Can you say....I told you so?

Warning: This would fall under the category of 'disgruntled posts.'

Last Spring, I got into an argument with the dean of the UT College of Social Work over online classes.  Dean Sowers comes to Memphis occasionally for meetings and to hold 'open forums' with students.  You know, because she tries to keep a finger on the pulse of students' lives (rolling eyes...).  One student stated that she would like more online course offerings, and the dean stated that they are planning to do that.  I raised my hand and stated that I did not think online classes were a good idea for social work classes.  I explained that since so much of social work is...well...social work, participating in a class where you cannot interact well with your professor and peers would not teach the skills needed for our profession.  I took an interactive course a few summers ago.  We could see our professor on a TV screen, and he could see us...barely.  The course was in mediation, and much of it was practicing with role plays.  The problem is that our professor in Knoxville could not observe the Memphis role plays, so we had no clue if we were doing it correctly or not.  

I explained this to the dean, and she came back with, "Well, Ms. Hulgan, what would you say if I told you that in 20 years all of your client interaction will be done through computers and you will no longer have office visits or field visits?"

I replied, "Well, I would say that the clinical integrity of my practice would be compromised with such a system."

Hmmmm...is it best to get into an argument with the dean?  We politely went back and forth and finally she told me that I needed to be more open minded.

Fast forward to today.  I am paying a significant amount of money out of pocket for my Financial Management class that is an online course.  We were supposed to meet on September 4th, and class was cancelled due to technical difficulties.  We were supposed to meet tonight, and class was cancelled due to technical difficulties.  I have an assignment due Monday, and our class has yet to meet.  

Yes, Dean Sowers, of course, why could I not see that online social work is the wave of the future?