Tuesday, September 07, 1999
Sweating for credit - online
College plans wellness class offered on Internet
The Associated Press
CANTON, Ohio — This fall, a northeast Ohio college is offering something different in cyberspace — gym class.
Some might call it virtual exercise, but Malone College calls it an Internet class on physical education and wellness.
“I'm going to be like an online personal trainer,” said course instructor Charlie Grimes, the track and field coach at the college.
“I suppose in many ways, the student is going to have to be self-motivated,” the 30-year-old Mr. Grimes told the Akron Beacon Journal in a story published Monday. “But it isn't much unlike the traditional classes I have. ... As soon as the students leave the classroom, I'm not sure what they're doing.”
Students enrolled in Personal Fitness and Wellness will be able to pull up video in which Mr. Grimes and Malone students demonstrate exercises, and audio describing various techniques.
When students begin the course section on eating habits, they will see Mr. Grimes enjoying a healthy lunch in the Malone cafeteria.
Mr. Grimes said the class is experimental. It is one of five online courses that the 2,200-student college will begin offering next month.
“If they've thought creatively ... about how to get that person off the couch and exercise, then they've ac complished a real goal,” said Jean Blosser, an interim associate provost at the University of Akron.
That goal must be to deliver a course that is as engaging to students as one offered in a traditional classroom, Ms. Blosser said.
Malone students will be able to log onto the fitness class or work out at any time, Mr. Grimes said.
Like Malone's other Net-based courses, the fitness class will count for three credit hours and will cost $1,020 for part-time students.
The class is a good fit for Malone because the Christian college “is concerned about the whole person — the development of them spiritually, physically and educationally,” said college dean Don Murray.
He plans to market the course and others through local companies.
The classes are geared to older students. “We don't want someone sitting in a dorm room taking a class online,” said John Koshmider, who helps to oversee computer-based instruction at Malone.
Fitness class students must buy a textbook that will be delivered by mail. Outlines of book chapters will be posted on the class Web site.
As with other online courses, students will be able to contact their instructor via e-mail and will be asked to contribute to discussions by posting their thoughts on a computer bulletin board.
Students will be asked to keep a journal of their exercise program and eating habits. They can also choose different exercise regimens and learn about wellness issues, how to assess their fitness and ways to change their behavior to become more fit.
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