Read Only Participants

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.

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.

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:

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

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

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.

To summarize, the topic presented in this article is about online courses which are widely used in colleges providing easy access to course materials, classroom discussions, and feedback to instructors. The course materials and activities may be accessed from any computer, whether it is from the University or from the comfort of your own home.

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.

Online Education is rapidly developing and many people wonder what determines the success rate of the students. One of the questions asked by many researchers is whether or not there is a correlation between student communication and participation for success. Nagel, Blignaut and Cronje (2009) wanted to specifically examine how online participation such as answering discussion questions and engaging in collaborative behavior helps the entire learning environment succeed.

Even though he isn’t against all forms of technology, he is also able to argue that the form of close learning “is entirely compatible with engaging in meaningful conversations outside the classroom.” He uses examples of using e-mail to communicate regularly with his students and has even started using many different forms of media. He has been able to appeal to not only the professionals who may read this article, but also to current college students who are deciding if online courses would be best for them and want to see both sides of this particular

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

Learning is more than just receiving information. Traditionally learning was to be in campus, where students would interact with one a another, there were no other ways for learners to get educated beside going to the classroom and listening to the instructor. Nowadays the Internet has brought different ways for people to receive information, such as getting education and degrees online. A few years ago online education was never thinkable, and yet it has become to reality and it is widely expanding with popularity. Online education is a type of educational instruction that delivers learning to individuals to their own homes, and it is getting very popular among nontraditional student and others. Individuals prefer online education

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

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.

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: