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Jordan Braun Nancy Elliott English 111 November 5, 2013 The effectiveness of online classes Technology today has made eo le!s lives much easier and convenient, es ecially in the "orld of education# Teachers can no" do things li$e enter grades into a com uter and students can vie" them online# %ore recently, the "orld of education had introduced online classes, a ne" "ay of learning for both high school and college students# These classes obviously ta$e lace over the internet, "ith several different $inds of classes# The ty ical, online class has around fifty students and one instructor# The student "ill be given a log in to the online class "ebsite and it "ill then be their res onsibility to navigate throughout the class# &ithin the virtual classroom there "ill be lin$s to assignments the students have to com lete# 'fter com leting an assignment the student "ill have to submit it to the teacher# %ost of the time the "ebsite "ill have a lace to send the assignments to the teacher# (nce the teacher gets an assignment, they "ill ta$e a cou le days to grade it, )ust li$e a normal classroom# *inally, the students "ill be able to see their grades, as "ell as future assignments through yet another lin$ on the site# *rom the information above, online classes sound li$e a great idea# They are very convenient, for the student can access the class anytime, any"here# +o"ever, there are several ma)or fla"s in online classes# The biggest of "hich are there is very limited interaction "ith the instructor and the class could be very oorly constructed# This is very roblematic "hen ta$ing a confusing class and have to as$ ,uestions# The only "ay to do so is to email the instructor, "ho can ta$e days to res ond, reventing any further "or$ from being com leted# -n addition to the

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limited interaction, many classes are oorly constructed# &hen this occurs students have no sense of direction and are clueless on "hat to do# &ith these facts in mind, the ,uestion should be as$ed, are online classes effective in educating the nation!s youth. To begin, there are ositive as ects of online classes that should be accounted for# 'ccording to the /#0# 1e artment of Education, 2online learning has become o ular because of its otential for roviding more, fle3ible access to content and instruction at any time, from any lace#4 This is "hy many students, es ecially those in college, tend to favor these classes# -n college, many students have very little time available to them# (nline classes allo" them to attend class "henever they "ant, "here ever they "ant# 'nother reason many eo le refer these classes is to get out of the traditional learning environment 5/#0#6# 'll throughout their lives most students have sat in a classroom# No" that there is an alternate o tion to learn, some students en)oy brea$ing free from the classroom and learning online# The ne3t benefit of online classes, as stated by the 1e artment of Education, is they are more cost7efficient# Not as much money has to be s ent on basic materials such as te3tboo$s, noteboo$s, folders# The biggest money saver that comes along "ith online classes is the ability for one instructor to teach more students than in a traditional classroom 5/#0#6# -n an online class the instructor uts the information on the site and it!s the student!s )ob to ma$e sure it gets com leted# -n most cases the instructor doesn!t have to "orry about giving lectures or resenting information to the students, giving them the ability to manage more students# &hen an instructor ta$es on the tas$ of managing more students it is crucial that the ,uality of learning is similar to the traditional classroom setting 5/#0#6# This can be done by students ma$ing sure they $no" "hat they are doing and the teacher ans"ering ,uestions# 's stated earlier, there are several different $inds of online classes# The most common online class involves a big class, taught through a "ebsite, "hich is $no"n as asynchronous#

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'synchronous communication can deal "ith assive tools, such as te3t messaging# This ty e of class uses e7mails, discussion boards, and threads to conduct learning 5/#0#6# By using asynchronous communication, schools save money and time by being able to manage more students# 'synchronous classes are the most common ty e of online class because of the chea cost and ability to manage more students# 0tudents "ho ta$e this ty e of class go on a "ebsite and inde endently com lete an entire semester of classes# +o"ever, there are a cou le more commonly used methods# -n contrast to asynchronous communication is synchronous communication# 0ynchronous communication is directly communicating "ith another erson in real time 5/#0#6# (nline classes that a ly this method use "eb casts, chat rooms, along "ith both audio and video technology# This ty e of online learning gives more of a traditional classroom feel, "hile still ta$ing lace over the internet# 'n e3am le of synchronous communication "ould be a teacher instructing the class through a "ebcam "here both the students and teacher could see each other# 0ynchronous communication is hel ful to"ards online learners because students, "ho "ant to ta$e a class, but disli$e most online learning environments, can see the teacher even though they are not there# 'ccording to 'na 8a Ni, a rofessor at 9alifornia 0tate /niversity, online environments may romote more learning, "ider artici ation and better discussions# -n a traditional classroom students may feel intimidated "hen as$ed to s ea$ u because they $no" the other eo le, or they may be self7conscious about themselves# This can lead to a decrease in artici ation as "ell as learning# (nline discussions ta$e lace over a chat room, so students may feel less intimidated to voice their o inions# Because of this, students may even artici ate more in class, resulting in greater learning o ortunities# 's humans, one "ay "e learn is by doing things, or trial and error#

