Posted February 25th, 2014
By Tricia Seymour
In 2103, Ed4Career launched the first in our series of ‘In Your Opinion’ polls. The first question we posed to the public was, “Can online learning be as effective as classroom learning?” The results, while revealing, mirrored the heated debate that is still taking place in academic circles – with 68% of respondents indicating “Yes, it can be” and 32% having serious reservations and even outright hostility to the concept of online learning. With many more college students taking online courses, we must continue to have these discussions.
The majority of people who participated in this poll were educators, and they approached this subject from viewpoints of those who have taught online courses, those who have completed online courses as well as those who have participated in online webinars. Most of those that commented on the poll realized the many benefits of online learning; from the cost savings of online courses to being able to have a way for an entire department to participate in a learning activity together.
Those that felt that online learning could be effective listed a variety of reasons in support of their opinions. The importance of quality was heard again and again; from the quality of the materials to the quality of the program and the company that was offering it. Most of the comments revolved around the age old question of “What constitutes good education?”
One interesting aspect of the poll was the discussion around what is required to be successful in an online learning environment versus a classroom environment. This was best expressed by one respondent when they said,
“Success is dependent on the student. Students who are independent learners thrive in an online setting. Online certainly can be as effective as classroom learning since students are able to streamline their learning. Students in an online classroom are challenged with a higher level of reading, comprehension, and communication skills. In an online classroom the facilitator of the class monitors student participation, engagement in thread discussions and research. But it takes INDEPENDENT and RESPONSIBLE learners to get the most out of online learning.”
Many of the responders mentioned advantages of online learning for the non-traditional student. The fact that online learning allows an adult student to have more flexibility with their time was seen as a great benefit to the online student. Voters mentioned that students could be more productive if their studies could revolve around their schedule and life commitments rather than the other way around.
Blended courses appear to have much appeal, those that mix online as well as face-to-face or student-to-student interaction through collaborative discussion, online forums, blogging, emails and/or telephone calls are of interest to many of our voters. All of these elements can work together to form the online classroom into one cohesive unit. This point of view was best summed up by another participant when she stated,
“I not only think that online courses are the equivalent of face to face courses they are generally better...and best of all are blended courses that start out from online courses and branch into synchronous collaborative sessions, chat sessions, tutoring sessions, personal telephone calls, and face to face meet ups.”
The added benefit of students being able to communicate, to socialize and to bounce ideas off of one another in a classroom setting needs to be duplicated some way in the online educational field. Connecting with fellow classmates during and after learning sessions provides many students with the opportunity to further their understanding of the material presented. Building connections among students is a dynamic that needs to be addressed by online course creators. With the ever growing options in technology today; online course creators need to be up to date in their offerings to students and instructors alike in order to better foster those connections.
In general, it appears that online education has improved by leaps and bounds over recent years, and will continue to improve to meet the demands of students, corporations, and campuses alike. Many of the same qualities that make classroom learning meaningful apply just as equally to online classroom education.
The “Top Take Away List” from the poll seems to be as follows:
1. Online learning can be as effective as classroom learning.
2. Students must assume a higher level of accountability and responsibility in the online environment.
3. The materials used for an online course need to be of a sufficient quality to facilitate learning.
4. The adult learner prefers a greater flexibility of time and access to accommodate their schedule and lifestyle.
5. Blended learning can be beneficial to students both for the social interaction and the hands on experiences.
This article first appeared in the July 2013 edition of Career College Central.
Dr. Tricia Seymour is the Cofounder and COO of Ed4Career. She has been in education for more than 30 years and in adult online education for more than 10 years. Dr. Seymour stays at the forefront of educational advancements and balances them with the ever-evolving best practices of online learning. Ed4Career offers one of the largest proprietary career certification catalogs available on the market today as well as online professional development training.
