A recent report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education, has arrived to the conclusion that: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” The report examined the comparative research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008 and most of the comparative studies were done in colleges and adult continuing-education programs of various kinds, from medical training to the military. Over the 12-year span, the report found 99 studies in which there were quantitative comparisons of online and classroom performance for the same courses. The analysis for the Department of Education found that, on average, students doing some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile. That is a modest but statistically meaningful difference. The report continues by saying that this difference may be seen because online education is providing 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.The report also suggests that while classroom education will remain intact, online education could be set to expand sharply over the next few years, as evidence mounts of its value.
Although personally I still believe that it all is in the learner’s hands, I do especially agree with the point that online courses are “more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms”. The fact that learners enroll in courses that suit their tastes is definitely much more beneficial than traditional classroom education which suits the taste and needs of the general population. Specific online courses may even be more of a motivation to the learner than classroom education, resulting in the learner working harder and thus, he will achieve better results and grades.
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I don't find myself in agreement with the outcome of this study unless the study states specifically that the same criteria were applied for both the online pilot, and the traditional classroom experimental setup. We have to note that in reality when we discuss teaching and learning, we are delving into the complexity of human behaviour.
ReplyDeleteNot only do complexity factors come in determined by who the teacher/educator is, his/her approach and the teaching style that one decides to adopt, but it also depends on the learners, their needs, their motivation and the different learning styles involved.
Another reason why such studies are not always considered as valid, is that most often designing for the online environment takes up much more effort and time, both on behalf of the educator and the learner. Arguments in research which have criticised studies just as the one presented above, have indeed revealed that in reality had learners in the traditional classroom put in the same amount of hours as those following the online course, they would have probably compared much better giving less discrepancy in grades.
In reality, the online course, adapts learning to the individual, but the individual assumes responsibility for his/her own learning; and therefore making much more of an effort than students who might be sitting in the classroom. Yet again, one cannot generalise on this statement.
It is very difficult for me to come to terms with the statement that ‘online education beats the classroom’. In my opinion nothing beats the face to face interaction between learner and teacher. I feel that the physical presence of another person makes a great difference in getting the teaching across. Furthermore, we seem to be forgetting or minimising the social aspect of classroom interaction. One must also keep in mind that the teaching and learning which goes on in the classroom does not only involve the assimilation of subject matter. There are the social factors which are being thought and learned during a class. Students learn to listen to others, wait their turn, work in a team, and respect their teacher and fellow students and a number of other social manners. The term ‘education’ in my opinion has very wide implications which go beyond the learning of a subject even when it comes to adult learning.
ReplyDeleteHowever I do agree with the point that online courses are “more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms”. One can follow any specific course he or she is interested in and work through it at his or her own pace without leaving home. This is a most convenient aspect of online courses when compared to the traditional way of following a course. I must also agree with the reflection that online courses will probably take up more time and effort on the part of the student than if the course was class based
I must agree with Suzanne, and the above article, saying that online courses take up more time and effort on the part of the student, as I am following an online course myself and I find that this is taking more time and motivation - since there is no face to face interaction to keep me going ...
ReplyDeleteBut on the other hand I do not agree with the point that online courses are more tailored to individual students as from my own experience I find that there is nothing more specific in online courses that is not given in face to face teaching ... the material that I have been given to learn from is the very same material that the other students on the course are using. It's true that one can follow this material at his / her own pace but I do not consider this to be any more individually tailored that other courses ....
In many areas of life, such as health, medicine, psychology, sports, finance, etc, technology is enhancing the experience and it is making all actors involved more productive. By actors I mean, both producers and consumers.
ReplyDeleteEducation is no exception in this regard. Similarly, as was mentioned several times above, there are certain instances where the need of direct human interaction becomes imminent; after all the service is from humans to humans and not for the scope of machines.
There are several factors in education that manifest the indispensability of technology in the area; hence e-learning. Two of them are:
Geography: How dispersed is the target audience
Although in Malta is relatively small, let's think whether a Gozitan student or one from Mellieha would prefer to have a one hour lesson from home through e-learning, rather than coming to MCAST Cording for just an hour lecture, or just to ask a single question when this can be done through email.
Maintenance: If the course material needs to change frequently, how difficult would it be to retrain your students?
