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Pros and Cons of Online Learning: Participation, Interaction, Resources
- 1. Pros and Cons of Online Learning Nathan Hughes
- 2. PROS • Participation not Dependent on Time or Location
- 3. PROS • Participation not Dependent on Time or Location • Online Format Allows for Dynamic Interaction
- 4. PROS • Participation not Dependent on Time or Location • Online Format Allows for Dynamic Interaction • High Quality Interaction between Students and with Professor
- 5. PROS • Participation not Dependent on Time or Location • Online Format Allows for Dynamic Interaction • High Quality Interaction between Students and with Professor • Learning is Centered Around Student
- 6. PROS • Participation not Dependent on Time or Location • Online Format Allows for Dynamic Interaction • High Quality Interaction between Students and with Professor • Learning is Centered Around Student • Level of Anonymity Promotes Focus on Content, Not Source
- 7. PROS (Cont’d.) • Access to Resources
- 8. PROS (Cont’d.) • Access to Resources • Exposure to Cutting Edge Technologies
- 9. PROS (Cont’d.) • Access to Resources • Exposure to Cutting Edge Technologies • Online Environment (Blackboard) Constantly Improving and Evolving to Meet Needs of Students and Teachers
- 10. CONS • Access to Cutting-Edge Technology Required
- 11. CONS • Access to Cutting-Edge Technology Required • Potential for Technology to Fail
- 12. CONS • Access to Cutting-Edge Technology Required • Potential for Technology to Fail • Not Effective for Undisciplined Students
- 13. CONS • • • • Access to Cutting-Edge Technology Required Potential for Technology to Fail Not Effective for Undisciplined Students Not Effective for All Learning Types
- 14. CONS • • • • • Access to Cutting-Edge Technology Required Potential for Technology to Fail Not Effective for Undisciplined Students Not Effective for All Learning Types Not Effective for All Types of Content
- 15. CONS • • • • • • Access to Cutting-Edge Technology Required Potential for Technology to Fail Not Effective for Undisciplined Students Not Effective for All Learning Types Not Effective for All Types of Content Feedback Limited
- 16. Conclusion
Editor's Notes
- pros and cons of online learning by Nathan Hughes
- One of the programs of online learning is that participation is not dependent on time or location. In an asynchronous online learning environment students are allowed to participate in high-quality learning situations where distance and schedule make learning in a brick-and-mortar learning environment difficult to impossible. The ability to dissipate and classes anywhere at any time requiring only a computer and Internet connection has allowed me more freedom to participate in class using the virtual classroom rather than having to go to class physically.
- The online format allows for dynamic interaction. Interaction between the instructor and students and among the students is enhance by the online learning format. Free exchange of ideas is generated through the learning process. The individual student can contribute to the course discussions and comment on those of others. This synergistic relationship found in the online virtual classroom is an attribute that greatly enhances the learning process and its benefits greatly outweigh any potential cons experienced in the online learning process.
- The online learning process encourages high-quality interaction between students and the professor. Students are afforded the time necessary to compose thoughtful discussing comments and responses to comments that allow for greater depth than in a brick-and-mortar face-to-face classroom setting.Not only does each student has the opportunity to analyze comments of other students and the professor, they also have the opportunity to analyze, review, and edit their own individual comments. This allows for a higher quality of content created by the students, which results in a higher quality of interaction overall.
- L the online learning format, learning is centered around the student. Online discussions and access to course materials and input from the professor and other students results in a broader review of the materials at a clarity of communication that, at least at the undergraduate level, would otherwise be unattainable. Many conversations take place simultaneously students have the opportunity to read and comment on all of their classmates’ contributions. Students are afforded the opportunity to actively engage only in the dialogue that they feel best meets their own needs. The students is afforded control over their own learning experience. This student centric model allows students to customize their individual contributions and control the information they take away from discussions so that it meets their individual needs.
- The level of anonymity found in the online learning environment promotes focus on content not source. The online learning format provides each student with a level of anonymity not found in the brick-and-mortar classroom, where face-to-face communication may allow for unnecessary “noise” that places a strain on the message receiver’s ability to access the intended meaning. Factors that create noise that are removed, for the most part, in the online learning environment include age, address, physical appearance, disabilities, race, and gender to name a few.
- Online learning also allows access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable in the face-to-face classroom environment. Online students have access to resources and materials from an unlimited number of sources. Instructors can utilize any of these online sources when determining what materials to present to students. This broader base of materials enhances the online learning experience for both students and professor.
