Kirk here reporting on a Kumanichi report on “ghost teachers” (yuurei sensei; 幽霊先生). My own university (Kumamoto Gakuen University; often refered to as “Gakuendai”) and the Prefectural University of Kumamoto (“Kendai”) are identified as having some remote classes (a very small number, I hope) where instructors don’t prepare video or audio materials and don’t conduct “live” online classes via platforms like Zoom . In regard to one such class at Kendai, a student is quoted annonymously as saying that they have to submit reports and get graded but don’t get any feedback so they’re not even sure if the professor is actually reading what they submit.
Obviously, those who are paying substantial tuition fees for such classes aren’t pleased. I conducted a survey of my students in an online class of mine in 2020 asking them, in general, how satisfied with online classes at Gakuendai. The response was generally positive – 60% or so responded that they were satisfied or somewhat satisfied. But there were also some serious complaints of the sort mentioned in the article.
In regard to my own online lecture classes, I’ve been interested in video editing and, as you may have noticed, I have an interest in online communication so that helped me make the transition. All in all, I think my online lecture classes wind up being as much or more interactive than my pre-COVID face-to-face lectures were. But, one criticism made in the article applies to me; I don’t record my face. Students get to hear my lovely voice and see my slides with my mouse moving here and there to point to the part of the slide I’m discussing. In addition, I occasionally incorporate external videos (examples from YouTube and other sources) to illustrate points or ideas. But, I don’t usually show my face. The article makes it sound as though that’s a problem but I wonder if my students really care what I look like. Or, maybe some who think they would prefer to see me as I’m talking would decided that they hadn’t been missing anything if they actually DID see what I look like: “On second though, that’s OK. Go back to the way you were doing it before.” ;)
I know that the transition to remote lecturing was quite difficult for some of my colleagues – especially those who aren’t particularly interested in computers, etc. But after more than two years, I would agree that online classes that lack audio, visual materials, and interactivity (good feedback, responses to questions, etc.) are a reall problem.