I have to agree with both Suzanne and Analisa’s comments when they say that online courses take up more time and effort on the part of the student than if the course was class based. In the classroom environment, the student is given firsthand knowledge and information from both the lecturer and other students. If in difficulty, the student can instantly ask the lecturer or one of his/her peers to clarify some points, which is usually harder to achieve if the student is following an online course instead.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that an online course gives the student the possibility to study at his/her own pace, but if the student encounters any problems whilst following the course, it might become difficult to clarify the questions in a timely manner. One must also take into consideration whether the student can make use of synchronous or asynchronous tools whilst following an online course. It is fine for a student to make use of a chatting program (synchronous tools) to solve his/her problems, as the student will get an immediate reply to his/her questions. If on the other hand a student has only the possibility to use asynchronous tools, such as forums or email, the student would have to wait for anyone to read his/her posts before receiving feedback, which sometimes may be very frustrating.
In my opinion, students following an online course must increase their effort in order to achieve what others might achieve in a traditional classroom following the same course.
I definitely don`t agree that online education can ever beat the classroom. If one substitutes face-to-face teaching with tailor made online courses just because a study concluded that performance was marginally better, isn`t such study forgetting the more important factor of a holistic approach to education?
ReplyDeleteWhat type of citizens / workers will such `elearnt` students be? How can the human contact element be taken away from teaching? What sort of world do we want to live in?
We have been hearing about robots, automation and automated gadgets for almost half a century now. But we are still proud of our humanity and human feelings. Do we want our children to become just robots or fully automated and then in the areas of their choice? What about the needs of society and industry?
Don`t take me wrong. I am not against eLearning. In fact I approve of it but nothing can beat the teaching in the classroom where human feelings can be let free and life as we know it can be lived with all its ups and downs.
I beleive that the only way forward is a balance between the two.
Human behaviour is a determining factor to the success or failure of following an online course. I find the result from the study hard to believe since I don't think that there is any environment that could beat the benefits of the classroom environment.
ReplyDeleteIn an online environment, success depends on the student's will to learn. In the classroom environment, even if the student is not that motivated to learn, the face-to-face interaction gives greater chance for learning to take place.
I think that individual needs can be more easily identified in the classroom environment and more promptly tackled by the teacher. I do believe that material preparation is more time consuming in an on-line environment and the time taken does not necessarily mean that the material prepared meets the learner’s individual requirements.
In my opinion online courses cannot beat the traditional classroom teaching especially when a person is still growing up. When a human being is born the first education is derived from the parents. After that education is derived from the primary school then secondary schools.
ReplyDeleteThis is a normal procedure in the process of our education. This depends on the age of the students that are learning. The younger the student is, the better a traditional classroom is but while when the level of education is higher it would be much easier and better for an on-line course.
I think that learning does not get better than social learning. During a philosophy lesson I had back in the days at Junior College, the lecturer stated that we know what the word 'red' means, because we know that it differentiates from 'yellow', 'blue', 'green', etc.
ReplyDeleteI think that the classroom takes on an added value, that is why I do not fully agree with the study above. Students know they are learning because they know where they stand compared to other students. I think that 'social learning' enhances more the education of the student.
As already stated above, when it comes to e-learning, the students takes the responsability individually to attend to his/her educational needs. In the classroom, another dimension is able to be learnt that via a computer is missing.
I agree with all that Elinora stated above. I do not know if this is across all MCAST of if the issue is just with IAD but we do get a good number of students who lack motivation and whose only stimulus are their tutors and their classmates. This for me proves the importance of physical communication. Seeing the successes and failures of their fellow classmates helps motivates students, as does the positive attitude and varied teaching techniques of a teacher.
ReplyDeleteE-learning can only be successful for motivated students who know what they want and are ready to work hard to achieve that. Many students need more than that and need to be guided in order for them to be successful.
I find this topic of e-learning vs classroom learning very intriguing.
ReplyDeleteSome lecturers state that e-learning is definitely much more effective than a classroom learning environment, while others state that e-learning does not produce the same level of learning and interest as a
classroom learning because it lacks interactivity.
