Online Learning (OL) can be helpful, exciting but, at the same time intimidating. The pros and cons of online learning are numerous in other words. It is helpful because it gives you opportunities to take a leading role into your own studies.
However, it is also exciting because you’ve got to receive the materials for your exploration and you have a new facilitator who is the machine. It is however intimidating in the sense that all the learning happens outside the normal class or lecture room as we know it. In this context, the student has potentially important roles to play in finding the meaning in what he/she is doing. This is actually what leads the pros and cons of the online learning.
But what do we mean by online learning?
This is a form of education whereby 100% of the instruction goes on via the Internet/online. Theonline Coursesmay have supervised testing, but instruction take place entirely online. In this form of learning, students are able to participate from geographically remote locations without the need to come to school or campus.The main goals of online learning can be summarised into the four major points, which are:
Masterly of technical skillsthat include the ICT knowledge and increase instructional certainty far away or in total absence of the lecturer.
Reflective learningthat enhances clarity, meaning and create coherence and critical thinking
Inquiryin order to foster investigation and explanations of concepts.
RichInteractionwith peers in order to exchange ideas and assistance while refining one’s understanding of concepts. The online interactions are called rich because the learners do not only interact with tutors but also with different ICT facilities involved in the process. Let us now take a look at some pros and cons of online learning in details
What are the pros of online learning?Pros of Online LearningMostly, the importance of using internet, ICTs and computer is associated with the benefits of the Online learning. This is because the major player in this mode of education delivery, is the internet and the ICT gadgets using internet. Now, let us take a look at some of the most important benefits of online learning.
Fast, accurate and direct exchange of Information
Information or message goes electronically to the receiver. A large number of people are linked up through internet and websites. There is no fear of loss of items or undelivered package when the network functions properly. Registration, payment, access to the materials and the lesson delivery, all happen in no time, without you having to make a long distance or queue for services.
Rapid Information Processing
Using a computer, you can sort or search through huge amount of information for you, all you have to do is just give it a command, and that’s it. You are able tocommunicateto your study mates and your teacher, wherever they are geographically situated with ease, in just a brink of eye.
Increase Availability of Information
Access to knowledge has become pretty easy with the continuing rapid advance ofInformation Technologiesand more importantly, this knowledge is readily available to you, no matter which corner of the earth you are at. There is a greater access to a variety of information sources. Learners and teachers from all works of life can surf the internet for information relating to their field of study and other related matters as a result of development in science and technology. Take an example of site likeEducation CompanionorCentre for elites, where teachers from different corners of the World contribute their knowledge to be accessed by whoever needs such knowledge to develop themselves.
Improved Quality of Instruction
To start with, there is no other learner-centred learning like online learning education. This is not only because the major play in this form of learning is a student, but also, every single activity is designed with the learner’s interest as a matter of priority. This has tremendously improved the quality of instruction by increasing the desire of the learner to explore, discover, and create unique solutions to learning problems. The teacher on the other hand is no longer seen as the primary source of information but with the use of ICT, he is now viewed as a support, collaborator, and a coach for students as they learn to gather and evaluate information for themselves.
Online learning extends human experience
Human experience could be extended when dealing with materials that are not in the immediate environment of the learner or, on the other hand, when dealing with materials that could be injurious to the life of the students, for example, a wild animal like a lion cannot be brought into the class live rather a film or video can present it live in the class or a zoo could be networked to the classroom through the internet.For instance, students specialising in Clinical medicine in one of South African University can have access to a live surgical operation being performed in a hospital in the United States of America through internet connectivity. Teleconferencing, webhosting, videoconferencing, etc. are examples of ways by which online learning can extend human experience. We could not exhaust the list, including the online library and now or near future, the development of virtual reality experience, etc.
Conclusive pros of online learning
With the availability of satellite, internet connection, world-wide-web, etc., the whole world is turned to a global village. Learners in developed countries and in developing countries, alike no longer have the barrier of distance to contact their teachers.
Online learners do not need to leave their job before they can access their learning materials. They even stand a better chance than students who have to wait for the physical presence of their teachers/instructors before they could proceed. With the online learning, learners and their teachers can interact any time any day regardless of the location as long as they are connected to the internet.
