On Line Education
What is Online Education
- Online Education is any education that occurs on the internet. It is often referred to as online learning, distance learning, distance education, e-Learning, or virtual learning. It has become increasingly popular over the past few years as it offers flexibility and independence.
- Students are able to take online courses for high school, college and some people take online classes in order to be home schooled. They offer a wide variety of classes to enable people to chose their curriculum or degree. (Edited by: Katherine Pombrio)
What are the benefits?
- There are several benefits to online education. There is increased task-time through discussion online. Interaction with peers to problem-solve through activities via online communication. The use of social media in the curriculum is a selling point as well. Teaching-learning activities are chosen based on the learning styles of the students receiving the education (NY Times, see Sources). Students who choose to participate in online learning are able to have more freedom within their schedule to complete work and meet deadlines. It gives students who choose to have an online education the opportunity to get a degree if their schedule and work hours are difficult to plan around. There are more options for a degree in a career that may not otherwise be available on college campuses. Students are able to be more independent and take ownership of their learning and education. Finally, online education’s greatest benefit is the flexibility it offers parents, professionals, and students.
What are the disadvantages?
- There is a lack of in-person interaction when a student participates in online education. Students are not able to participate in seminar type discussions that contribute to an authentic educational experience. Online education can also demand more time to complete the work and meet the deadline as one has to convert everything electronically. It involves a great deal of text-to-electronic work (Montgomery, see Sources). Because online education offers great flexibility, a student is more apt to procrastinate if they are not self-motivated. The missing of deadlines and incompletion of work can lead to an incompletion of courses.
- Students have to be sure to manage there time well. There is no teacher present to remind students of due dates and such. Online courses involve having the self-discipline to set aside the time needed to study. Online studying has to make a precedence and one can not let other things interfere. (changes made by Sarah Judge)
Online Education in the News
- News on different forms of online information: http://www.ideastream.org/education/online
- News on the top sites for online education: http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/computer-information-technology/rankings
- News on pro's and con's of on-line education: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/25/opinion/wheeler-tenured-professors/index.html?iref=storysearch
Online Education in the Comics
Links
Khann Academy: a great resource to learn just about ANYTHING:
https://www.khanacademy.org/
http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140318/NEWS01/303180039/Opinion-Critical-success-factors-online-education
By:Titus Buchanan
http://www.iseek.org/education/onlineresources.html
http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.org
Here is a link from the New Hampshire Department of Education about online education:
http://www.education.nh.gov/links.htm
Edited by: Suzanne Colangeli
Sources
- "The Benefits of Online Education." The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
- "Ten Disadvantages of Online Courses." Ten Disadvantages of Online Courses. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
- No Internal Links - Rajesh