TABLE OF CONTENTS
 |
| From his dorm room, Adam Bernstein, a freshman at Stanford University, watches his Computer Science class on his laptop. |
Who would have thought that students would be able to take classes from their bedrooms? I certainly didn't and I know my parents probably never fathomed it, but now that we are living in a multimedia world, anything is possible. Today there are many on-line classes, and people of all ages are learning from teachers right from the comfort of their own homes. Several colleges and universities have started to offer courses on-line. In fact, "Stanford University is the first university to incorporate video with audio, text, and graphics in its distance learning offerings," ( http://stanford-online.stanford.edu/main.html). Other colleges such as Purdue and Colorado State University also provide some courses located on-line. With this kind of on-line system, education is provided anytime and anywhere.
Although
it seems that it would be great to have the ability to go to class whenever
you please, and to go to class in your pajamas no less, major questions
about on-line education ensue: will on-line education ever completely replace
the traditional teacher- student interaction that takes place in a classroom?
Do we really need on-line education? What will be the effects of
on-line education? Will taking on-line classes be the future of our
children's education? Although I do not have complete answers
for any of these questions, the following topics may provide you with valuable
information concerning on-line education. Just think, right now you are
receiving a bit of on-line education. Read and Enjoy!
On-line education consists of taking classes over the internet. Instead of a classroom setting a person can take a class right from a personal computer. Below is information about how on-line education works. This information came from the web site http://www.embark.com.
How a virtual classroom works
Taking classes at a distance is a great way to continue your education. more and more students are participating in online learning programs every day. If you have questions about how a virtual classroom works, you've come to the right place.
Online instruction involves many different learning platforms and methods.
Synchronous Learning
Synchronous learning happens in real time, so students participate simultaneously. The experience may include simple, real-time, text-based chat and shared whiteboards. It may also include graphic chat environments or multi-point video-conferencing.
Asynchronous learning allows students to go to class when their schedule permits. Asynchronous learning includes everything from web-based presentations and discussions to streaming audio an video on demand, for example. Students are usually required to spend a certain amount of time per week in their virtual classroom, but it's up to them to decide when school begins an ends each day.
Here is the basic mode for an asynchronous virtual classroom:
An instructor, often a professor who teaches in a traditional classroom, creates the content and software for a course that is posted on a designated Web site.
Students apply for a program online an register
for courses. They are provided a username an password that allows
them access to course material. As long as you have a PC that's current,
most computers and operating systems will work just
fine.
A Home Page. The entire course, along
with support materials, are presented through a home page the registered
student accesses. The course often begins with a comprehensive orientation
explaining everything you need to know to successfully
complete the course online. Just like a traditional course, you get
a course outline, what books you may need to purchase, technical support
links, and help sections. The course includes
a variety of typed lectures, assignments, quizzes, tests, tutorials and
general instructions. All this can be accessed through the course
home page.
Communication is frequent with your instructor,
instructor aides and your fellow classmates via e-mail, newsgroups or chat
groups. Chat groups may be live real-time discussion forums
(synchronous learning) or not real-time discussion
boards. In most cases you can also telephone your instructor or a
course aid during specified office hours.
Simple enough? Not quite. Just because this is an online class does not mean you're getting off easy. In fact, these courses are just as demanding as their on-campus, face-to-face counterparts. You will still be required to submit those writing assignments and term papers by their due dates. You will simply turn in your class assignments to your instructor via email attachments. From an environmental perspective this is a good thing, since less double-spaced term papers being passed around means less trees will die.
-- The specific site this information was taken from
is http://www.embark.com/learning/virtual.asp
WHY DO WE NEED ON-LINE EDUCATION?
Population Growth, Overcrowding, and Teacher Shortage -- According to a CNN report, the world population reached over 6 billion people in October 1999 (http://cnn.com/US/9910/13/population.youth.surge/), and population experts expect a surge in population growth through 2050. This increase in population will mean an increase in enrollment for elementary, post-secondary and higher level institutions, and as a result will lead to overcrowding in schools. Already many schools across the country have overcrowded classrooms and an insufficient amount of teachers. An overcrowded classroom is neither a good learning environment nor a good teaching environment. The teacher must explain concepts to many students and it's hard when all students don't learn at the same place. In addition, students are unable to ask as many questions and are unable to create a personal relationship with their teacher. The effects of overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages also include a lack of honors and college preparatory courses in schools. As a result, kids aren't prepared to succeed at higher levels of education. With on-line education, however, overcrowding and teacher shortages wouldn't be a problem. Students would be able to learn in an environment that would be comfortable to them and more importantly, students would be able to learn at their own pace. In addition, teachers would be able to teach millions of students at one time. Students could contact professors and teaching assistants via email and could even interact with students from other states taking the same class . Tutor sites are also available for those students that need help with specific problems.
