Read Only Participants

engage and learn even when not taking part in online discussions. The context of this

What was very intriguing was the follow up study provided by Nagel, Blignaut and Cronje (2007), in which student rated others’ participation. This study showed that peers could indicate which students were successful just by their participation. This indicates that online participation is essential to creating a healthy online community (Collison, et al., 2000).

This article titled “Read-only participants: a case for student communication in online classes” discussed the importance of communication in online courses as well as the reasons why students succeed or fail in these online courses.

As you might know, I was part of an online institution for a long time period of time, and from participating in virtual class to an actual classroom was a great change in my academic career. In Queen of Heaven Academy, I would have to login into Populi, which is an online schooling program, which then I would login in to my desired class that I was scheduled to be in that certain day. Then once I was in my class I would usually wait ten minutes until class started. I always like to arrive at all of my classes early. I would sit at computer for long period of time and I did not really participate at all. If I knew the answer to a question I would click the vital hand and I would give the answer. But there were other times that I would like to give my opinion about some things I was confused with the internet? And most importantly its all done on the internet. Sure it’s a great way to get things done. But there is personal connection between one and the teacher. And the same would be with the students. If one would like to speak in class, one would have to raise his or her virtual hand and then people talk and that’s how everyone socialized in class. There was also a chat box were all the students and the teacher would talk mainly before class. Participating was very hugs. Some teachers would stop in the middle of lecture and start asking if everyone was there. I remember where when six people in my history class were not even responsive out of the twenty students. There is a huge difference when it comes to taking virtual classes online to talking classes in a actual

be properly addressed through one’s teaching so that educators need to collaborate so that they

In addition to the purpose to persuade students that online classes would hinder their success. In spite of his efforts to persuade his audience that online classes are unsuccessful, his credibility has deteriorated. The tone he created in this article the erudite of his writing knowlegdment only in certain spots. He uses one example in the

In the essay, “The Trouble With Online Education”, Mark Edmundson argues the online education are not an education of the very best sort for students. Edmundson state the true learning is a dialogue. Teachers need to check the students in order for students to be aware of any difficulties the student is having, and understanding the student's problem, confusion, or fear. Edmundson writes that every memorable class is a joy. Teachers should be conducting a classroom and shaping the minds of the students.

Their primary findings was that participation and communication is certainly a requirement for successful completion of online courses. When instructors are involved and encourage students to participate it motivates students to not give up or drop the class. They were able to classify students into different categories, and they found these types of students in the online class:

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.

One of the biggest Andragogical principles in my opinion is, self-direction (Isenburg, 2007). If the adult learner utilizes an online learning environment they must be prepared to self-direct themselves, instructors are there to guide bit the learner must take it upon themselves to find a way to get the information (research), and guide themselves in preparing and completing the assignment. In my opinion if the learner is not able to self-direct they will surely

An essential element of the online learning environment is interaction with both classmates and the instructor. This presence has been cited as being one of the most critical factors affecting how a student perceives their experience in online studies. It has also been described (Kang & Im, 2013). The term presence, has been used in literature dating back to the 1960s describing the interaction nurses have with others that enhances well-being. Traditional classrooms are naturally setup to provide the benefit of presence, whereas an online learning environments are not and can be challenging for both instructor and student. Interaction is vital for

According to Barbara Means, the study’s lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International, online education ultimate goal, is to provide learning experiences that are more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms. That enables more “learning by doing,” which many students find more engaging and useful.

Non-traditional students are finding it easier and easier to maintain a job, a family, and pursuing a college career at the same time. This is possible because more and more non-traditional students are receiving an education using distance learning, as opposed to traditional, in-the-classroom teaching. Distance learning is basically taking college level, credit-bearing courses via the Internet. One of the most obvious advantages of distance learning is that it puts the classroom in your home, office, or wherever you can find a computer and log on to the Internet. However, there is much controversy regarding the quality of the courses being offered on the Internet versus the quality of

Education has undergone significant changes because of the development of information and communication technology over the 21st century (Lin & Jou, 2012:2). As a convenient and inexpensive way to gain knowledge while pursuing higher education, online learning, a form of training or teaching that takes place over the Internet, has been considered as an alternative to traditional classroom learning (Zhang et al, 2004). This essay will argue that even though online learning has benefit such as flexibility which could outweigh traditional learning, traditional classroom learning might still not be entirely replaced. This essay will discuss positive and negative aspects of online and traditional learning in terms of four criteria:

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.