Professors Paul Spears and Rick Langer watch as professor Aaron Kleist gets passionate teaching the fall 2013 IRIS class. Biola’s IRIS program will now be launching an online program this summer in addition to its semester-long classes. | Ashleigh Fox/THE CHIMES

Biola’s IRIS program, once reserved solely for interterm, will be launching an online program this summer in addition to its recently added semester-long classes known as IRIS Immersion.

IRIS CREATES ONLINE CLASSES

The online classes will be based off of the IRIS Immersion classes, which are being filmed throughout this semester. Through use of multiple camera angles and student interviews, IRIS is working to make its online classes higher quality than most online classes currently offered, according to Rachel Watson, IRIS recruiting and logistics coordinator.

“There is a need for online education that is engaging and interesting and connects you with people and ideas. We try to study how documentaries and reality TV works and drawing ideas from both of those genres into how we’re doing online education,” Watson said.

SEMESTER-LONG COURSES

IRIS continues to offer a semester-long course that combines two different general education classes. This semester a combination class of Theology 1 with professor of biblical and theological studies Erik Thoennes and Nature of Math with professor of math and computer science Matthew Weathers is offered. Structuring the class is challenging, especially since students can be unsure about having a Friday class, but the students take away a lot, Weathers said.

“It is challenging to try to line up all of the topics so that there is a natural connection between them. Finding a time when five different professors are available to teach a class, it works well on Fridays. What we found last semester was that students were all very glad that they stuck with it,” Weathers said.

STUDENTS ENJOY CLASSES

Students agree that the class is definitely worth it. Sophomore history major Amanda Bishop is in her second semester of IRIS Immersion and enjoys many aspects of the class.

“It’s challenging that it is so discussion-based, you need to always be on-point … but there is a familial aspect to it, which alleviates the pressure to always say the right thing,” Bishop said.

IRIS has always aimed to uniquely integrate general education classes. Aaron Kleist, associate provost for academic innovation, said he believes integrated classes better prepare students for the challenges they will face after graduation.

“We went and found some of the very talented people in class and brought them together to form a team. From the start the goal was to have at least three people in the room looking at the same material from different disciplinary lenses,” Kleist said.

IRIS will be another option for students to take their full set of general education requirements, said Rick Langer, director of the office for integration of faith and learning. Ultimately, the success of IRIS Immersion depends on students continuing to choose this route for general education.

“What I have pictured is that IRIS would become a track that freshmen students might choose like they would choose to do Torrey Honors Institute,” Langer said.

Bishop felt that the class had great community, which is why she chose to take it again, even though it did not work best with her schedule.

“I chose to fit IRIS into my schedule because I realized it was one of the highlights of my last semester,” Bishop said.