In “Reliance on Online Materials Hinders Learning Potential for Students” by David Smith the author argues online education has some benefits students are also able to suffer. Smith begins his article with stating students are lucky for being able to have the amount of access they have to receive education unlike past generations. He goes on by stating “this variety has begun to work its way into academia, as well; more and more, it seems, organized instruction is moving beyond the classroom and into cyberspace” (Smith, Par 3). The “traditional” educational experience is slowly being taken over by the technology world.
In addition, Smith ask the question “While the internet has certainly made learning easier, has it made it better? (Par 8). Furthermore, he adds “Think about the fundamental differences between a traditional course, taught in a classroom, and one conducted entirely via Blackboard’s online services” (Smith, Par 9). The differences of
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Online education as “easy” as instructors or adults like to put it, it is very stressful. Your “flexible” schedule isn’t really flexible. Depending on the class and how many assignments are required to be turn in a week you sometimes would have to give up doing what you would normally do in your normal schedule just to avoid not failing. Smith states “They must attend class on a regular basis or suffer the consequences, typically complete regular homework assignments for points, and are constantly reminded of the work that has to be done by the ever-present figure of the professor” (Par 10). There are test, quizzes, and exams taken through the online courses and if there are only certain time frames for either one and a student misses it, it hurts the student’s grade and could cause he or she to start failing and get
In his 2011 article, “Reliance on Online Materials Hinders Learning Potential for Students,” David Smith attempts to build upon student’s obligated online interaction to make a case against online classes. Smith first shows how much today’s learners must use online materials by using the example of his own Alma Mater. By referencing his own experience at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, with MyRED and EBSCO search engine, Smith lays the grounds for the focus of his argument. He then attempts to use what seem to be personal examples of experience with online coursework while begging the question through repeated examples. By failing to establish the credibility of his facts, attempting to force his own
This is a necessity for staying relevant in an increasingly internet-dependent society. Those in higher education must not cling to the traditional classroom. Traditional classes may still have their place, but they are becoming increasingly less preferable to hybrid and completely online alternatives. Unlike its traditional counterpart, online education is better suited towards handling a varied demographic of students. Its advantages lie in the flexibility of its schedule. A student who would be working around the usual time a traditional class would be taking place would have a much easier time fitting an online class into their schedule (Britt 31). For those who feel they need the physical interaction with their instructor, many classes are being offered with varying degrees of hybridity between the traditional class and an online class (Britt 33). As education continues to evolve, more options for digital schooling should become
“Technology has revolutionized the way we communicate, the way we live, and the way we learn.” (Maddix; 2010). During these recent years web- based learning has gained so much popularity that, online courses enrolments continue to climb, but retention and completion rates in such courses and programs are lower than traditional classroom schooling. Because of these problems educators have looked into the problems to see what can be done to reverse the trend. As more formal education courses become available online, quality and non-completion remain a problem. This brings me to ask the question, that how much relationship should I build into
One of the biggest concerns about online education today is something that Thomas Friedman calls the “ambition gap” (354). The new American generations are becoming less motivated and less ambitious than the rest of the world. Not only is sending american jobs to other countries cheaper but the individuals are much more productive and willing to do the work. Education Online would be enabling these next generation of students laziness. In a Ted Talks seminar, Anant Agarwal, the head of edX, tells his audience why Massive Open Online Courses still matter. Agarwal talks about the changing generations and how we ought to keep up with technology and embrace it in the way we educate. Agrawal insists,” so rather than driving our kids into a classroom, herding them out there at 8 o’clock in the morning-- I hated going to class at 8 o’clock in the morning, so why are we forcing our kids to do that? So instead what you do is have them watch
The value of online learning through out the years has been widely accepted by society and educators as a good learning tool. Technology is viewed as a great way to encourage in-class participation. This helps to motivate students to learn more about the subject that is being taught. It also helps with personal motivation to learn more. Technology also gives easy access to much needed resources for educational purposes and allows a more efficient communication between the pupil and the educator. Because of this information that is at the world’s fingertips, it allows for quick answers that would be otherwise hard to find. The demand for in-class technological use has negative affects too.
I have previously taken online courses in my past college experiences. I do know in order to be successful in your class time management is key. From my past experiences I have decided that I want to make my education my focus therefore have planned my work schedule accordingly to ensure my success with classes. I also have decided that I want to try and complete my work as soon as I can to make sure all work is completed while I have the free time in case an emergency or something unexpected was to happen.
