, according to a presentation provided to the CLC board of trustees at at a recent meeting. 

Scott Rial, director of active learning technologies; Amy Curry, instructor of mathematics; and Tonitta White, instructor of economics, delivered the presentation and provided a demonstration of online instruction.

Currently, 13 percent of credit hours taken at CLC are in online or “hybrid” courses (those that combine in-class and online instruction).

In the last academic year, more than 13,000 users logged into Blackboard, CLC’s online course delivery platform, which is also used as an instructional tool for posting course material and resources in classroom-based courses. The college launched a mobile version of Blackboard for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Rial said that the college uses several tools to facilitate online instruction. In addition to Blackboard, the college uses a lecture capture software that allows instructors to make video tutorials as well as software that creates learning activities, self-assessments and games to promote learning.

“I love the online learning we saw,” said Board Chairman Amanda Howland about the presentation after the meeting. “Today’s students are tech savvy, and these courses engage them with their  instructors with video, quizzes and puzzles, group ‘chat’ opportunities and the ability to work at their own pace. Online learning can’t completely take the place of personal interaction but it looks like our faculty has done a fantastic job incorporating this option into our curricula. As a former educator, I was very impressed.”