WRTG 101S
Introduction
The last few decades have witnessed dramatic changes in higher education, many of which were explained by different researchers who have discussed the issue of online education effects both positively and negatively on higher education and students' performance in general. Recent studies offer plenty of insights on online learning influence on the students enrolled in online courses. They tend to reveal some of the potential difficulties they encounter trying to figure out possible solutions to it. In this paper, we will discuss the reasons behind enrolling in online courses, how online learning and online courses can affect education in general, what are potential problems faced by students and what solutions can be offered to handle these problems.
Why College Students Prefer Online Learning
How Online Learning and Online Courses Can Affect Education
Increasing pressures are exercised on educational systems to reduce educational costs and improving students' performance at the same time. To reach these two outcomes, many educational institutions are turning to online learning as the new alternative of traditional classes. Compared to traditional place-based education, online courses offer productivity benefits to students enrolled in it. However, these benefits cannot reduce the drawbacks of this type of learning. During the last decade, researching models revealed that online learning offers certain applications that are considered pathways to students' productivity. One of these applications is that engaging students in active learning can facilitate adopting research-based practices from the learning sciences, which can enhance student's performance with the least costs possible. Time management for both student and teacher can be another application by automating routine schedule and give the tutor time to focus on valued activities.
On the other hand, online learning can have negative effects on education. Researchers claim that online classes do not offer the same immediate access to colleagues and professors, which reduces potential communication skills among them. Another drawback is that online courses require time commitment more than required for traditional courses. Students who struggle with traditional courses often cannot cope with time commitment needed for online classes. Another drawback is presented in the increased level of dropout and the higher rate of class failure in online courses. It was noticed that course completion level for traditional courses was higher than its level in online courses, which reflects the reduced level of students' commitment to online learning.
Problems with Online Learning and Suggested Solutions for them
Some problems may encounter students in online learning, for instance there is a lack of peer to peer learning which can reduce quality and neglect the idea of craftsmanship. This problem can be handled by using video conferences that can allow students to interact with each other and with their tutors. Another problem is that there is no sense of emotional progress. It is important for students to feel that they are really learning, such feeling is based on certain factors like individualized attention and meaningful feedback in the context of mistakes. This feeling can be initiated through open discussion sessions. The third problem can bee seen in the type of response students receive from teachers. In online learning, students receive immediate quantitative responses, but qualitative responses may be delayed. In multiple choices assessment, which is the common type of assessments in online courses, students learn their grade immediately but may not gain an understanding about the learning strategy. This problem can e solved by providing feedback for each multiple choice question that can give the student a certain reference regarding his answer, whether it is true or false answer. Another problem in online courses is that they cannot accommodate students who may need the same level of help available in traditional courses. The surrounding circumstances of online courses are sometimes more unknown than those in traditional courses. To handle this problem, students need to remain engaged in the course and communicate directly with their teachers and colleagues.
Conclusion
Although we are certain that online courses are changing the face of education, it is important to address the issues and challenges involved in its environment. In this paper, we discussed how online learning can affect student performance and education in general; we found that it can have both negative and positive effects. We figured out that while online courses have significant strengths and provide students with unmatched accessibility to education programs which cannot be available for them in their areas through traditional learning, there are weaknesses inherent in the online courses environment that can pose certain threats to the success of online degrees. We also pointed to the reasons that motivate students to enroll in online courses and how this type of leaning provides them with unmatched flexibility compared to traditional learning classes. We finally highlighted some of the potential problems that can encounter students in online learning environment and its effects on their performance, while suggesting possible solutions for these problems.
References
- Windes, D. (2014, March 1). The Effects of Online Teaching Experience and Institution Type on Faculty Perceptions of Teaching Online. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring171/windes_lesht171.html
- Anderson, T. (2008). Theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.). Edmonton: AU Press.