-f a teacher tells a student ho" to do everything they "ill not do things on their o"n and al"ays rely on the teacher sho"ing them "hat to do# (nline learning allo"s learning by doing# 0tudents

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learn by doing things themselves "ithout the hel from the instructors# By navigating "ebsites and com leting assignments themselves, students may learn to become res onsible and develo the ability to do things on their o"n# Even though some eo le benefit from online learning, it does not mean it is for all eo le# 1a"n &ilson and 1avid 'llen, t"o rofessors from *ayetteville 0tate /niversity, ro osed that online learning is only successful if the student is re ared# 2(nline learning re,uires autonomy and self7direction in "hich students must be able to erform inde endently4 5&ilson6# - believe this to be the biggest roblem "hen it comes to online classes# The online classes follo" a schedule, )ust li$e a traditional course# 0ay a student is not res onsible and is a big rocrastinator# -n a traditional class students are under the authority of a teacher, so "hen "or$ is resented, the teacher "ill enforce the students and ma$e sure everything gets done# 0ometimes the student "ill not obey the teacher, "hen this ha ens there are measures that are ta$en to have to student coo erate, such as going to see the rinci al# Ta$e that same student and thro" them in an online class# -t is no" u to the rocrastinating student to com lete an entire year of "or$ under their o"n )urisdiction# Nobody is there to tell the student to get to "or$, so instead of "or$ing on the class, the student "ill do something li$e lay games# Nobody is there to get the student bac$ on trac$ and ay attention# This is e3actly "hat &ilson and 'llen stated# *or an online class to be successful, one must be committed and res onsible# -n the "orst case scenario, rocrastinating students "ill fail the class, or dro out# Even if the student isn:t a big rocrastinator they can still get behind and then miss some assignments, or don!t ut full effort into them# 'nother roblem that can come across "hen "or$ing inde endently, is there is nobody to tell students they are doing something "rong# ;eo le can com lete assignments incorrectly and turn them in, resulting in a oor grade# 0tudents can also do something "rong and then thin$ it!s the right "ay# This can could come bac$ to hurt them in the future# 1edication,

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res onsibility and "or$ ethic are features a student should have to successfully com lete an online course# -n addition to online learning not being for everybody, there are also notorious negative features brought u by college rofessor 'na 8a Ni# &ithin the traditional classroom environment there are several crucial s$ills that the online classroom does not have# (ne of the most im ortant features of classroom learning is the communications and interactions bet"een the teacher and students 58aNi6# 'ccording to 'na 8a Ni, this interaction is the most im ortant feature that ties in to learning# Through interacting "ith other students and teachers, learning is achieved# By being all alone "hen ta$ing a course a student is isolated, so the amount of learning a student receives could be reduced# &ith this being said, a successful online courses must re,uire ad)ustments by both students and teachers# 's stated reviously, most online classes use things li$e discussion boards# Being a student "ho has ta$en both online and traditional courses strongly believe in "hat 'na 8a Ni is saying# - had to ta$e "hat - "ould consider an easy online class# -t "as a game design classes "hich "ould count as an art credit, re,uired to graduate# (n the first day - "as given a log in and told 2good luc$4# Not $no"ing anything about the rogram, or "ebsite, - as$ed my seminar teacher "hat to do# Because she "asn!t the teacher of the rogram, she couldn!t hel me# - s ent over one "ee$ trying to navigate throughout the rogram myself# 'fter com leting several assignments that "ere not even assigned, - figured out "hat to do# 's the year rogressed - continued to run into several roblems in "hich - had to email my instructor for ans"ers, not being able to rogress in the class until he res onded# 't the end of the year - finished the class, "ith a good grade# +o"ever, - feel - did not learn any valuable information from the class and forgot most of it# - feel if - "ould have ta$en a challenging class, li$e most online students, my struggles "ould have been significantly higher# *rom ersonal

