Pros And Cons Of Elearning: The Benefits Of Online Education

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ELearning has become popular among people of all walks of life as an alternative to the traditional classroom. Though online learning first made its appearance in the 1960’s, the ever growing trend really took off in the late 1980’s. Many students are looking to eLearning for the affordability and convenience, while others find it vital to receive credits in overcrowded courses. Though eLearning has its perks, not everyone benefits from this new wave of education. One must carefully weigh out all the pros and cons before investing time and money into online schooling. Individuals that lack in self-discipline and need accountability as well as social interaction may want to reconsider whether this unconventional way of learning will be beneficial. …show more content…

I applaud those driven individuals that find reward in knowing they are the ones responsible for earning their degree through strict discipline. They understand their education is a result of how much time and effort they have invested into learning. However, I’m afraid those individuals are few and far between. According to Forbes contributor, George Anders, “In online science classes, there’s a risk that ambitious students may start the class several times, using dummy accounts so that they can gradually master multiple-choice quizzes. Such schemes would let them eventually take the class under their real name, with a strong prospect of a perfect or near-perfect score” (Anders). In other words, cheating has always been a concern for educators; online learning provides a greater opportunity for this behavior to occur because there is no way of determining who is really doing the assigned work. Thomas Friedman, author of The World Is Flat, nonchalantly states, “If you need stuff for your Ph.D. research, go to the Web… If you need to plagiarize something for your academic thesis or an office report, the Web is there for you” (Friedman 312). Basically, it’s almost like our society has become so accustomed to taking credit for other’s work that it has now …show more content…

While it is often said that many students do well with online education due to little interruption, this may not be the case for the majority of students. I feel many fail to understand the importance of social interaction, not only between student and teacher, but their peers as well. Linda Hinkle, author of Advantages and Disadvantages of eLearning, strongly believes, “Students need the immediate feedback that interaction provides” (Hinkle). In other words, we as humans rely on the criticism we receive from one another. Whether the critique is coming from our instructors or peers, positive or negative, we need to constantly know how we’re doing. The need for feedback is even more essential for eLearners, as the instructor is not physically in the room providing immediate answers to students’ questions. Instead, it’s left up to the student to take the initiative to request feedback and do so frequently. This must, however, be requested in a timely manner, as a typical online instructor may have hundreds of students within one class, which makes it difficult to respond to each and every question immediately. Research conducted by Di Xu and Shanna Smith Jaggars, at the Community

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