THE CONS OF ONLINE LEARNING
The cons of online learningHaving heard of the great benefits and wonders of online learning, one may this that it is a perfect option in the present and future education. However, on this planet and in this life, nothing is rosy. There are a number of issues related to the online learning, but which differ in gravity depending on geographical location and sociocultural background of individuals. Let’s take a look at the major bottlenecks of the reliance on online learning.
Difficult to use
Although some difficulties related to the use of Human beings are averse to change. A lot do not want to see computer as a companion, a teacher or an assistant. Rather, they see computer as an enemy that could relieve them of their jobs. Just as teachers initially kicked against the introduction of instructional television, some teachers are kicking against the introduction of computer in education.
Cost, Maintenance and Adequate Replacement
Cost is one of the bane of computer integration in education. Computer and other facilities involved are expensive, which makes it difficult to afford, especially in the developing world. Moreover, even if the devices such as smartphones have been made more affordable, internet connectivity is still a challenge in many parts of the World,or it is still very expensive .The software are not cheap either and the manufacturers keep on changing them which makes it difficult to replace damaged ones and the used computer becomes a junk.
Affordability
Although, with the progress in technology, the cost of the gadgets used in the online learning tends to become less and less of a challenge, but this rarely applies to the most advanced online learning facilities. Moreover, the internet connectivity is still a challenge in many parts of the World,or it is still very expensive . Not only that, but even the charges for premium use by apps developing companies limit the feature exploited by some online learning organizations.
Health related challenges
At times staying on the computer for along time becomes quite stressful. to that effect, the online learners tend to lose concentration, due to nervous fatigue.
Exposure to theft of information
We cannot talk about the pros and cons of online learning without mentioning cyber attack. Vital information files of the learners could be infiltrated upon by information thieves. There have been cases of workers in examination bodies of some developing nations swapping names, numbers and marks of qualifying examinations.
Some dubious administrators can implicate their colleagues by scanning their signatures on malicious documents. Files should be properly handled by putting password on them to deter unauthorised persons from gaining access to such files. Care must be taken that you do not forget your password.
Pros and Cons of Online Learning conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that, there are too many pros and cons of online learning to elaborate is a short article. However, even if the online learning has got its own challenges,the benefits drawn from using it as a mode of delivery as well as study, outweigh its draw back by far.
The teacher has for many years been seen as a giver of information to the learners. This role has rapidly changed with the introduction of new options and aids for instruction. These new concepts include team teaching, individualized instruction, learning, new buildings, television equipment, electronic learning laboratories; computer assisted terminal learning, dial-access retrieval systems.
Instructional Strategies
These options have tremendously increased a teacher’s choice of ways to accomplish defined learning outcomes. This creates new concerns for the individual learner new ways of presenting information in order to plan effective instruction, your role as a teacher is changing rapidly, as teachers tend to become directors or facilitators of learning experience and goals.
This gives a teacher the freedom to design an instructional programme more suitable for the individual students to be taught. With this freedom, a teacher is now strictly required to possess the basic knowledge contained in the educational curriculum made syllabuses, and must know what she/he wants to teach by selecting proper content, in order to be a successful coordinator of the learning process.
The teacher must be able to describe specific objectives and skills that the students should be able to display under defined conditions and at a designated time. Using the systems approach in education improves the decision-making process by enabling the teacher to understand the education process and all that is involved in education. The information necessary is found easily and within the teacher’s reach, since everyone in the educational setting is involved in a systematic manner. With the help of systems approach, we are able to provide feedback.
Feedback means a reaction to the message sent from source to receiver or vice-versa. Knowledge gained from feedback helps the teacher applying the systems approach to apply feedback at almost every stage in the process of preparing source material. Therefore teaching becomes a science, since educational practitioners and theorists will be using scientific methods of going about their work.
By applying recognized principles that have evolved through research and have been field tested, you can become a better teacher. Today’s teacher must assume the directorship of learning and must develop a plan or system for reaching defined goals. Your teacher’s role as a director is to find ways of dealing with the teaching of such comprehensive systems as those of human growth and development, where most elements are related to each other and contribute to a given common goal. A change in one element may cause a change in other elements or in the system itself.