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e3 erience, - found online classes not to be as effective as the traditional online class and agree "ith 'na 8a Ni!s ro osal# 'nother roblem "ith online classes, as stated by Nicholas 9arr, a "ell decorated "riter on the to ic of the effects of technology on humans, is online classes could be ma$ing eo le 2stu id#4 9arr "rites that modern technology has changed humans in the sense that our minds cannot concentrate or contem late as revious years 59arr6# +umans search the "eb and "ant ans"ers and convenience# Boo$s are a thing of the ast, for everything is online no"# 0tudents enrolled in online classes can encounter these infamous roblems# Because almost everything is on the internet, instead of doing lessons students can <oogle search test ans"ers, saving them "ee$s of lessons# 0tudents "ho do this can good great grades in the classes they ta$e, but are they really learning anything. No, )ust as 9arr stated technology has made us la=y and otentially, stu id# 0ometimes, "hen students search for ans"ers "ithout com leting the "or$, the ans"ers they come across are "rong and they use them# This rocess can continue throughout their entire course, )ust because students have the convenience of the -nternet# &ith this being said, there are many "ays in "hich online learning could be im roved as ro osed by &ilson and 'llen# 0ynchronous learning, or direct communication "ith the instructor, could be very hel ful in determining student success# (ne of the biggest challenges of online learning is a lac$ of communication>instruction from the teacher# -f the student has the o tion to schedule a face to face session "ith the teacher, it could be very beneficial# Before ta$ing an online class, it could hel students if there "as a training rogram 5&ilson6# The training rogram could re,uire the students to do sim le assignments and then turn them in, getting the students familiar "ith ho" the "ebsite o erates# *inally, the instructors could ut more effort to better resent the material before the students 5&ilson6# They could give good detail about the assignments as "ell as other im ortant details# %ost im ortantly, the instructors

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could try to al"ays be in a osition to res ond to students ,uestions and if not let the students $no"# ?eminders to turn in assignments, tests and e3ams "ould also ma$e online classes more efficient# 's for using the -nternet to loo$ for ans"ers, it is mainly u to the student to be res onsible and $no" "hat they are doing can have serious conse,uences# (nline classes rovide a very convenient and ine3 ensive "ay to learn# There are also many crucial factors that are not resent in these classes# -f - "ere to ta$e a stand in this debate "ould have to be against online classes# 'lthough effective in the ro er conditions, - believe there are too many negative factors that come along "ith online classes# Bet"een not enough teacher interaction, student rocrastination, confusion navigating the class and isolation, these classes seem to be not as effective as the traditional classroom#

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&or$s 9ited 9arr, Nicholas# 2-s <oogle %a$ing /s 0tu id#4 Exploring Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st century. Boston@ ;earson, 2013# 3A073BC# ;rint# D(nline Education Eersus Traditional Education#D Accredited Online Uni ersity ! Graduate "egree #rogra$s# Northcentral /niversity# &eb# 12 Nov# 2013# /#0# 1e artment (f Education# 9enter for Technology in Fearning# E aluation o% Online Learning# By Barabra %eans and 8u$ie Toyama# 2010# &eb# A Nov# 2013# &ilson, 1a"n and 1avid, 'llen# *ayetteville 0tate /niversity# &uccess rates o% online ersus traditional college students. 2010# &eb# 12 November 2013# 8a Ni, 'nna# D9om aring the Effectiveness of 9lassroom and (nline Fearning#D 'ournal o% #ublic A%%airs 520126@ 1C57215#