Constructing Experiential Learning for Online Courses: The Birth of E-Service

This article discusses the integration of a service-learning component for online courses. The resulting 'e-service' allows a student to participate in a service opportunity near the student's location even though the classroom experience is virtual. This arrangement is described in relation to DLiTE, or 'Distribute Learning in Teacher Education,' a program at Bemidji State University in Minnesota. Instructors provided lists of potential partners to students to make initial contacts easier, and students helped arrange their own service-learning placements. In some cases, students learned about a particular teaching methodology, applied it in the service-learning placement, and reflected on the nature of the experience. The largest challenge of the arrangement was for the instructors to manage all the e-service projects associated with a course. A second challenge was arranging projects for students who were often working 40-hour weeks in addition to their classes. (JB)