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Online Courses are Superior to Traditional Courses Essay

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In 1999, Mark Bonner of PricewaterhouseCoopers accurately predicted, “Online learning will rapidly become one of the most cost-effective ways to educate the world’s expanding workforce.” Fifteen years later, his statement is truer than ever, as the price of going to a four-year university skyrockets, and technology required to get the same degree online becomes more available. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, from 2000 to 2010, the average cost for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public institutions increased over forty percent. There is good reason for the growth in online learning in college environments. Student populations have diversified since the introduction of the personal computer and …show more content…

As technology became more accessible, the diversification in student populations developed hand-in-hand with more diverse course delivery methods (O’Malley and McCraw). Today, online courses are offered at most colleges to fit the needs of their diverse study bodies, and students who otherwise, would not be able to take these courses. A study published in US News reported, more than six million students took at least one online course during the fall 2010 semester, which is an increase of over ten percent from the fall 2009 semester (Lytle). Many studies have found insignificant differences between online and traditional course settings. For instance, in a literature review by Friday, et al., the results of many studies did not show any substantial differences in performance between online and traditional courses (69). However, Friday, et al., noted that at the undergraduate level, face-to-face methods of course delivery are more beneficial in terms of student learning compared to online, web-based course delivery methods (77). Diaz and Cartnal note that the traditional classroom setting may be especially motivating for extrinsically motivated students who prefer to accomplish goals in a face-to-face setting where they are able seek the reward of the assignments of an instructor (135). Online courses can also cause issues with social

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