Increased Educational Costs -- According
to the National Center for Education Statistics ( http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76
) there is definitely a trend in the cost of post-secondary
education. Trends show that college cost has risen in both private
and public institutions and that the costs will continue to rise.
Below is a chart taken from the NCES web site.
|
|
|||
| Year and Control of Institution |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9,536 | 11,227 | 5,075 |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6,788 | 7,628 | 4,601 |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
18,745 | 19,143 | 12,481 |
1 Preliminary data based on fall 1996 enrollment weights.
With this increase in educational cost, many people are
financially unable to attend school. With on-line education, however, education
could be received at lower costs. Students wouldn't have to pay for
room and board and would still be able to obtain a quality education.
Classes normally limited in size on college campuses, would be open to
more people and as a result costs would decrease.
Low College Attendance among Minorities --
Statistics show that college attendance among certain minorities is very
low across the country. Especially in California, with the elimination
of affirmative action, minorities have even shown a drop in applying to
four year universities. With advancements in technology, however,
on-line education can provide a positive educational experience for minorities.
With on-line education, minorities with different cultural and linguistic
abilities could learn at their own pace and receive the same type of quality
education. On-line education provides a wonderful outlet for people
who normally wouldn't have an opportunity to attend college.
Tailor the educational process to individual learning
styles -- As you probably know, everyone has a different way of
learning. Some people are better visual learners while others learn
better by listening. With on-line education, a person can tailor
their education to their personal learning style. On-line education
gives a person the ability to pause and replay lectures. With Stanford
Online ( http://online/seminar/menu.html
) some professors add slides of important concepts that were
learned in a specific lecture. For example, look at the picture
at the top of the page. On Saturday, Adam Bernstein was able to watch
his Computer Science class that took place on Friday. Also included
with that taped lecture were slides that better explained the concepts
learned in class that day. With this type of tailoring to fit personal
learning needs, students will probably understand more, and consequently
will do better in school.
Adult Education -- As society propels further into a technological world that is constantly changing, it is foreseen that the work force will need to participate in on-going and continuing education. Although education is important for obtaining a job, it is even more necessary for maintaining the job. Jobs are becoming increasingly specialized and with the change of technology that specialization also changes. On-line education can greatly help in career preparation as well as job training and re-training. With on-line education, employers wouldn't have to actually send their employees to college. Instead, the employees could take classes right from the computer network at their work place. This would save time and money for both the employer and the employee. In addition, employees could gain advanced degrees without having to leave their companies' site.
Convenience -- Convenience is a major reason why on-line education is considered essential to the future of learning. With on-line education, class is accessible anytime and anywhere. People don't need to travel to class, instead they can watch their classes from their bedroom and in their pajamas or from their office at work. This is especially, useful to remote users who are from rural locations. In addition, it is helpful for those people who work in addition to going to school. Many times work conflicts with classes at regular colleges, however, with on-line education, a person can schedule their on-line education around their work schedule. E-mail makes it very easy to contact a professor or teacher's assistant. E-mail is more convenient for answering questions then is making appointments for office hours, especially when there are many people in the class. Over all, on-line education is convenient because of it's unlimited access.
Technological Advances -- Finally, with
the continual advancement of technology, on-line education is very accessible
and convenient. With the increasing power of the desktop computer
as well as the increased speed connections, computers will only improve
on their ability to process multimedia documents and television quality
video. In collaboration with improved technology, the capability
of transmitting multiple streams of television quality video in real-time
will take only nano-seconds. Software for the virtual classroom is
also improving. Most on-line education systems work in the domain
of asynchronous education. All of
this technological advancement can only lead to one possibility -- on-line
education may be the wave of the future.
Lack of Social Interaction-- One of the
main drawbacks of on-line education is the lack of social interaction.
Part of the college experience is interacting with peers. On-line
learning, although it is great for giving a person education, does not
provide a person with oral communication skills. Knowing how to interact
with other people is an important life skill, especially if one wants to
obtain a job. Already, the internet and programs such as American
Online Instant Messenger and various chat rooms have been blamed for preventing
people from developing social skills. On the computer a person can
type what they feel without being embarrassed, but when a person gets in
a real life situation, will they be able to deliver the same answers and
personality as they do over the computer? If on-line education is
to take over the traditional classroom setting, there is a possibility
of future generations becoming more isolated from each other when it comes
to face-to-face communication.
