Technology in the Classroom

Online Classes vs. Traditional Classes

 

            Decades ago, online classes weren’t available. Computers were ancient compared to the computers today. With the increase and availability in technology, online classes have become quite popular. Nearly 45% of college students take at least one online class (Bolkan).Today you can achieve a whole degree from a college or university hundreds of miles away without leaving your home. Some choose to take both online and traditional, face-to-face classes. Many wonder if online classes have the same effect as a traditional class. There have been studies that compare the differences between the two types of classes and their advantages and disadvantages. What are the advantages and disadvantages of online classes? In my research, I found there are several advantages and disadvantages between them. Overall, it depends on how the student best learns and what works for them.     

            Having the opportunity to choose among several different schools and classes that were originally not an option is one major benefit of online classes. They also are somewhat more flexible than traditional classes. Due dates for papers, assignments, etc. are still in play, but students are able to complete them in your own time schedule (Top 10 Advantages and Benefits of Distance Learning). Along with schedule flexibility, they are also geographically flexible. A student can take an online class that is hundreds of miles away without physically going to the school. Also, parents and workers are able to take the classes without leaving their home. So workers can keep their jobs and parents can continue to parent (Ghaffari). For example, my mother currently works as a nurse while she takes online classes from the University of Cincinnati that’s approximately 1,600 miles away from our home.   

            In some instances online classes are less costly than traditional college classes. There isn’t room and board, parking, or traveling costs (Top 10 Advantages and Benefits of Distance Learning). However, according to another article there isn’t much of a difference between the two. Yes, not traveling and no room and board will save you money, but the actual cost of the credits taken aren’t much different price wise (The Cost of Online College Courses: Closer to Traditional School Fees Than Many Expect).  

            Another benefit of online classes is they work well for students that like to work at their own pace (Top 10 Advantages and Benefits of Distance Learning). Some students in high school can take an advanced class online that wouldn’t be available to them otherwise.  Many students learn better by themselves and claim online classes are just effective as traditional classes. Online classes aren’t ideal for everyone, but are definitely an option if it fits your style of learning (Top 10 Advantages and Benefits of Distance Learning).

            There are several disadvantages to online classes, just like their advantages. As Ghaffari states, “Taking online classes via online education program requires specific learning skills, which some people lack.” Another view point by Edmudson is that online education is a “one-size-fits-all. It tends to be a monologue and not a real dialogue. The internet teacher, even one who responds to students via e-mail, can never have the immediacy of contact that the teacher on the scene can, with his sensitivity to unspoken moods and enthusiasms.” Credits from online classes can also be a problem. There are some online credits that aren’t transferrable to degree programs (Ghaffari).

            The Community College Research Center performed a study called Choosing Between Online and Face-to-Face Courses: Community College Student Voices.” It found many students only take online classes when they think they are able to learn the material by themselves. If they think it will be a hard class then they’d rather take a traditional face-to-face class. Also, students with a prepared academic background tend to enroll in more online classes (Student Demand for Online Courses May Not Be as Strong as Colleges Think, New Study Finds). According to another study named “Online and Hybrid Course Enrollment and Performance in Washington State Community and Technical Colleges,” students who take online classes are more likely to drop out than students that take traditional classes (Salinas), but it depends on how the student learns and their amount of ambition. As Dr. Jo-Carol Fabianke stated, “It takes the right kind of student to be successful with online classes. With the right support, students can be successful online” (Salinas). Some online classes are not structured very well and can be struggling for students which can be a reason for failing the class. So with a structured online class, students can be successful (Salinas).

            In studies, it has been shown that students with a mix of online classes and traditional face-to-face classes seem to show the best results. At the Washington State Community and Technical Colleges during their fall semester of 2012, out of 8,815 students taking online classes 14 percent dropped the classes and 71 percent passed. For students taking both online and traditional classes, 10 percent dropped a course and 79 percent passed of 465 students. The percentages for students only taking traditional classes were 12 percent dropped and 76 percent passed of 47,661 students. In their school, the success rate was 77.7 percent for the traditional face-to-face classes and 72.6 percent for students taking online classes. For the study, if a student passed with a C or higher, the course was considered successful (Salinas). So overall, the drop out rates are higher for students only taking  traditional classes or online-only classes. It is best when the classes are blended.

            There isn’t an exact answer on whether online classes are “better” than traditional face-to-face classes or vice versa . It really depends upon your learning style. Online classes do vary. There are classes that are well structured and others that are unorganized and unstructured. Just like traditional classes. Both types of classes have their advantages and disadvantages. Online classes require specific learning skills, time management, and ambition. It can be somewhat lonely too. A statement I found touching about learning by Edmundon was,

        You can get knowledge from an Internet course if you’re highly motivated to learn. But in real courses the students and the teachers come together and create and immediate and vital community of

 

learning. A real course creates intellectual joy, at least in some. I don’t think an Internet course ever

 

will. Internet learning promises to make intellectual life more sterile and abstract than it already is-

 

and also, for teachers and for students alike, far more lonely.

 

Works Cited

Bolkan, Joshua. Report: Students Taking Online Courses Jumps 96 Percent over 5 Years. 24 June 13. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

Edmunson, Mark. "The Trouble With Online Education." 19 July 2012. NY Times. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

Ghaffari, Mohammadreza. "Assessing Online Classes and Traditional Classes." Nature and Science . Vol. 9.8. 2011. EBSCO.Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

Salinas, Rebecca. Study shows online classes have lower success rate. 31 July 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

"Student Demand for Online Courses May Not Be as Strong as Colleges Think, New Study Finds." 25 Apr. 2013. CCRC COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

The Cost of Online College Courses: Closer to Traditional School Fees Than Many Expect. 2013-2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

Top 10 Advantages and Benefits of Distance Learning. 7 Sept. 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

 

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