> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Santa Monica College online classes offer shy students a voice - URL: https://www.smdp.com/noclass/ - Published: 2007-09-01T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T02:45:29.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Will digital degrees render the school environment obsolete?* SANTA MONICA COLLEGE Tupelo Hassman was always one of the shy students, camouflaging herself amid the rows of her classmates and blushing each time she was called upon to speak. That all changed about six years ago, when she enrolled in her first online class at Santa Monica College — English 2, with Judith Remmes. Sitting in the safe confines of her home and behind a computer screen, the online world brought out the outspoken hand-raiser that Hassman seldom revealed in a physical classroom. “In the online world, I really spoke up, and I think that is one of the best things about it,” Hassman said Thursday. She has since become an online SMC professor.“You have more time to get your thoughts together, and if you’re at all articulate with the written word, then you can share your thoughts and no one sees you blush.” It’s the other college way of life, a world where students meet in chat rooms, debate on discussion threads and sign on to take finals, all the while sitting in their pajamas with unkempt hair. Online classes have also provided an alternative means of achieving post-secondary education to working professionals, single parents and other students who otherwise might not have the time to check into a physical classroom several times a week. But while Internet instruction has been lauded as opening up accessibility to a college education, its effectiveness has been called into question. A 2002 study by two professors at Michigan State University found that students enrolled in online classes performed worse on examinations than their counterparts taking the same course in a classroom. Economics professors Carl Liedholm and Byron Brown both taught an online and live version of the “Principles of Microeconomics”course during the 2000-01 school year. The professors compared performance data in the classes and found that, while the students were all able to grasp the basic concepts, those in the classroom fared better in understanding complex material. Liedholm and Brown did not return calls seeking comment. Online courses are now offered at many of the major universities and community colleges in the region, including Santa Monica College, where Internet instruction premiered during the 1999-2000 academic year. There are about 8,500 online enrollments for the fall semester for 269 course sections. The number is duplicated as students do usually take more than one online course, said Julie Yarrish, the director of online service and support for SMC. The way online classes are conducted depends on how they are structured by the professor. Normally, students are asked to check in during certain times of the week to receive their assignments, which are due at a specific time. In order to simulate a real-life classroom experience, many professors will require their students to engage with one another virtually, logging into chat rooms and contributing to message boards. Final examinations are usually taken at a set time online. Remmes was one of the original SMC online instructors in 1999, teaching an English course. While teaching an online course does provide more flexibility for the professor, it can be even more time consuming than checking into a regular classroom, said Remmes, who spends, on average, 15 hours a week for her online courses. “I’ve been doing this for eight years and I can’t figure out where those moments go,” she said. Remmes has found that the perception there is less interaction between the professor and students is incorrect. “There is nobody to sit back quietly in the background,” she said.“Everyone has to participate because it’s part of the grade.” While there have been numerous cases of introverted students flourishing in an online setting, some have found they prefer the live class environment. Laura Manson, who teaches Early Childhood Education at SMC, taught a student this summer who found she preferred to learn in a classroom. Online classes have enabled Santa Monica College to expand its population while being restricted physically. The courses are both taught and taken by professors and students from around the world. Hassman, who went on to attend USC and Columbia, teaches an English course for SMC from New York. “It’s the only way I can do it,” she said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 1, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)