Not as Quality of an Education -- Is on-line
education as respected as the traditional classroom education? This
is a question that would be important to employers. Would employers
be willing to hire a person with an on-line degree? Many people don't
trust the In a classroom setting, students are able to personally interact
with the professor and TA's and consequently the TA's are able to gage
a student's level of understanding. However, on-line education does
not allow for this. In fact, on-line education may be too convenient.
Since a person can watch their classes whenever they want, naturally a
procrastinator might wait to watch all of the classes until the last week
before exams. This would totally defeat the purpose of education.
In an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education, Chuck kurfman,
a 33-year-old youth pasture in Jerseyville, Ill., who is taking two online
course from the University of Illinois at Springfield to finish his bachelor's
degree said, "With this kind of class, there are things you could do every
day. It's almost worse than going to class every day," (http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i26/26a04101.htm).
The
bottom line is that people probably won't log-on to their classes if they
aren't forced to, as a result on-line students can get behind.
Less Personalized Help-- e-mail and chat rooms aren't
the same as face-to-face interaction -- Although, on-line education
includes interaction with the professors and TA's via e-mail, is this type
of communication really as effective as face to face interaction?
Probably not. With hundreds or thousands of students attending class
on line, professors and TA's would probably be flooded with emails and
as a result would probably only give standard answers. In addition,
because of the large amount of students, professors and TA's may be slow
in responding to questions via e-mail. Thus, on-line education can
result in an even lower amount of personalized help.
Cost of Equipment -- Although online education may eliminate the cost of room and board of a college campus, what about the cost of the equipment needed to take on-line courses? One of the ideas behind on-line education is to reduce the cost of education for those people who can't afford it, however, those people still have to buy all of the equipment, including a computer, software, a reasonably fast internet connection, and the internet service. All of this can be costly for some people.
No Matter How Good Technology is, It Doesn't Always
Work -- Although technology advances and grows more
efficient every year, it will never be completely flawless. There
will be times when on-line connections will fail and people won't be able
to connect to their classes. If servers are down, there might be
problems with turning in assignments and exams, and with contacting professors.
In addition, at certain times of the day the many users connect to the
internet, if a person scheduled their on-line courses around this time,
they could have difficulty with a speedy connection.
It's Just Not the Real Thing -- Finally,
some people are opposed to on-line education because it's just not the
same as in the classroom education. In fact, it's not the same for
either the student or the teacher. The students are left to watch
a computer screen, while the teacher talks to a camera. Many people
don't think that is the way education is supposed to be. One person
I interviewed said, "I take computer science here at Stanford, and when
I miss a class and have to watch it on the internet, it's just not the
same. It's not that it is a bad thing, I just like the atmosphere
of a real life classroom as opposed to my dorm room."
THE FUTURE
I believe that there is a very positive future for online education. Already, many schools offer classes online. Although I do not think that online education will ever completely replace classroom education, I think that it will be very popular in the near future. Online education will be especially prominent with educating employees to get higher degrees and for educating people in remote locations. Who knows, accredited online colleges might evolve too.
The advancement in technology has already taken over our
next generation. Four-year-olds already know how to put a CD into
the computer and play their favorite educational games, whereas my mom's
generation doesn't even know how to start the computer. It's amazing
all of the information and access that we have right at our fingertips.
Let's face it, computers and the internet are here to stay, and online
education may be here to stay as well.
http://stanford-online.stanford.edu/main.html -- This site is Stanford Online. Stanford University was the first university to incorporate video with audio, text, and graphics in its distance learning offerings. This site makes accessible information about Stanford Online as well as access to 30+ classes available online at Stanford.
http://summit.stanford.edu -- This site is also in affiliation with Stanford University. Dr. Parvati Dev, a lab director at Stanford created project SUMMIT, which focuses on involving computers in medical education.
http://daily.stanford.org/Daily99-00/02-24-2000/news/NEWprodigy24.html -- This is an article in the Stanford Daily that talks about a 6 year old boy who's taking physics classes through Stanford's Online program.
http://chronicle.com/distance/ -- This is a one of the best web pages for information about online education. It has many articles and information concerning distant education.
http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i26/26a04101.htm -- This is an article in which seven students discuss how they learn -- and live -- through a regimen of online courses
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/ -- This site is the department of Education. It has some articles that discuss technology and education.
http://embark.com -- This is an actual site where you can sign up for online courses.
http://www.euniversity.com -- This is another site where you can sign up for online courses.
http://www.embark.com/learning/day.asp -- If you want to learn about a typical day for an online student check out this site