Some Experiences from Teaching Online: A Virtual Round Table Discussion Carina Andersson Maria D. Avgerinou Robert E. Griffin Roberto Muffoletto Rune Pettersson Abstract Five Higher Education (HE) faculty used e-mail to conduct a ‘virtual round table discussion’ on some issues that revolve around four major foci of teaching online, namely, (a) the pros and cons of online teaching and learning; (b) administration in Online Distance Learning (ODL); (c) students in ODL; and, (d) faculty in ODL. A summary of our views is presented in this paper. General What is good about teaching online in HE? CARINA: There are several advantages about teaching Online, like the great flexibility in both working hours, working days and working location. There will be a decentralization of the university. Students at a far distance living in sparsely populated areas are not otherwise being able to take part in classes without moving. Also the possibilities of globalizing the subject field increase. With a virtual classroom you can reach students in other countries. From a teacher’s point of view you can choose when you want to respond to questions, and when you publish the answer it will be documented. The documentation of what has been said is rather unique when teaching Online. The discussions taken part in a traditional classroom are not recorded; there is no written paper, which correctly records what the students and teacher have discussed during the lesson. In a virtual classroom the chat can be logged, the e- mails can be saved; the tracks of the discussions in the BBS (Bulleting Board System) can be followed back in time. You gain means of communication when teaching Online. MARIA: Despite the fact that the full potential of online learning is yet to be discovered, a string of benefits for all those involved is already apparent:  Provision for reflection and remediation which leads to  Development of meta-cognitive skills  Provision of cognitive interactions that are enriched by a variety of media thus causing multi-sensory engagement on the part of the learner  Use of a constructivist approach to learning which tend to result in an active and deep approach to learning  Empowering the learner by involving and engaging them both in the design and the course implementation process  Catering to individual learner identities and needs  Creating a student-centered teaching environment Facilitating immediate and constructive feedback, and tutor (and administrator) support  Catering for collaboration across geographically dispersed areas, and as a result  Raising participants' cultural awareness (‘culture’ defined in a broad sense, as any system/code of information that binds people with similar characteristics together)  Giving students 24/7 course access  Promoting interoperability with other technologies (Combining tools) ROBERT: I teach in an area where students come long distances (15 to 40 miles) to attend classes. Weather is also a problem for us. Late fall and early spring snow can cause many classes to be cancelled. I can accommodate my students’ schedules and the unique problems of weather with online teaching. In the case of my school, Saint Francis University (undergraduate population of about 1600 students) online learning will add financially to the University. If it is possible to add to the student population base the over all enrollment of the school will be increased. I believe that this is an area of expansion for this University. ROBERTO: I have developed an online graduate program of study in distance learning. The total program is delivered over the Internet. My attempt has been to build an international education project which engages the potential of the Internet and its evolving tools. I currently have partnerships established with professors in Sweden (Rune Pettersson) and the Netherlands (Teun Velders). I am hoping for an opportunity to involve colleagues from Poland. I have also built collaborative environments with 3 other North Carolina Universities. I would rather turn the question concerning teaching over the Internet to ‘learning in an Internet environment’. To refer to the term teaching or instruction brings up the models and images found in