The issue of online education and distance education has become much more prevalent in recent years due to the affordability and flexibility on both educations that increase over time. Comparisons of an online education and a traditional or on-campus education are inevitable. Some people want to know on which type of education is preferable for them. Online education, become an option from the past five to ten years, increases prevalently both on private and public universities. In California, some universities open online departments and offer college degrees to those who are qualified for admission and can afford the tuition fees (Gardner & Young, 2013). An online education, as a means of gaining an education has increased on its accessibility. It also opens more opportunity on higher education for those who have limited time and resources or financial stability to attend in a college campus. Individuals with online degrees or still on its way to finish online degrees are more integrated and competitive globally. In fact, the quality and efficacy of an online education needs a thorough evaluation, particularly on the comparison to the on-campus education. The purpose of this evaluation is to determine its comparative effectiveness. As such, there is a clear analysis in which education is “better,” the online education or the campus-based education respectively. This evaluation and analysis is based on the return on investments both the cost and the time as factors involved in education. It is vital to determine the factors in order to make this assessment available to individuals interested to choose from the two options; the online education and the on-campus education. The mission and vision of higher education is in a fast pace in terms of flexibility and the cost effectiveness in methods of learning; the actual quality of education in a campus-based education needs a thorough investigation.
The higher education system is one of the most prevalent and important institutions in a well-developed world. The system is one of the means in which individuals can acquire knowledge and certification for educational purposes necessary to find a competent job or work and personal advancement globally. Education is the advent of change, in the field of technology such as the internet; the availability of constant contacts with others and access to vast of information. From the start, the goal of an online education is to provide access anytime convenient to those who have limited time and resources or money to attend physically in universities; that is to continue their education and learn new skills and enhance their field of specialize subjects. However, the impact of an online education considers the potential of the student, lack of accountability, and the lower chances a student can acquire knowledge through this method or technology.
Definitions
Distance education or online education is defined as a course or curriculum that delivers student learning through an internet with various media application, in lieu of a physical education (Noble, 1998). Online education is typically distributed through traditional universities, which carry an online component, or private companies that offers an online degrees and courses for a free (Van Schaik & Barker, 2003). These classes is taken anywhere students have an access to an internet connection; that includes the comfort of their home. In addition, assignments are handed out physically or performed on a computer that is linked together at a physical site. The definition of a traditional classes or education is a project that uses any context in which students meet with their teacher or instructor in a designated room as scheduled to learn the lessons.
In California, the state education system has a special impact in the potential efficacy on an online education. In January 2013, the California State University system has announced a pilot program to introduce lower division online courses at its campus for as low as 150 dollars (Ferenstein, 2013). The California’s proposed Senate Bill 520 is a bill that establishes a statewide platform that permits universities to accept credits earned in massive online open courses, or MOOCs (Gardner & Young, 2013).
Advantages and Disadvantages of Online and Campus-Based Education
An online education has its various advantages and disadvantages. Online education permits classes to reach a greater number of students that allows a larger class sizes (Volery & Lord, 2000). Furthermore, the lack of strictness in the set of classes, times and hours respectively allow online students to learn at a slightly more relaxed pace with more resources immediate available to them (Lorenzo & Moore, 2002). Its advantages include the potential for communication to be lost without a physical communication with the instructor as well as the schedule and motivation issues due to the looser structure of the curriculum (Noble, 1998).
Campus-based education provides a more direct link between instructor and student so that instantaneous assessment of ability and comprehension is made (Beard, 2003). The quality of professor-related contact is important for students to achieve the sense of interactivity necessary for better education but current online materials still provide a measure of interaction (Beard, Harper & Riley, 2003). Disadvantages include the higher costs and more strict in terms on time schedules for the students. It also prevent individuals who works part-time with low income and other responsibilities at work that hinder the students’ availability to participate in their college courses. In addition, access to classes is huge problems in California, with 472,000 students who are enrolled in California Community Colleges are put on hold on the list in the fall of 2012 (Gardner and Young, 2013). In fact, online education is a potential solution for the widespread issues in the education system in California.
Quality of Online vs. Campus-Based Education (Student Participation or Performance)
Study shows that in the comparison on each type of course with similar subjects, researchers stated that there is no measurable difference in student performance between the traditional and online courses (Bullen 1998). However, there are some instances found that some students attitude towards their subjects which includes critical thinking is considered in online courses (Bullen 1998). Students in distance learning possess greater motivation on their achievements compare to those students in traditional college learning due to the perceived extra effort for distance learning (p. 414). There is a greater interaction and communication between teacher and students when a learner-centered model is combined in both on-campus and online educations (De la Varre, Keane & Irvin, 2010).
At the start, internet has a great convenience and accessibility to everyone that is more appealing to those who are willing to pursue a higher education through online education. However, if there is a lack of face-to-face instruction and some private companies will sell cost-effective education easily then the efficacy and quality of online education is at stake. One of the pitfalls of commercial distance education is that the curriculum offers a limited assistance in order to maximize its profit; the emphasis is focus only on making money but good education is not well provided (Noble, 1998).
The quality of education received by the student from an online course and from a traditional campus-based course is both well examined in terms of its effectiveness on methods such as special education, business statistics, and technical writing. In some cases the studies offer only a little amount of its differences between an online course and a traditional course in terms of effectiveness and student participations. There is an increased of student participation and attitudes towards learning on an online course due to the need of personal motivation and the flexibility of time offered in the course. The system of delivery for the online course materials such as electronic mails and instant messages are shown effectively in class. The distribution of course materials are equally given to students with an equal amount of service from the instructors toward the students (Van Schaik & Barker, 2003). The participation on an online course offers more in terms of quality education compared to traditional classes.
These findings imply that the future is better for an online and distance education compared to traditional courses. It is more reasonable to assume that anyone who normally does not have the means to attend to campus-based education receives a comparable education online. There are factors at risks involving quality education regardless of the venue, teacher participation and student involvement. If these factors are successfully addressed then there is an equivalent quality education through an online course.
In conclusion, online education is shown to be a viable alternative to traditional education. Particularly to the populations that is normally undeserved to avail a campus-based education; limited social skills, time-strapped adult and more. The increased of occurrences on online courses are under queries on its effectiveness of so-called “degree mills” and the actual applications of the degree earned from an online universities. Many opponents feel as though the distance between instructor and student separates each party from investment in communication and motivation to pursue a quality education. In addition, it is reasonable to conclude that there is no measurable difference between an online course and a traditional one in terms of quality. Provided the right teacher and students are placed together, these learners receive just as good an education online as others do on a campus.
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