The program offers six courses, each taught in both Hebrew and English. David Schwartz, director of the Virtual Jewish University, says that Bar-Ilan also offers all the courses in person. We offer these courses to our own regular Bar-Ilan degree students on the same basis they are offered worldwide. While the courses are identical in content, and in credit, to existing Bar-Ilan courses, they have been redesigned for their new format. Lectures and required readings are available online, and discussions take place using course bulletin boards, which are mandatory, and chat sessions, which are optional.
Instructors post hours during which they are available for online consultation.
Class assignments and examinations are also submitted through the Internet. In some cases, Mr. Schwartz says, the Web format is actually superior to a traditional class. For example, a course in music in traditional Jewish culture and society relies heavily on RealAudio software to play online recordings to help students analyze different influences on Jewish music. However, online instruction poses problems that Bar-Ilan never faced with classroom instruction. That was good for California but not for Moscow.