In today’s society, with all of new technological advances and new electronic devices, traditional brick and mortar classrooms could be considered obsolete within a decade or more. Public and private universities are offering online education options, with classes anyone can take from anywhere in the country without being restricted to a college campus. However, from prior knowledge relating to online classes, I realize that traditional instructors may not believe in the potential that online education can provide to students. Some professors are applauding the online education system as a way towards education for our youth, while others believe that online courses, do not adequately keep a level of education needed for jobs in the workforce. …show more content…
With today’s society as hectic and busy as it is, being a full-time student in a traditional school would be challenging. Many adult students have jobs to work in and children to support. Some of those students may work more than one job and would require a large portion of their time each day. For these reasons, many adult students classify themselves as a part-time student or take mostly online courses as it would grant them flexibility in their busy lives. Jeff Caplan, the dean of strategic enrollment management at an online university named American Sentinel University, made a statement in which he told the author of the CNN article “Employers On Online Education”, Rachel Zupek, “Online degree programs are designed to help adult learners with busy lives earn their degree without being tied down to class times and without having to go to campus.” (Zupek, Rachel. "Employers On Online Education." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 Mar. 2010.) Michael Rogich, director of the center of online learning at Saint Leo University, also released a statement in which he tells Rachel Zupek, author of the CNN article “Employers On Online Education”, “With adult students, your options are either part time or online," Rogich says. "Online, the student has more access to a good program and is constantly connected to instructors and fellow classmates.” (Zupek, Rachel. "Employers On Online Education." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 Mar. 2010.) Online classes and education programs are important because they allow flexibility for those who live busy adult lives, while seeking to further their higher
Over the years, these nontraditionals have chosen either slower or faster options to proceed through their chosen curricula. They could work incrementally, taking a few courses per year while taking advantage of workplace tuition reimbursement programs or similar specialized programs to fund their college education. Recently, online education has allowed accelerated progress toward earning degrees. Traditional institutions developed these formats to serve working adults, and the emergence of nontraditional institutions such as the University of Phoenix delivered accelerated education in a variety of flexible formats such as asynchronous learning.
Studies show that nontraditional students over the age of 30 are more likely to succeed in online classes than traditional students because they tend to be more engaged with their courses, have better time management and value exchanges with their peers and instructors (Dibiase & Kidwai, 2010). In a course study at a U.S. university it was found that traditional students logged into class less frequently than nontraditional students, contributed less in class discussions, asked routine rather than substantive questions, but scored equally on assignments (Dibiase & Kidwai, 2010). The study also showed that nontraditional students enrolled in courses they felt would advance their careers while many traditional students only enrolled in courses to fulfill degree requirements (Dibiase & Kidwai,
It’s a heated debate these days as to how students should earn their college degree. Most higher education seekers in the 20th Century had limited choices… attend a university or community college. Technology in the 21st Century has increased the methods and opportunities to further education. Online opportunities have reduced the price of education and opened paths to almost any career choice available at college campuses. So, why wouldn’t everyone skip the expense of physically attending college and complete their degree online? Because what you learn from a textbook or e-book is only a fraction of the overall college education. Students would miss out on the social aspects of growing in college… the stepping stones of independence:
Yet one cannot praise the advantages without taking a look at the possible limitations of Web-based delivery. The authors, (Sunal et al., 2003) stated that Web-based students indicated dissatisfaction with the number of opportunities for interaction with the instructor and other students. (Simonson et al., 2003) concluded that access to technology, paradigm shifts for instructors, bandwidth limitations, and training and technical assistance may hinder course delivery. They (Simonson et al., 2003) reported too, that online courses require students to be motivated, self directed and responsible for their success. Another possible disadvantage with Web-based courses is the potential loss of social relationships and sense of community that exists in traditional face-to-face courses (Hiltz, 1998).
Carey’s final claim that he points out is that the for-profit University of Phoenix education system has changed through time by having access and learning through online in order to speed up their process of earning their degree. Carey states how “for-profits fill a void left by traditional institutions that once believed their world was constant. Fast-developing methods of teaching students over the internet have given the velocity of change a turbo boost.”(3) Since modern technology is always advancing, also school learning is evolving by now doing school over online and being taught through the computers so basically you can finish the courses quicker. One disadvantage would be if you don't understand, technically there's no help unlike if it was face to face learning. Many people who want to get back to school may have some problems by working a lot of has a family to take care of. This can be time consuming so what students do they enroll in
There is good reason for the growth in online learning in college environments. Student populations have diversified since the introduction of the personal computer and internet (O’Malley and McCraw). Students with geographic, job, or other constraints are now able to benefit from a college education because advances in technology have enabled learning for those for whom higher education was previously not within the realm of possibility.