- Online learning requires students to become familiar with cutting edge technologies intended to facilitate group interaction between individuals who do not share a common geographic location. This exposure to these technologies is beneficial to the student because it affords them an opportunity to gain real-world experience with technologies that are used in the business world to facilitate high-quality, dependable, and productive communication in a rapidly expanding global environment that in many ways six to overcome the same potential barriers found in the online classroom.
- blackboard is the online learning environment that I have used for the past four years as an online student. This online learning environment is constantly improving and evolving to meet the needs of students and teachers in the online learning environment. The blackboard learning environment of today reflects and effectively incorporates technological advances there were unavailable (and almost unthinkable) just four years ago at the start of my online education.
- field and there are very few cons inherent to the online learning environment. One of the cons is that the online learning environment requires that the student have access to technologies for them to access the online learning environment. Access to these cutting-edge technologies might be subject to location as well as socioeconomic variables. Access to high-speed Internet is required as well as access to hardware that meets the requirements necessary to successfully participate in an online learning environment. While open source technologies have leveled the playing field somewhat, the aforementioned criteria may prove prohibitive to many interested in participating in an online learning environment. Desktops, laptops, hard drives, printers, and he, at a high cost.
- whenever cutting edge technology is a requirement for effective utilization of and successful participation in the online learning environment, no matter how user-friendly and reliable the technology is it will always fail at some point. These technological breakdowns can happen on either end. The server that hosts the website might fail where students computer might encounter problems that might limit a students’ access. Internet connections fail in the institutions that provide the connection are susceptible to failing. The same technologies that are used to enhance the online learning experience are not infallible and their failure can attract from the learning experience.
- The online learning experience is not effective for the undisciplined student. The online medium of online education is best suited to the mature self discipline student. Individuals who are more dependent upon the enforced structure found in the brick-and-mortar learning environment may be unable to effectively control their learning experience. The same flexibility of study schedules afforded to students in the online learning environment may prove a hindrance to students who are not well organized, self-motivated, or who do not possess a high degree of time management skills. These individuals will most likely be unable to keep up with the pace of the course. Individuals who have difficulty managing their time for assuming responsibility for their own learning success may be unable to successfully operate in the online learning environment.
- The online learning environment is not effective for all learning types. There are many types of learners: the visual, auditory, and the experiential learner. Depending on the materials made available by the professor/facilitator, an online course may fall short in meeting the needs of all three of these types of learners. That said, it has been my experience that creating an online course to meet these needs is as simple as putting together a list of online sources related to the material for the students that appeals to the needs of each of these learners. The abundance and availability of multi-media non-copyrighted materials on the web make possible the assembly of learning materials that cater to all learning styles; however, their absence could make the difference between success and failure for some students. It is important to take into consideration the fact that students develop unique learning styles that some online learning programs may not appeal to.
- the online learning environment is not effective for all types of content. The online learning medium is not always an adequate method of instruction for some subjects. For example subjects where physical movement and dexterity where proper form and supervised practice greatly contribute to the achievement of learning objectives, the online learning format is currently unable to provide a level of quality comparable to that found in the face-to-face teacher/student learning environment. In northeastern I have found that all of the online subjects I have taken have been well-suited to the online learning experience. However, not all facilitators of online learning understand or care that an online learning experience, while technologically possible, may not necessarily see an appropriate method to teach some subjects.
- Will the online learning environment does allow for improved discourse between students and professor, there is also a limit to feedback and interaction not found in a face-to-face classroom where an instructor can confirm that a student is or is not receptive to the lesson based upon questions, body language, facial expressions, or I contact. Often the face-to-face learning experience helps create a source for creating meaning, memories, and points of reference that are key for some students to absorbing interpreting an accessing the information presented whose mastery is necessary for a learning experience to be considered successful.
- Finally, it has been my experience, that overcoming the differences between online learning in traditional face-to-face learning is the primary responsibility of the student. If I did not have adequate keyboard knowledge, basic operating system skills, or an openness and receptiveness two new and evolving technologies, I do not believe why online learning experience would have been as positive and experience as it has. And thankful for the availability of and success I have found participating in online programs. My experience at Bunker Hill community college and Northeastern University has been that when the curriculum the facilitator the technology and the student are all well prepared and complement each other, a successful online learning to experience is the result. N