Professors using Internet instead of office hours

Professors using Internet instead of office hours


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Cleon Wall, KSL Newsradio College students can sometimes be seen waiting outside a professor's office looking for some help or guidance. But there is a new trend of professors who are working out of the virtual office, and students don't mind.

"I haven't held office hours in five years, six years," explained BYU computer science professor Dan Olsen.

Olsen says most of his students e-mail him with questions, and he's online most of the time. "'It's the middle of the afternoon, and I don't understand this thing you asked me to do. Can you please clear it up for me?'" he says they ask him. "I can answer those almost immediately."

Olsen adds that his classes are very interactive, so he keeps tabs of students pretty closely. But he knows of other professors who take text messages. "I know the students are absolutely text-addicted. I'm not sure why that is, it's just part of their lives," he said.

Olsen says he's not sure how professors handle it. Then he "lol'd."

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