In the early 1980s, teachers started using computers to assist in classroom
learning. By the mid 1990s, schools began to give internet access to students
so they could use the net to find information for class projects. Today, entire
courses are taught online. MS-NBC reports an estimated 26,000 courses are
currently being taught on the Internet to roughly 750,000 students. But can online
students learn as much and as fast as they can in a conventional classroom setting?
A study conducted at the University of California, Irvine finds that cyber-students do
learn as much as conventional learners. The study included 200 undergraduates
enrolled in an 'Introductory Macroeconomics' course at the University, instructed by
Professor Peter Navarro. One group of undergraduates attended conventional classroom
lectures. The other group was given a set of multimedia CD-ROM lectures to study.
In addition, the group was given access to an online bulletin board where
discussions could take place with other students of the course. Professor Navarro
was also available for consultation within the bulletin board. When each course was
complete, a common exam was administered to both groups of learners. The result:
Cyber-students scored an average of 15% higher on the exam than conventional students,
regardless of gender, ethnicity, academic background, computer skills, or academic
aptitude.
Navarro believes that "Online learning can have a very bright future if courses
are designed well." He further believes that "A solid cyber approach
should feature...interactive communication opportunities and electronic
testing." Many online courses are simply comprised of pages of text.
Without interactive discussion areas, supplementary materials, and links to other sites,
students simply get bored.
Deborah Everhart, a professor at Georgetown University, also instructs conventional and
online courses. Her online courses feature chat rooms, where students can interact
with each other in real time. "There are students I might not ordinarily hear
from in class," Everhart said. "But in a chat room, they feel freer to
state their opinions and ask their questions."
Unfortunately, there are some downfalls to online learning. A report by the
Institute for Higher Education Policy, claims that colleges lack enough knowledge about
online education to justify its rapid growth. The study indicates that there is a
much higher student dropout rate in online courses-32% compared with 4% for classroom
students. Why the dramatic difference? Dropping out of an online course
requires no face to face contact with the instructor. Students who get sick, find
they are overworked, or just want to go an an early vacation probably find it less
intimidating to drop out without real instructor contact.
Another problem with online courses is that there's no quality control on the web.
Anybody can create a course and offer it online. Who's to say if Joe Blow's
course is as good as John Doe's course, or if either instructor is qualified to teach the
course?
Below are some tips that you can use when searching for an online course:
- Consider taking courses that are offered through an accredited community college
or University. These courses are more likely to be taught by qualified instructors
than courses which you just happen to come across on the Internet.
- Find out about the instructor of the course. Search the institution's website for
instructor qualifications. Find out if any student reviews have been listed.
- Make sure that the course you're thinking about taking isn't just an 'online book.'
See if the course includes discussion areas with instructor interaction,
supplementary materials, and online quizzes and assignments.
- Never give your credit card number out in forms that aren't on secure servers. If
possible, find out if you can pay for the course by phone, or at the institution that the
course is offered through.
- See if the institute offers a demonstration course that exhibits the classroom structure
of the courses offered. An institution with a good online structure will want to
showcase their system to you.
- Find out if the institute asks for student feedback at the completion of each course.
An institute that's committed to offering quality courses will consider all student
comments valuable and necessary.
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Examining Online Courses by Robert Viers