Students take online courses for many different reasons. Those students are usually older, have more hours at work, and need to commute long distance in order to take a class on campus (Huh, Jin, Lee, & Yoo, 2009). Also for some students it is convenient since it may be hard to handle family responsibilities and attend traditional classes at the same time. Thus online classes are a good way to work the education into their busy schedules (Brown, 2012). In other cases students perceive online courses to be easier than traditional ones due to more learning enriching environment in the traditional courses. In fact, according to Driscoll, Jicha, Hunt, Tichavsky, & Thompson (2012) this is related to a higher percentage of lower performing …show more content…
Inversely, in a different study it was revealed that it may be easy to fall behind in web-based courses because there is no atmosphere of a classroom, and it’s hard to keep up with long-term assignments and remember to log on to the study session consistently (Brown, 2012). Driscoll et al. (2012) argued that online courses can provide sufficient interaction which is an important feature of the online learning environment. However, sometimes students find that there are actually not enough small or large group discussions (Kirtman, 2009), and online courses lack sufficient interaction with the instructor, which students perceive as crucial for their academic success (Shieh, Gummer, & Niess, 2008; Driscoll et al., 2012). There is another contradiction among recent findings about the online classes – different views on self-pace and autonomy. Some students assume those notions to be crucial for their positive learning outcomes even though it requires self-management. However, Buser, & Peter (2012) state that those who organize their own schedules academically perform worse. In online courses the quality of knowledge, that students gain from it, may be questionable. Sometimes there is such a huge load of the course work in online classes that students try to meet the quantity of the assignments required rather than engage in the in-depth learning which may negatively affect their academic performance (Shieh, Gummer, & Niess, 2008).
In his 2011 article, “Reliance on Online Materials Hinders Learning Potential for Students,” David Smith attempts to build upon student’s obligated online interaction to make a case against online classes. Smith first shows how much today’s learners must use online materials by using the example of his own Alma Mater. By referencing his own experience at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, with MyRED and EBSCO search engine, Smith lays the grounds for the focus of his argument. He then attempts to use what seem to be personal examples of experience with online coursework while begging the question through repeated examples. By failing to establish the credibility of his facts, attempting to force his own
Online courses have started within the past 30 years as a means of learning. With increases in Internet use, many U.S. schools offer online classes. Because of the main disparities amid online course and face to face instruction, numerous questions have been brought forth in regard to the quality of online courses. This research will help American college students to understand the difference between online classes and face-to-face courses, and give them an idea that how effective that online classes are. Therefore, the leading research question of this study is what advantages and disadvantages of
With all the publicity over online courses, great professors alike have been determined to find out whether online courses are just as effective as face-to-face classes. There have been some controversies over the situation; therefore, several studies have been made. One study by Adam Driscoll, Karl Jicha, Andrea Hunt, Lisa Tichavsky, and Greatchen Thompson shows that given the appropriate pedagogy or instruction, online courses is just as an effective teaching format as face-to-face classes (Driscoll, Jicha, Hunt, Tichavsky, & Thompson, 2012). The study showed that when comparing online courses against face-to-face courses, the midterm scores for both teaching platforms are the same. Given that the GPA of the students is taken into consideration, the test grades do not improve or become worse when the class is taken online. The same study showed that when comparing online courses to face-to-face courses, the student satisfaction does not increase or decrease when
Contrary, to what others have stated about online college classes, I found that there are many advantages and disadvantages for those who choose to advance in their career. Online college courses have become worldwide allowing individuals like me to make their own decisions on how to manage their college courses. Before I made a decision to take college courses online I had to be sure I was up for the challenge. Online college classes require the same amount of commitment as the traditional colleges. As I made the decision to attend online college courses I also explore every element of life factors and different skill techniques to help me succeed in my college classes.
This is a necessity for staying relevant in an increasingly internet-dependent society. Those in higher education must not cling to the traditional classroom. Traditional classes may still have their place, but they are becoming increasingly less preferable to hybrid and completely online alternatives. Unlike its traditional counterpart, online education is better suited towards handling a varied demographic of students. Its advantages lie in the flexibility of its schedule. A student who would be working around the usual time a traditional class would be taking place would have a much easier time fitting an online class into their schedule (Britt 31). For those who feel they need the physical interaction with their instructor, many classes are being offered with varying degrees of hybridity between the traditional class and an online class (Britt 33). As education continues to evolve, more options for digital schooling should become
Alisa Stern’s article discusses the boom of online learning in higher education institutions and the major challenges an instructor faces with these online courses. According to Stern, the most challenging thing about an online course is replicating the same learning environment a student would get attending a regular face to face class. She discusses how technology has pushed online learning to become more collaborative and less isolated. Furthermore, Stern has experienced teaching an online courses and discusses the different tools that helped her recreate a conventional learning environment in an online course. Stern mentions that communication played an important role in the way she taught her courses and students felt as if she was interested
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).
Students are required to learn massive amounts of course material. It is mandatory to learn at the instructor’s pace. Online courses give flexibility while scheduling to learn this material. Students are overwhelmed with homework throughout the duration of each class. Some have up to four classes of homework due weekly. It can be difficult for many to absorb all the material while scheduling work and home life. Trying to arrange the balance of each can be tiring for the body and mind. When taking online classes, there is an advantage to have the capability to learn the subject when the brain and body are ready to handle it. This flexibility can give the benefit of the full focus on schoolwork. On-campus classes give the benefit of help on the spot when needed, but students that take a
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
Students who are prone to procrastination will have a difficult time adjusting to online classes. Hours of work are necessary to get through all of the materials, including course lectures, educational videos, assignments, projects, assigned textbook reading and discussions. For students who are getting an online degree, especially an online master’s degree, require a greater amount of work.
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.
On the other hand, an online course permits students the option and availability to enroll in a vast array of course choices regardless of their location. In so doing, it allows a student a unique opportunity to further their education anywhere in the world. After all, if one is in the United States or on a military base in Japan students can still attain an education from their home country and in their mother tongue via the Internet. However, lessons that take place in a physical classroom are confined to that location. Thus, students situated within the nearby vicinity of the school building typically can access the instructor’s lessons. Consequently, this creates a clear disadvantage to any student residing outside of the classroom’s surrounding area.
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:
Taking an online course can help a student accomplish anything they would like to do that is education related, such as getting ahead in certain classes, finishing high school early, or maybe even college. Another plus to taking courses online is being able to work at your own pace. Researchers are finding that the slowest student takes five times as long to learn as the fastest (“Online Classes”). Lectures and other materials are electronically sent to the student, who will then read them and complete assignments, which then allows them to do the homework when they would like to and at the speed they learn things (“10 Advantages”).