Here's the problem: A student enrolled at a technical college discovers she's pregnant with twins. By the seventh month of pregnancy, she's too uncomfortable to sit through class for an hour. How can she continue her studies?

Here's another: Two sisters enrolled at a technical college are midway through a certificate program when they must return to South Africa. How can they complete their coursework?

Problem: A newly immigrated Hispanic man lands a job on a construction site, but his English skills are so limited he's unable to follow safety instructions from his supervisor. How can he succeed in his job?

For each of these real-life problems, the solution has been online classes at Georgia's technical colleges. Whether it's health issues, scheduling conflicts, geographical challenges or just the unexpected, online courses offer flexibility and have students signing up in record numbers.

In 1998, the Department of Technical and Adult Education started Georgia Virtual Technical College (GVTC) a portal for web-based instruction at the technical colleges, to provide online courses. The initiative began with 17 courses and 132 students. A potluck of online courses was offered, "to see how people would react to them," says Debbie Dlugolenski, GVTC's president. "They took off like crazy. No one thought it would explode like this."

Fast-forward four years: By winter 2002, 681 online courses (an 88 percent increase from the previous year) boasted a total online enrollment of 6,553 students (an 89 percent increase).

It's all about maximizing the new direction in education that the internet has made possible. Traditional learning: Bring the student to college. Online learning: Bring college to the student.

"As our lifestyles have changed, the one constant has been the value placed on higher education," says Dlugolenski, also a DTAE Assistant Commissioner for Planning and Technology. "Today's students, however, have demanded a variety of educational options, with or without the dorm life experience, sports teams, traffic and parking hassles, and time constraints. The instruction offered at GVTC gives them access to high-quality courses anywhere, anyplace, anytime. "

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Of course, a basic grasp of email and the internet is essential for online learning. To that end, Sandersville Technical College offers a class called Online Learning Success. "Some students come in and don't know how to do an email attachment," says course developer Laurie Wallace, a business and office technology instructor and Sandersville's GVTC coordinator. "I knew where they were falling through the cracks and the time we were losing at the beginning of the quarter."

The course demonstrates how to navigate the internet, participate in a discussion and take an online test. In addition, the course outlines the differences between an online environment and a traditional face-to-face classroom. Students learn about "time management, organizational skills and the need to problem-solve on their own, as well as when to give it up and ask the question," says Wallace.

The course also promotes Sandersville Tech's online opportunities. "Students can come in and learn about the online classes and see if it's something they'd like to do," explains Wallace.

Dr. Jack Sterrett, president of Sandersville Technical College, sees a need for teaching internet basics. "The online success course prepares students for the new learning delivery system," he says. "I'm sure enrollment in GVTC courses will continue to grow, so we want to do everything we can to ensure our students' success."

VETS ON THE NET

Athens Technical College received a $100,000 grant from DTAE to develop a Veterinarian Assistant program, available in fall 2002.

A local veterinarian will sponsor each student in the three-quarter program. For clinical portions of the program, "students will work under the care and direction of the local veterinarian," says Dr. Ken Easom, president of Athens Tech. Meanwhile, students will take lecture courses online.

Athens Tech already has a Veterinary Technician program, so creating an online program for veterinarian's assistants was a natural choice, says Easom.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

Budding business owners can get started at North Georgia Technical College's Entrepreneurial Education Program, a three-course certificate available online since summer 2001.

One course delves into business law, and two courses cover all the investigation and research necessary to start a business, such as site selection, financing and accounting, says Fran Chastain, the Entrepreneurial Education program director.

After completing the certificate, students can utilize the school's small-business resource center, which features a library and partnerships with local financing institutions. "We're trying to build up our local economy by helping people start businesses that offer jobs to our community," says Chastain.

Dr. Ruth Nichols, president of North Georgia Technical College, says, "The Entrepreneurial program has benefited our students and communities in more ways than expected. The program has been a valuable asset to our expansion of services to our communities."

LAW AND ORDER

The first grads of Lanier Tech's online two-year degree in criminal justice donned cap and gown this spring. About 15 students graduated this year, and another 100 students are currently enrolled.

Criminal justice instructor Russ Pomrenke created the program, which debuted in winter 2000. "The program prepares people to go into criminal justice at the entry-level position," he says. Graduates find work as police officers or deputies, or in court services, victims' services or juvenile services, among others. Diploma and certificate programs are also available.

Typically, Pomrenke has about 30 students per class, so he must be ready to respond whenever they call or email. From a teaching perspective, he says, "It's much more labor-intensive to do it online than the classroom." But for students, the flexibility to complete work on their schedule is the primary advantage. Many students are single parents, and some police officers and deputies have second and third jobs, he explains.

Dr. Mike Moye, Lanier Tech's president, is satisfied with the effort. "I am really impressed that we have a program of that caliber that is totally online." he says. "We are pleased with the success the program has achieved thus far."

AND BABIES MAKE THREE

For Elicia Williams, an impending visit from the stork meant college became a tad more problematic -- until her adviser suggested online learning.

Williams had been enrolled in the Medical Assisting Program at Ogeechee Technical College since 2000. Last year, she found out she was pregnant with twins.

"She stayed in school up to about her seventh month." recalls Marilyn Turner, Williams' adviser and Ogeechee's Medical Assisting program director. "At that point, she was so uncomfortable she couldn't really sit in the chair, and the class was an hour of sitting in class every day."

So Turner suggested that Williams take an online class. From home, Williams was able to not only circumvent the confines of a student's chair, but also care for her twins once they were born. Turner showed Williams the general mechanics of an online course and checked that she had the appropriate technology at home.

In fall 2001, Williams signed up for Maternal Child Care, an online lecture course. "It gave me the opportunity to complete school on time," Williams says. "If more classes were available online that were necessary for my education, I would definitely utilize GVTC again."

Dr. Steve Deraney, president of Ogeechee Technical College, notes that online classes are tailored to students' life circumstances. "Elicia is just one example of how opportunities for education have been expanded at Ogeechee Technical College. Online courses fit the needs of students who cannot attend traditional classes because of work or family obligations. We see this as our next major growth area for the college."

8,151 MILES AWAY

Sisters Debbie Bernhardt and Bianca Masson prove that no distance is too great for successful "distance learning." They live in South Africa. Last fall, they took online courses at West Central Technical College in Carrollton, Ga.

Previously, the two sisters worked for about a year in the Atlanta area in an au pair program. During that time, they enrolled in West Central Tech's online Small Business Management Certificate. When the sisters returned to South Africa, their education didn't miss a beat. They just took classes from 8,151 miles away.

"We found the online classes to be perfect," says Bernhardt. "It is convenient and easier studying on your own time."

Even at great distances, West Central marketing and management instructor Ernest Head strives to maintain a personal touch as a teacher. "I try not to say, 'Just turn in Week 6' or 'Turn in Week 7,"' he notes, adding that in email correspondence he might chat about college football or inquire about students' interests. This enhances the student-teacher relationship.

Janet Ayers, president of West Central Technical College, says, "This is exactly the type of training that we aspire to because of the distance learning impact. We are extremely fortunate to have these two sisters graduate and complete the program, and would like to see more of this in the future."

The sisters are continuing their online studies in summer quarter.

ONLINE IN ESPANOL

This fall, Georgia Virtual Technical College will offer yet another service, thanks to incentive grants from the DTAE. "Our website will be translated into Spanish, and we will offer a number of technical programs online in Spanish in an effort to attract more Hispanic students," says GVTC's Dlugolenski.

Augusta Technical College unveiled a Spanish version of Introduction to Microcomputers, covering Microsoft Word, Access and Excel, in winter 2001.

LaVeme Tilley, Gwinnett Tech's Marketing Management program director, is taking a Spanish class "to renew the Spanish I did know at one time." It should come in handy, as she is also the course developer for Gwinnett Tech's online Small Business Management Certificate in Spanish, which features four courses: Introduction to Marketing, Personal Selling, Advertising and Small Business Management.

Sharon Rigsby, Gwinnett Tech president, says, "By delivering programs to Hispanics in their native language, we hope to positively impact workforce development in a shorter amount of time."

FOR GVTC, THE FUTURE IS NOW

Of course, technological evolution marches ever forward. Computers get cheaper, smaller and more robust by the minute. As the internet has matured, it's transformed from a plain, text-heavy medium to a hybrid of images, video and words. No one wants to get online and just read, read, read anymore.

Thus, next fall, GVTC offers course enhancement workshops for online instructors, so they can learn Adobe PhotoShop, ImageReady and other graphics programs.

"We want to offer more multimedia content in our courses," Dlugolenski says. "Now that increased bandwidths are available in the home (i.e., DSL), this will allow us to provide more options without crashing or overloading a home computer. We will also develop course content for delivery via personal digital assistants (PDAs)."

Just imagine: Soon you could study on your Palm Pilot while waiting in line at the grocery store.