Web classes like Bruincast and new e-Section facilitate impersonal education

UCLA has a reputation of having some of the most impersonal classroom experiences. It’s no wonder, considering some lectures exceed 400 students and some faculty members never learn the names of their students.

Bruincast, a program that offers recordings of lectures to students online, contributes to this reputation. It provides a way for students to not go to class, preventing them from interacting with peers, professors and teaching assistants.

And now, the Office of Instructional Development is testing a program called the “e-Section” as part of the program that will be offered in the spring quarter and will allow students enrolled in the section to watch lectures online. Those students will potentially also participate in discussions solely through the Web rather than in a classroom.

The e-Section moves the university steps closer to exacerbating the problem of impersonal curriculum.

This Editorial Board does recognize the potential for good that the e-Section offers. Students have busy schedules that sometimes include multiple jobs and limit the amount of time available for the classroom. But the university, regardless of its budget issues, must commit to providing us with classes to show up to. UCLA is an educational institution after all. Classes may be overcrowded, but Bruincasting them is not the solution.

Part of the commitment we make, and thus what we expect, when initiating a college education is to partake in the interactive experience. Bruincast detracts from this experience, and the e-Section perpetuates UCLA’s impersonal education.

Bruincast is a study aid, not an adequate substitute for class attendance.

Furthermore, the office involved in coordinating the e-Section still has a host of questions to answer, including how assignments will be evaluated and whether it really is logistically feasible.

Offering a virtual discussion section may be impractical; it requires students to have Webcams and hinges on the almost certain potential for hang-ups and excuses (such as poor Internet connections) that would severely hinder active participation. The method of evaluation presents another problem. Taking an exam online is no substitute for taking one in a classroom.

This Editorial Board recognizes UCLA’s current overenrollment problem. But making classes even less intimate and changing the entire dynamic of how we learn is far from the answer. We are confident that the administration will not use this as an excuse to accept more students at a time when our resources simply cannot support higher enrollment numbers.

The e-Section would perpetuate UCLA’s biggest problem ““ an issue of a lack of engagement. A UCLA student can currently make it through all four years without ever feeling connected to their academia. Administration should be doing all they can to solve this problem, not make it worse. Bruincast adds to the slippery slope we are falling down by decreasing the quality of and our entire approach to education.