Did you know that online learning has become one of the most popular ways of gaining access to education? As there are 6 million people taking at least one course online.(Ten Advantages of Taking Online Classes) however, online education is spreading all over the world as there are three million people talking online class in online universities. On the other side there are opponents that are against this type of education, but I believe that online education is the future and will benefit us a lot.
Online courses can give students the opportunity to plan their study at any time of the day. Energetic students can study and work. Course material is always available online. So, they need not go to a library. Students need to balance their work and family
To launch off, there will always be people who argue that it’s harder for students to work with an online school.“Online schooling will always have it's critics.” (Barker); regardless, this doesn’t mean that it’s a terrible-death at every corner-curriculum. Similar to any movie, many people will enjoy or love it well others ferociously abhor it-there is no in-between. Furthermore, online school is an effective system through the easy access (teachers are online, other sources for help, it can be mobile, etc.) for it's students as well as the seemingly unlimited sources of knowledge. Since it is taught online, the teachers have more data to work with that public school’s do not. This gives the teachers a chance
Online education helps students learn how to manage their time well while allowing them to work at a comfortable pace. “I was able to view all my assignments for the entire semester for each class, and control the flow of my days, months, and life! I found that working within a structured environment allowed me the freedom to learn at my own pace, as well as the flexibility to apply my style of learning and more efficiently manage my time.” (Langevin, Student Reflection, 2016) When you can see what you have to get done and what’s up next, you can better plan out your day and do work adhering to
Online education as “easy” as instructors or adults like to put it, it is very stressful. Your “flexible” schedule isn’t really flexible. Depending on the class and how many assignments are required to be turn in a week you sometimes would have to give up doing what you would normally do in your normal schedule just to avoid not failing. Smith states “They must attend class on a regular basis or suffer the consequences, typically complete regular homework assignments for points, and are constantly reminded of the work that has to be done by the ever-present figure of the professor” (Par 10). There are test, quizzes, and exams taken through the online courses and if there are only certain time frames for either one and a student misses it, it hurts the student’s grade and could cause he or she to start failing and get
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
I’ve experienced the differences between online school and traditional public school. The classroom setting was not a good fit and was very distracting. It was extremely difficult for me to learn and receive the proper information I needed to do well. I was unable to learn because of the fast pace, I and often had difficulty paying attention and keeping up with the assignments. However, the motivation the teachers gave me was tremendously helpful while I was
One example of how online schools can improve student learning was shown in a study by the SRI international department of education. The researcher Steve Lohr conducted a study on mostly college students from the years 1996 to 2008. The researcher performed a quantitative analysis of online versus classroom performance for the same courses. The results for students taking online courses showed that they ranked in the 59th percentile compared to students who took the same courses in traditional schools ranked in the 50th percentile. These results showed that there was a 9 percent difference in the tested performance of college students which indicated that students learn more effectively in online schools versus traditional schools. This example supports the claim that online schools enhance student learning more effectively than traditional schools. In addition to online schools enhancing student learning it is also beneficial for students in rural areas and for introverted students. Students in rural areas may not be able to afford or have access to transportation which can result in them not being able to attend a traditional school. However if online schools were available each student would have access to education with the click of a button. Also, introverted students can benefit from online schools because they will
More importantly, research studies have shown that there is “no significant difference” between online and face-to-face in traditional measures of achievement in most situations. (Means, Barbara, xv). That being the case, college’s student discovers themselves with another obligation than getting a degree. Family and jobs make equal demands on their time. Eventually, having the option of taking online classes and studying with their own time management is seriously important. As an example, a student who is working full time because he needs money to go to
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.
Advocates and supporters of distance learning believe that it is more profitable to study online vices face-to-face instruction. Regardless, online instruction is more beneficial for many due to the flexible programs offered, cost effectiveness, time management, increased personal values and self-discipline, dedication, self-obligation. The Literature Review To better understand the controversy between online instruction vs. classroom instruction there are several peers reviewed journals and thesis papers dedicated to bringing attention to the disadvantages and advantages of online instruction vs. classroom instruction. Equally, there are debates on the benefits and pitfalls of which method is more efficient to obtain a degree. Further- more, this paper will explain what online education is, its increasing popularity and its origin and the rapid growth of an online college education. Moreover, to better account for the focus of this paper, a virtual study with that of traditional classroom is explained throughout this article. Additionally, the so-called short-coming of online education are discussed in contrast to that of regular classroom instruction. The History of Online Education Online or virtual learning is an effective strategy that has been around, but as time has progressed technology is becoming more modernized. In the written
Education is an important part of people’s lives; it will either make them or break them in the future depending on the careers they choose. Education is greatly diverse today in comparison to the 1950s because of advancements in teaching and other great inventions that provide easier techniques of teaching. One major issue that has been raised is distant learning courses and online education.
Bakia, Shear, Toyama & Lasseter (2012) cited that educational systems are always being pressurized to reduce costs and improve the performance of students. Different states and learning institutions have discovered that online education can help them achieve that goal. Bakia et al. (2012) wrote, “Online learning broadens student access to courses taught by qualified teachers in schools that could otherwise not afford to provide these courses because of relatively small student demand locally or the costs associated with recruiting teachers with the necessary skills and credentials.” Apparently, this is the primary reason why online education was becoming popular in the
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”).
Many students have a difficult time choosing between online education and traditional education. Both styles of education offer advantages and disadvantages to the student. There are many things to consider when making this life altering decision, such as, cost, convenience, time, social interaction, and technology. This information is meant to inform prospective students looking to further their education of the pros and cons of both online education and traditional education. Taking the steps to further your education is a big decision and one that should not be taken lightly. One should weigh all of his/her options and be well informed and certain of their choice before taking that leap.