The aim of this paper is to explore the aspects of the ghetto that has been created within the educational field as a result of the rising technological progress and new technological appliances in education. The word Ghetto signifies a strictly and severely defined environment either metaphorically speaking or literally. Keeping that definition in mind, one could easily argue that education is something like a ghetto itself. Since education is concerned to be the cornerstone of a society and the mirror that reflects the quality of a society’s life, then the educational field is necessary to be strictly defined, organized and controlled. Educational reforms and educational systems have always been among the top priorities of a society and this prioritization results in the transformation of the educational field into a ghetto. Therefore, any kind of change that arises within the educational field causes numerous and contrasting reactions. When a new condition raises and the status of a situation changes into something new and different from what it used to be, then lots of heated debate is generated. The debate aims at exploring both aspects of both sides that support their own opposing ideas. This paper will present you with the reaction and the opposing idea to the well-established idea that online education destroys the educational procedure.
In addition, opponents highlight the dangers of an online educational system for both the educators and the educated ones. There is the danger of the great sense of freedom that this educational platform provides learners and teachers with. Since there is such easy accessibility to the educational material, learners get carried away by their other habits and end up remembering their duty on their learning at a very late stage. The result is that they spend too little time on their learning and they manage to sit their exams successfully only by luck and by having acquired very little knowledge and expertise. Last but not least, the comfort at which learning is achieved is mistaken in the learners’ minds for an extreme comfort as far as their being educated is concerned. Learners fail to realize that learning and being educated demands certain efforts and sacrifice and they mistake every knowledgeable acquisition for something easy and pretty unimportant since it is so easily achieved.
All the above statements keep their share in the above-mentioned debate as far as the implications and the effects of the online education system are concerned. But the truth lies far beyond these statements and this paper will prove that online education is something necessary that will contribute significantly to the evolution and overall improvement of the educational procedure.
First of all, online education uses the internet sources and all other advanced technological appliances which can make communication between the educators and the students possible. As a result learners become familiar with new updated forms of learning such as online database, online libraries, and online forums that allows both the learners and their teachers to get familiar with and cooperate using the basic forms of communicating and teaching. Research findings emphasize on the benefit enjoyed on behalf of both learners and teachers. They enjoy the procedure of learning through using an enjoyable technological challenge that enables them to feel innovative and powerful in the field of knowledge acquisition.
Secondly, online education offers ease and comfort. But this is not a trap. On the contrary, it is the greatest challenge that learners can be armed with. They are facing the great challenge of proving to themselves that they do not need the strict rules of a real based educational environment in order to go after their studying.
Thirdly, education becomes easily approachable by everyone. People can combine education with a job, either full time or part time. There have been so many people who feel miserable since they were not given the chance to go after their dreams when they were young. Now, online education provides people with this ability. Societies are given the chance to increase the number of their educated ones and increase the status and quality of life. According to a 2009 meta study from the Department of Education: “Students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.” Students who mix online learning with traditional coursework (i.e. blended learning) do even better. ’(Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, United States Department of Education).
It is widely acknowledged that the greatest challenge of any educational students is to make learners love learning. Online education beats this bet since it carries all the credentials in order to make learners realize how much they love and enjoy what they are doing and what they are experiencing.
Works Cited
Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2004).Entering the mainstream: The quality and extent of online education in the United States, 2003 and 2004.Needham, MA: Sloan-C Retrieved from http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/entering_mainstream.pdf
Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2005).Growing by degrees: Online education in the United States, 2005. Needham, MA
Allen I.E. & Seaman J. (2011) Going the distance Online Education in the United States 2011 retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED529948.pdf
Ciciora Phil, (2008) ‘E-Learning can positive effect on Classroom learning, Scholar says’ News Bureau Illinois (11/26/2008)
Tucker, M. Cook, Kathryn (2013) Point: Online Degree Programs Offer a Competitive Edge, Pint of View: Online Degree Programs 2013, p.2-2.1p. retrieved from http://ezproxy.mccnh.edu
