{"id":1004129427,"date":"2015-10-16T19:59:08","date_gmt":"2015-10-17T03:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004129427"},"modified":"2022-12-08T13:02:12","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T21:02:12","slug":"october-issue-leadership-learning-virtual-classrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/october-issue-leadership-learning-virtual-classrooms\/","title":{"rendered":"October Issue: Leadership & Learning\u2014Virtual Classrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Amanda Marsh, Contributing Writer<\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A faculty member teaches an online class at New York University\u2019s Schack Institute of Real Estate.<\/p><\/div>\n

As undergraduate and graduate real estate programs get under way this fall, students can pick from a full menu of online learning for degree programs, certificate courses and non-credit offerings. As a sampling of these programs shows, top universities are responding to the industry\u2019s fast-changing needs by introducing a steady stream of innovative tools.<\/p>\n

Synced Up at Schack<\/strong>
\nAt the Schack Institute of Real Estate<\/a>, part of New York University\u2019s School of Professional Studies (NYUSPS), students can earn master\u2019s degrees or graduate certificates in real estate and construction management, as well as a master\u2019s degree in real estate development.\u00a0The first six courses of the graduate real estate certificate are offered online and can also be counted toward M.S. requirements, explained Rosemary Scanlon, NYU Schack\u2019s divisional dean. All six classes for the construction management certificate are expected to be available in a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe application and admissions process is the same, but if the student is out of town or can\u2019t get to New York right away, they can start the first six classes online\u2014and it\u2019s the same professors,\u201d she said. \u201cEach class is taped, so if you get to week six and you want to review week two\u2019s lesson\u2026you can.\u201d\u00a0Scanlon cited the example of a recent graduate who took four courses online while on assignment in Colombia before returning to finish the program. Online courses are also suited to suburban professionals who have logistical difficulties attending an evening class in the city, she noted.<\/p>\n

For more than a decade, NYUSPS has offered synchronous online courses, noted Robert Morgenstern, director of Schack\u2019s non-credit programs. Students would log in at 6:00 p.m. EST, no matter where they lived. By this fall, the number of courses that are either asynchronous, or combine in-person and online elements, will reach 100. In response to student feedback, the school plans to shift toward courses that take a blended approach.<\/p>\n

Interaction with faculty is critical, Morgenstern pointed out: \u201cOtherwise, the course is dead.\u201d In addition to an audio lesson, students can communicate and network with classmates and faculty on discussion boards.\u00a0Many graduate courses use videoconferencing to link students and faculty. \u201cThere is a sense of community, so those who can\u2019t meet everyone in person don\u2019t feel left out,\u201d Scanlon explained.\u00a0To maintain quality, instructors meet with a curriculum coordinator to make sure that online offerings are identical to what\u2019s available in the classroom. \u201cPowerPoint presentations have to be spot-on, and you need good training for faculty,\u201d Morgenstern adds. \u201cYou need consistency and community; students are not tolerant of glitches.\u201d<\/p>\n

ASU Goes All In<\/strong>
\nAmong Arizona State University\u2019s online offerings is a M.S. in construction management<\/a>, which encompasses both construction and facilities management. The typical student is a 30-ish built-environment professional with middle management or junior executive experience, said Kenneth Sullivan, an associate professor at ASU\u2019s School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment<\/a> in Tempe, Ariz.<\/p>\n

Improved capture technology, better engagement with students through social media and more robust assessment options have all helped boost online learning. Also crucial: faculty interaction, whether through phone, Skype or Google Hangouts, Sullivan noted. \u201cThis is critical for online learning, as historically, online learning can be self-paced and often results in students falling behind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For instance, the program\u2019s new building has self-track cameras, multiple digital interfaces, plus upgraded production technology. \u201cSo an in-person class can be captured and produced into an online product simultaneously,\u201d he explained. He predicts that universities will eventually employ technologies like holograms, 3-D printing, 3-D imaging, virtual classrooms and a proliferation of online and in-person hybrids with \u201clab sections\u201d in major metro areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI foresee online learning becoming an education-research hybrid where students across the globe work with faculty to simultaneously learn new knowledge and apply that knowledge to solving real-time problems at their organizations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Stout\u2019s Mix of Old & New<\/strong>
\nThe University of Wisconsin-Stout is one of the few schools that offer a B.S. in Property Management<\/a> focusing on both multifamily and commercial. Program director Fred Prassas has received many inquiries about the program\u2014and about half are students interested in online courses.\u00a0Although the degree must be earned on site, Stout is increasingly incorporating online learning into its curriculum. Seattle-based Weidner Apartment Homes has provided a generous grant to remodel a classroom into an interactive, collaborative learning space.<\/p>\n

