Attending class and taking tests have been renovated at Bakersfield College, thanks to the diverse online classes and the new Classroom Performance System (C.P.S.).
“Our online courses are so broad,” said Amber Chiang, director of marketing and public relations. “We’ve added new things from Fire Technology to Student Development.”
What is required for these alternate classes is having Internet access and an ability to send e-mails. “Online will be the future,” said Chiang. “It gives the student flexibility because classes like English and math fill up really fast.”
Some new classes that will be added are forestry and nursing. New technology also offers students better access to the professor’s lectures, such as podcasting, blogging and even meeting up in chat rooms.
For online courses, students can take a class whenever and wherever they can. But for the C.P.S. system, students must attend class in order not to be marked absent. “I like these new ‘clickers'” said Rich Hughes, head coach of the men’s basketball team. “Some of the advantages of using this ‘clicker’ is that we could take tests and ask anonymous questions to the class.”
The C.P.S. is a small remote-looking pad. It has a power button with numbers and A through J lettering.
According to the C.P.S. box, students must register their C.P.S. through the Internet and fill out the basic general requirements. Then they must enroll into their desired classes. A $13 fee is also attached to this whole process and a credit card required.
“I don’t like it. It’s a waste of money,” said Allison Martin, sociology major. “Why can’t the professor just call out our names?” When the professor takes role, all students must turn on their C.P.S., and the computer will automatically mark the attending students present.
For now the health and child development professors use this system. According to Hughes, the whole school will eventually use these ‘clickers.’ Emanuel Turner, a BC newcomer, says it’s confusing for new students who are attending. “This is way different than high school; maybe that’s why I’m confused about this,” said Turner.