Online Learning Essay

This essay will discuss how my use of online information has grown from being merely a consumer, to now being able to critically evaluate online sources for credibility and suitability for use in academic work. My role in producing an online informational resource has been enhanced by both the readings, and the experience gained in the collaborative process involved in working as a team. This is my first experience at online collaboration and I will examine the challenges encountered using this medium of communication, how I dealt with them, the lessons learned, and what I would do differently during future collaborative work.

Nowadays, education becomes one of the important things in human life. Most people are aware of the necessity of a higher education. In this present day with the technology there are more options to obtain education. Besides attending traditional schools, people can get an online education. Although there is a similarity between online education and traditional education, the differences between them are more noteworthy.

When deciding to take college courses there are many choices you have to make. One of the more important choices is where you plan to take your classes. Online classes are becoming increasingly popular because they can be easier to fit into a busy schedule, but some people still argue that nothing beats a traditional classroom setting. Having the option of online classes makes continuing an education more appealing to people that have to balance many other responsibilities like family, jobs, etc.

In today’s society, so many people are continuing their education beyond high school. We realize that in order to make a decent living, a degree is most likely a requirement. In some cases even a bachelor’s degree is not enough to qualify for many positions. Nevertheless, thanks to technology, we now have the option to learn online or in a traditional classroom setting. There are very few differences between the two, and students need to understand that as much time and energy will need to be devoted to the online courses as on a campus. “A 2010 meta-analysis and review of online-learning studies concluded that online learning was as good as or slightly more effective than traditional face-to-face instruction” (Mendenhall, 2011).

Distance learning (education) has become an integral part of the education process over the past few decades and is growing in popularity as technology advances.(Willis 1992) describes distance education (as) "the organizational framework andprocess of providing instruction at a distance. Distance education takes place when ateacher and student(s) are physically separated, and technology…(is) used to bridge theinstruction gap." (Coutts 1996). Furthermore, "distance learning activities are designedto fit the specific context for learning, the nature of the subject matter; intended learningoutcomes, needs and goals of the learner, the learner's environment and the instructional echnologies and methods." (American

In order for students to be able to take college courses online, they need some type of way to organize themselves and push themselves finish their work since their teachers really can’t (Bird). In a physical classroom, teachers are able to move around and be able to answers questions right then and there, but with online schooling students would have to wait a while to get a response from their teachers if they have questions (“Key”). The dropout rate for online schooling in very high, mostly because students don’t know how to prioritize their school schedule and don’t know how to be self motivated (Bejarano). Learning independently is very challenging, and students may become discouraged when they have to face challenges with learning online by themselves (Bejarano). Online learning would not be a good option for students that can’t self motivate and can’t focus

Online college courses are almost becoming traditional for students. Some may perceive that a student does not receive an equal education when taking an online class. People tend to think that if a teacher is not directly giving the information about the subject, the course learning experience is different or unjust. This assumption is wrong according to the perception of many online course takers. Online college courses offer students the advantage to learn on their own time. The skills that a student learns in self-discipline, scheduling to complete graded assignments, and advantages learned with technology gives online classes equal education experience compared to classes on campus.

However, advocates of classroom learning believe the online method isolates the students from one another as well as their professor minimizing the overall value of taking the course. They also claim that students learn better when working together with their instructor and their fellow classmates. Students learn better when they are given the opportunity to ask questions, join in class discussions, and they move the process of learning forward through their participation. Face-to-face advocates firmly believe that this kind of interaction is not possible over the Internet; and for many types of education, e-learning will never meet the potential of live human interaction in the classroom. An article in the New York Times titled, “Second Thoughts on Online Education,” backs up the points made above. A recent research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, comes to the conclusion; “A rush to online education

The positive of online classes is being able to access the class in any free time. Most online classes though, require work to be turned in on certain days and times. Which makes it harder for students to remember when assignments need to be done. The pleasure of the instructor reading/lecturing the textbook material out loud won’t be there. It

People can take online courses these days. It is a chance for most people to get online courses on their own place. Students have the capacity to look over many diverse programs that would help them with their needs. Nowadays, most of the programs are available online from each department like business, management, and information technology. Additionally, students can browse different sorts of degree. The online courses have lower costs since they do not buy textbooks; they can downloads all assignments and all different materials that are required for their classes. Another benefit of these online classes is saving time since students do not have to attend classes, so they might have more time to do their assignments and study. Online classes evacuate the anxiety by permitting learners to study when it is helpful for most learners would like to study at different time. Likewise, students at schools have to take their exams and quizzes on the day their instructor planned for , but

Technology is changing every aspect in our lives, even the way we learn. Online classes are a rapidly growing trend it today’s society. Online classes are a cost-effective substitute for traditional courses and more convenient for many, so more schools and universities are offering this option. Due to the increase in online course enrollment, people are questioning if students truly learn something from online classes because it’s not a traditional learning environment. Online classes are just, if not more, effective as traditional classes because grades have increased and online discussions provide students with the chance to interact through networking while earning a degree for less than what it would cost to enroll at the same university.

E-learning has come to dominate the strategic thinking of employers over the past decade in several countries. Only in recent years in India, there has been focus on e-learning, this is due to the recent development in MNC, BPO and IT concerns. This is widely seen due to the connected economy, become intangible and fast growing among organizations. Due to emerging MNC’s, globalisation has become one of the most important criteria to increase flexibility of communications, and hence become vital among the organization. Despite the emphasis on e-learning and large investments made on training it is still not clear and ongoing success have not yet been recognized, due to the ongoing structural changes among managements. The problem in

Time for a face to face class is very difficult if a person works 40 hours a week but an online course can put an ease on the time restriction because the person does the work at their own pace and time. It is also easier to sign up for an online class than a class at a college. Message boards are in use if the students need to leave a question or a comment about the subject their on. They also save time by not traveling to the college and trying to find a parking space.

The online era is beginning to change the way we deliver the message to the students. As brokers of information, we have to seek new mediums to reach our students or consumers. Online learning is becoming more popular to reach students to help increase their reading and comprehension of what they read. As a history teacher, it becomes frustrating to assign homework that the students do not do, because they can’t.

Another benefit arising from this is that students are able to study where they want to study; there is no need to make their way to a campus. Also students are able to access their lessons more than once. While a lecture is given once, online materials can be accessed at any time (Demirdjian 2002). Financial benefits arise for students from the lessened need for high fees, housing away from home and travel costs such as fuel and parking at campuses (Demirdjian 2002). Some of these benefits are offset by the increased need for a personal computer to be purchased, Internet access at home, paper and print cartridges.