Some students within society need to have online learning to complete college degrees due to their lifestyles. While it
Because of the flexibility, the course load seems to be all the more intense. The course load is more rigorous being that work is graded on a stricter scale than traditional colleges, and also entails a greater work load. In the article, Study Looks at Online Learning vs. Traditional Instruction, Angiello states,” Many instructors and understudies of online colleges, while lauding the accessibility of online education, will typically recognize that the cost paid for this adaptability is investing extra effort (Angiello 2010).” So, although the convenience is there, according to the schedules of many, the overall grind is much more intense. This provides reasoning for why students taking online courses are perhaps more prepared and properly adequate candidates for employment positions, versus a traditional student with the same degree. In the same article previously listed, Angiello writes, “understudies who participated in online courses performed better than students receiving the same material through conventional lectures (Angiello 2010). It is evident through the article that, because of the more rigorous work load, students are adhering to the concepts further in an online environment than a traditional setting, thus presenting online learning beneficial in terms of knowledge and qualifications.
A main concern that many students have while attending college is time. Trying to find the time to work, spend time with their family, and go to school can be very stressful for some students. Someone who does not work, or doesn’t have kids might not have an issue with fitting time into their schedule for traditional classes. For the students who do have a busy life might find it harder to attend a traditional classroom, so they have the option of taking online classes and making the classes fit around their time schedule.
This article made some interesting evaluations; online learning was a big dilemma for me when I decided to go back to school. While I possessed the discipline to attend online, I did however lack the skills needed to maneuver within my course of study. After attending a classroom-based school with some online classes, I made a decision to continue my studies online. The teachers design and interaction meets my level of understanding and when I’m not sure of an assignment, I simply contact them via e-mail. I feel the author did a great job in addressing his chosen topic, showing both the strengths and the weaknesses of his study.
Many people think online education can be more expensive than a traditional school setting. Previous generations did not have the option for online learning experience, so why should we start now? An interesting point about online education is that LeBaron (2010) states, “The largest school in the U.S. is the University of Phoenix Online, with a whopping 380,232 students. That’s over 5x more than the largest public school, Arizona State University, which has 68,064 students” (para. 7). Despite the cost effectiveness, distance education is becoming the educational model of the future.
Online courses soon will prevail over the traditional high school and college education. Online Universities will create classes sponsored by companies. These companies will direct the universities on the materials of the course. The company will then offer those who pass the course a job. This will created a skilled worked specifically for a position in a company. Teachers will take a backseat in these courses. Teachers will offer one-on-one help and help people work collaboratively. These teachers will be more of a guide then a true classroom teacher.
Over the years it has been seen that education has taken up several forms. With the advent of technology, education has also been integrated with technology. Previously it was seen that education was achieved through written forms of paper with pen or pencil. The use of pen and pencil can be dated back to the Roman Empire. However, with the developing pace the traditional means of attaining education are changing. The introduction of information technology has brought forth a new way of learning through the internet. E-learning is the new form of education introduced by IT which helps people to attain knowledge through the use of their computers. A portal is introduced by the use of information technology which the students are able to access and to take tests. However, this new technology also brings with it other ethical issues of plagiarism and social contact. Online education is an inadequate alternative for traditional, classroom-based teaching for several reasons: there is no interactive communication between the student and the instructor, potential employers do not value online course work, class offerings are limited, instructor feedback to the student might be delayed for days, and group projects are nonexistent.
Is technology helping or hurting people learn? Technology is increasing every day, and is soon going to be a big part of everyday life. The change of teaching students on online class is way different to what they are used to, and will take awhile to get used to. There are disadvantages, advantages, opportunities, and challenges in the technology in education. The role that teachers play now will change in the future when the major demand for the use of technology hits. There is a big change in the way that students are learning with this new online learning. Technology is changing the learning of students in a big way. Some ways are positive, and some are negative but either way there is a big impact on the way students learn. Sometimes it just depends on the student’s way of learning. Those kind of students should have the choice of what they would rather use a book, or a computer. Students need to be able to decide the type of learning that they want to do to help them learn. Students need to know which way it is that they learn the best. Each person has to find out which way they learn the best to better themselves. Find out the best way that they learn so that it can benefit them in life.
In the undergraduate educational setting, student proficiency and comfort with technology are stressed, but the essential mission of most undergraduate institutions (especially, liberal arts institutions such as Dartmouth) is on the development of the individual. The nurturing and supportive environment of most undergraduate institutions helps students mature and develop. The rave and fad of online undergraduate learning causes students to miss out on too many intangibles of an on-campus education. Our current theory on education hasn’t adequately dealt with the intricacies of a web-based education, and therefore the effectiveness of such is highly questionable.