Read Only Participants: Communication In Online Classes

This section of the encyclopedia talks about what students and teachers can contribute to online learning environment. It talks about who the average online learner is and the online relationship between the student and the teacher, and the student and their peers. Above all the author stresses that thinking differently is important to make online education work.

Online learning is conducive to that of the traditional onsite learning facilities. There are some students who fully participate in the experience as well as those who take their learning environments for granted. A summary of the required reading “Read-only participants: a case for student communication in online classes” will support the noted claim. The study was completed to measure the various behaviors of the online learner. The research gathered the behaviors of students participating the in a Master’s degree web-based curriculum through the University of Pretoria. Beaudoin is noted as one of the greatest contributors to this case study.

There are many different ways to obtain a college degree, whether it is attending class in a classroom or taking online courses. Online learning is the more popular way nowadays because it is more convenient and more flexible, however, there are stipulations to taking online classes. In the "Read-Only Participants: A Case for Student Communication in Online Classes” article, it breaks down the ins and outs of online learning and how it can be beneficial to the students, the advantages and disadvantages, and how you can be a successful student by participating and not just being a “read-only” student.

As technology advances more and more, computers and internet have become more accessible, affordable, and ever so popular in recent times. With easy accessibility to internet, the online learning environment is a growing trend. Schools all over the nation offer online programs and fast earning degrees. Students from different demographics and age groups fill online classrooms making it even more popular. However, with such diversity in the classroom how does the instructor control communication in the classroom? Does the lack of participation from fellow students influence the learning environment? What are some of the different types of students

Typing in computers at a high speed and mechanically is also depleting the capacity of the students of listening and synthesize what the teacher is explaining. Turkle also analyzes what she calls MOOCs Massive Open Online Courses. She sustains that online courses may be convenient for some students, but they are missing interaction with professors who love their subjects, are masters of their fields, and can make students be enthusiastic about the subject. In conclusion, Turtkle sustains that MOOCs are reducing the quality of education. Another aspect that is depleting the quality of education, according to the book, is the personal relationship between the students and the teachers. Today, the students prefer communicate with their teachers

Student engagement is a great part of the learning process in online courses. The professor can aide in active student participation by providing timely feedback and learner expectations. Online discussions often fall flat- are shallow, superficial, fail to engage students and result in frustration —for students and the course instructor (Wang & Chen, 2008).

My second online classroom observation was observing Mrs. Herbic teaching her kindergarten students about a Calendar with visual flash card and music The Calendar was made with the month, important dates, snowflakes numbers, and snowmen numbers. Today teacher need innovated way to engage student to listen, think cognitively, process and store the information. . Music is a fascinating way to teach students and keep their attention. Children at age of two thru five have rapid brain growth; which increase cognitive abilities, fine and gross motor skills. This is the age to introduce students to a different language, basic history, math, reading, and science. Mrs. Herbic was using music to teach the student within the guidelines or policies of

Online computer courses/degrees are becoming more frequent as technology improves and the availability of technology is greater. This article “Read-only participants: a case for student communication in online classes” (Nagel, Blignaut, Cronje 2007) analyzes data from several studies and suggests that active participation, as opposed to non-active participation, is directly correlated to student achievement.

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

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

From this study, results of both success and failure were discovered and documented. From the aspect of success, the following results were found: First, classes that had online discussion helped students that would normally be introverts in a traditional class, to be active in discussions. Second, this type of class helped to improve

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.

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:

Andrew Simoncelli once said, “Students who take online classes must be motivated, independent learners.” This is relevant because independence and motivation is what it takes to succeed in an online course. Online learning will not only expand what students learn, but will also bring a number of positive changes in the way students are taught. Courses online have changed everyone’s look at learning all over the world. It allows more opportunities for observers to learn online rather than learning in class. Another affirmative of taking an online course is flexibility and convenience. Students who would like to experience some of these ideas should look into an online class!