One of the biggest concerns about online education today is something that Thomas Friedman calls the “ambition gap” (354). The new American generations are becoming less motivated and less ambitious than the rest of the world. Not only is sending american jobs to other countries cheaper but the individuals are much more productive and willing to do the work. Education Online would be enabling these next generation of students laziness. In a Ted Talks seminar, Anant Agarwal, the head of edX, tells his audience why Massive Open Online Courses still matter. Agarwal talks about the changing generations and how we ought to keep up with technology and embrace it in the way we educate. Agrawal insists,” so rather than driving our kids into a classroom, herding them out there at 8 o’clock in the morning-- I hated going to class at 8 o’clock in the morning, so why are we forcing our kids to do that? So instead what you do
One such convenience is the general flexibility that many online classes provide (Bird). This flexibility allows online classes to be more adaptive to those desiring a more personal pace; this makes online classes more convenient for non-traditional students with other obligations, such as work or family, molding more easily with their schedules (Bird). Online classes also work well with more independent students with enough self-discipline, who don’t want to be restricted by the pace of a classroom setting. Online classes can be a valuable alternative to both traditional and non-traditional students desiring a compliant class schedule.
Taking online education classes is supposed to be the new cheaper way of learning, but are you actually learning? With online schooling kids are not getting as much social interaction as they would in a normal classroom setting. They simply can not just raise their hand to ask their teacher a question, they have to email the teacher or look it up on the internet. In Alexander Spring’s essay “Online Learning: The Ruin of Education,” he explains how “teachers” are now PCs or Macs and how these online computer classes are ruining the education process for this generation of kids and future generations. I agree with Spring’s opinion that the online learning is ruining the kids education and needs to
Students are required to learn massive amounts of course material. It is mandatory to learn at the instructor’s pace. Online courses give flexibility while scheduling to learn this material. Students are overwhelmed with homework throughout the duration of each class. Some have up to four classes of homework due weekly. It can be difficult for many to absorb all the material while scheduling work and home life. Trying to arrange the balance of each can be tiring for the body and mind. When taking online classes, there is an advantage to have the capability to learn the subject when the brain and body are ready to handle it. This flexibility can give the benefit of the full focus on schoolwork. On-campus classes give the benefit of help on the spot when needed, but students that take a
According to Barbara Means, the study’s lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International, online education ultimate goal, is to provide learning experiences that are more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms. That enables more “learning by doing,” which many students find more engaging and useful.
Learning is more than just receiving information. Traditionally learning was to be in campus, where students would interact with one a another, there were no other ways for learners to get educated beside going to the classroom and listening to the instructor. Nowadays the Internet has brought different ways for people to receive information, such as getting education and degrees online. A few years ago online education was never thinkable, and yet it has become to reality and it is widely expanding with popularity. Online education is a type of educational instruction that delivers learning to individuals to their own homes, and it is getting very popular among nontraditional student and others. Individuals prefer online education
Online education is a type of distance learning. The student is taking courses without attending a school or university. Instead, online students and teachers interact over the Internet. Online classes can teach students educational responsibility. By forcing them to access the online portal to participate in reading the textbooks/lectures and doing the assignments. Technical abilities is also learned with online classes. Students who lack the tech savvy knowledge can learn how to navigate through the online environment. Being able to access the online portal at any given time of the day is one other benefit to online education. Though online education may seem beneficial, there are more negatives than
Technology is changing every aspect in our lives, even the way we learn. Online classes are a rapidly growing trend it today’s society. Online classes are a cost-effective substitute for traditional courses and more convenient for many, so more schools and universities are offering this option. Due to the increase in online course enrollment, people are questioning if students truly learn something from online classes because it’s not a traditional learning environment. Online classes are just, if not more, effective as traditional classes because grades have increased and online discussions provide students with the chance to interact through networking while earning a degree for less than what it would cost to enroll at the same university.
Education has undergone significant changes because of the development of information and communication technology over the 21st century (Lin & Jou, 2012:2). As a convenient and inexpensive way to gain knowledge while pursuing higher education, online learning, a form of training or teaching that takes place over the Internet, has been considered as an alternative to traditional classroom learning (Zhang et al, 2004). This essay will argue that even though online learning has benefit such as flexibility which could outweigh traditional learning, traditional classroom learning might still not be entirely replaced. This essay will discuss positive and negative aspects of online and traditional learning in terms of four criteria: