Articles - Winter 2011 - return to index
 Sharrie Herbold-Sheley |
Faculty Spotlight: Sharrie Herbold-Sheley
Health education instructor offers online options
By Chris Cunningham
Sharrie Herbold-Sheley has taught health and human sexuality classes at Lane Community College for 11 years. Like most college instructors, she enjoys face-to-face exchanges with students, but she also values online learning.
Sharrie was one of Lane’s first virtual instructors. She opened her classroom to students serving in war zones, living in remote villages, or working full-time. Some were athletes, like Makenzie Ficek, whose basketball schedule prevents her from attending classes on a consistent basis.
Online classes operate in much the same way as classes on campus. Students sign in the first day, receive a syllabus and reading assignments, and dates for quizzes and exams. Sharrie also sends out a weekly newsletter, reminding students about upcoming tests.
While she misses the personal contact, she
appreciates the one-on-one contact that online
instruction provides even though she teaches
between 72 to 78 online student’s.
“With online messaging, you get to know students,” says Sharrie, who checks for students messages seven days a week,morning and night. She always responds to student queries within 12 hours.
Students in her human sexuality class say they appreciate the anonymity that online learning permits, allowing them to ask questions they might feel uncomfortable asking in a physical classroom.
- Health, Physical Education and Athletics: 2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/healthpe