I believe that e-learning may enhance the classroom environment and the real issue is to use the most appropriate type of learning based on the circumstances. As an example one must distinguish between teaching 3 students an intermediate subject from teaching 1,000 persons spread all over Europe. Costs and conditions might lead to a conclusion that
e-learning is more useful and effective for the latter environment.
Furthermore, a lecturer may find that a combination of e-learning and classroom learning may produce excellent results when compared to conventional learning schemes/methods.
Rather than agree or disagree I feel that one needs to address the benefits that emerge from both situations. I think that in order to have successful learning conditions one needs to make use of both traditional as well as nontraditional means. I feel that this is felt in everything we do.
ReplyDeleteWith traditional means there is more of the human (emotional) element where there is more interaction; whereas in nontraditional means of communication/learning, the element of, efficiency; accuracy and at times economical value are indeed higher. We only need take the current event of the world cup as an example.
We cannot help but note how many people across the globe share the same exact experience at the same time. But, are they experiencing the exact same emotion as the c.90 thousand in the stadium? Perhaps yes and perhaps not. In fact we constantly demand more from that experience – we prefer to meet in groups in order to multiply/replicate and share the same emotion felt in the stadium and be able to interact with other human beings who share our same emotions, (although the experience is still second hand – ie via satellite, we feel the need to replicate the same sensation as that felt in the arena). Humans have an inherent need to interact with one another.
Unfortunately in this world you can find a study to prove anything. I was reading a journal article about the need to implement an e-learning strategy in higher education institutions. The main focus of this article was that after quoting various researchers, the conclusions the article arrived at was that in a world of higher costs, e-learning can reduce a lot of costs without any reduction in quality. Below is the reference for the article I am mentioning:
ReplyDeleteTucker, J.P. & Gentry, G.R. (2009) ‘Developing an E-Learning Strategy in Higher Education’ (2009)
VOL. 11 NO. 2 2009, pp. 43-49, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
EU ICT Research: The Policy Perspective
ReplyDeleteLearning – The new way
Available at: Click here to Open Document
I was reading the above identified brochure relating to EU projects to promoting ICT as a means of enabling classroom learning. A section within the document discusses the impact of technology on today’s environment.
“Technology has changed the world – and it is now changing what and how we learn.” (Pg 4)
Today both educators and learners have plenty of resources to access and distribute information. Changes in society and the economy have accentuated ‘softer’ skills such as inquiry, problem solving, collaboration and interaction.
Technology is seen as a helping factor to reshaping our society. It equips learners and educators with the necessary tools to acquire such soft skills. Technology may be used to “engage learners and motivate them to continue; it can foster innovation and creativity”. Within the document Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media in 2009 discussed through a press statement that in today’s learning environment we are to “transform, enrich and structure” knowledge before distributing it.
Policy makers within the EU are promoting ICT to facilitate such a process and also knowledge sharing between groups, and country borders and language barriers. ICT is also seen as a tool to increasing Lifelong learning awareness and opportunities and more personalised learning opportunities.
In my opinion it makes little sense to compare e-learning with classroom based learning. I think that we should look at e-learning as a tool that facilitates education. There are also several levels to which one can apply e-learning to such an extent to counter any argument against it.
ReplyDeleteOne example can be the case of interactivity. Interactivity can be boosted in e-learning through podcasts, online chats, or better through video/audio conferencing.
Besides that, there are several computer programs available that enhance interactivity up to a level that may be impossible to reach in a classroom environment alone. Typical examples of this are simulations, online quizzes, and online collaborative learning.
Nearly every one has commented on this hot topic that, of course hits us personally, for if education on line takes off and replaces the traditional face-to-face approach, we will remain without a job!
ReplyDeleteBut this survey like many others has to be considered with great care, for there could be many variables, for example: the country where it was carried out, the culture and believes, the technological infrastructure, the economical situation of the country and the students etc. All these variables could give different outcomes.
Furthermore, I ask you do students go to college or any other educational institution just to learn a subject/s? or is there more? Of course there is! Educational institutions provide much more, like: learning to live with one another, socialising and making friends, listening and understanding others, learning from experience of others, improve our communication skills, etc.
However, we must not close our eyes and block this technological tool (its human nature to refuse change) but use it to our benefit. I believe there needs to be the right mix between the traditional and the new, not because a survey has been conducted somewhere but because we feel the need.