Each table has a digital whiteboard that allows students to work individually or simultaneously and show their work on the room\u2019s main screen or via the Internet. \u201cThis has given us the capability to interact with students joining from a distance or connecting with guest lecturers,\u201d Prassas said. \u201cSo I can teach lessons, even when I\u2019m out of town. It is also helpful to us in migrating to more online classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, most classes are a mix of on-the-ground learning and asynchronous online lessons; he noted that the goal is to have a completely online offering within a year.
\nMany students serve internships or travel to industry events, such as those hosted by the Institute of Real Estate Management<\/a>. The school has a special partnership with the organization, for which Prassas has served as a former national president. An expanded online capacity will allow students access to these opportunities while still attending class.<\/p>\n

Cornell Looks Forward<\/strong>
\nJan deRoos, the HVS professor of hotel finance and real estate at Cornell\u2019s School of Hotel Administration<\/a>, offers his annual online hotel management course to some 50 undergraduate and graduate students. (It came about as a replacement for his face-to-face course when he went on sabbatical in 2014.)\u00a0While this is the only online degree course offered for the hospitality school, there is a six-course hospitality series through eCornell, the school\u2019s online certificate program. The courses, which take 10 hours each, cover topics such as investment management, asset management, forecasting, risk management and deal structuring.<\/p>\n

However, deRoos reported that many of his colleagues will be proposing courses to bring online, especially now that Elizabeth Garrett has taken the helm as Cornell\u2019s new president. She was previously provost at the University of Southern California, which greatly expanded online offerings <\/a>on her watch. The strategy, he noted, will be around a set of foundational courses and then an advanced course. For one, its MOOC (massive open online course) introduction to global hospitality class from last year garnered interest from 14,000 prospective students, and 700 completed the course with a certificate\u2014that, deRoos said, will be turned into one of the graduate introductory courses.<\/p>\n

While students love the 24\/7 aspect of an online-only course, the completion rate was lower than expected, deRoos explained. As a result, he switched to a blended offering, which added a weekly seminar-style class featuring a speaker or other enrichment. Students reacted more positively to the blended course, as in-person elements helped them contextualize what they learned.<\/p>\n

Where Cornell University\u2019s School of Hotel Administration\u2019s online offerings will go next remains to be seen, deRoos noted, but there has been demand from students to continue their coursework while taking a semester abroad or taking on a non-local internship.
\nIn deRoos\u2019 view, the school has three main issues to tackle: Institutional inertia, as many of his colleagues feel threatened by technology (of the faculty of 60, only about 15 are engaged online); maintaining the same rigor, grading, instruction and participation as conventional courses to ensure that online offerings don\u2019t hurt the school\u2019s accreditation; and addressing security, legal and administrative concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The online revolution is remaking education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":938,"featured_media":1004129433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1521,21787],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004129427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital","category-technology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOctober Issue: Leadership & Learning\u2014Virtual Classrooms - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/october-issue-leadership-learning-virtual-classrooms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"October Issue: Leadership & Learning\u2014Virtual Classrooms\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The online revolution is remaking education.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/october-issue-leadership-learning-virtual-classrooms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-10-17T03:59:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-08T21:02:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amanda Marsh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2015\/10\/NYUProfessorTeachingOnlineCourse-2.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/october-issue-leadership-learning-virtual-classrooms\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/october-issue-leadership-learning-virtual-classrooms\/\",\"name\":\"October Issue: Leadership & Learning\u2014Virtual Classrooms - 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