THE ELEMENTS OF AN INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEM
Looking at an instructional or educational system, there are ten elements that must operate within the system: A teacher should be able to monitor the entering behaviour of the students in other words, he or she should know what each student brings with him to the course. A course should be planned to meet the level of an average student, in order to be able to reach students both above and below the average. This can be done by designing a pre-test, to test the general achievement of a class before the course starts like the pre-assessment test in this module. The test should reveal to what extent the student knows the terms, concepts and skills which are part of the courses to be offered.
It is important for you, as a teacher, to determine your instructional strategies and techniques. A strategy is a teacher’s approach to using information, selecting resources defining the role of students, and specific practices used accomplish a teaching objective. In the instructional sense your method is defined as a systematic plan for presenting information. The major instructional strategies are: The expository approach and The inquiry approach.
Any organization of students into groups is determined by the specific objectives. When objectives have been well stated and refined content selection made; criteria of satisfactory performance identified and entering behaviour measured, then the following questions can be answered:
Which objectives can be achieved by the learner by themselves?
Which objectives can be achieved through interaction among the learners themselves?
Which objectives can be achieved through formal presentation by the teacher?
Which ones will be achieved through interaction between learners and teachers?
Instructional Strategies and Classroom organization
Many variations may be suggested in classroom organization, but in practice a decision about dividing children into groups must depend on the objective in question. Some objectives require small groupings while others require large ones. You must also take account of the characteristic of the content. Some of the material you teach may require about 40% of the time to be allocated to group work, while some require 50% face-to-face discussion.
Current instructional planning and design calls for an individualized approach to learning, in order to take account of the entry level and skills of the individual learners and the speed with which each is capable of learning. Depending on the learning styles of the individual students, some may reach a given objective efficiently through independent study, while others may reach it most efficiently through formal oral presentations. Some students may need a tutor nearby for guidance over difficulties.
The Instructional strategies and techniques used in various groups entail a decision about the use of time. The plan for use of time will also depend on the subject matter, objectives, space availability, administrative patterns, and the abilities and interests of the students. The best determinant of time allocation is the teacher’s own analysis of the above three issues. Decisions about time are usually dictated by the objectives and activities planned, the use of groups and size of the class.
A teacher must therefore ask;
How can I best attain the objectives with the time constraints imposed on me?
What groupings?
What space utilization?
What teaching strategy?
What resources are most compatible with the time allocation pattern that I must use?’
Most school days are usually divided into periods of 40 to 80 minutes controlled by bells. This makes it rather difficult for the teacher to schedule time allocations, but you can still plan your approach in the context of such a pattern.
Many classes are taught in classrooms equipped with 50 student desks, a teacher’s desk, and built-in teaching tools like chalkboards and bulletin boards. To some teachers, this kind of arrangement is unhelpful, while to others it is a traditional approach to be retained. The classroom space can be arranged for different purposes into: large group spaces, small group spaces and independent study spaces.
The allocation of learning space must be based on the three learning objectives. Teaching becomes more effective once you begin to group learners in relation to the objectives you wish to achieve.
You need to decide on the content of your teaching before you can select instructional material or determine your objectives. The teacher selects the approach and techniques appropriate to the objectives for each lesson, group size and time to be spent on the lesson. Media selection should be in terms of the responses desired by the teacher from learners and not in terms of stimuli alone. From this point of view, the term ‘learning resources’ should be applied instead of ‘teaching’ or ‘instructional resources’. There is no one instructional medium which is categorically better that another. The choice of an individual medium must be based on its ability to contribute to the learning activities planned.
Performance is the interaction between the teacher and the learners, between learners or between the learner and an instructional medium. It is during the performance that stimuli are presented and responses are made. Performance covers both the act of teaching and the act of learning. It cannot be contained by time, although its evaluation does occur at many points even though there is also a cumulative sequence during which many varieties of performance learning can be measured or evaluated.
Performance is the focal point of learning. All the objectives designed and the planning that has been done become significant at the time when performance is evaluated. The most important parts of instruction are the entering and terminal behaviour. Evaluation of performance is one of the later elements of the instructional strategy and system and one of the first concerns of the teacher in answering the question, ‘has the terminal behaviour been manifested at the level specified? Under the conditions stated?’
Feedback is the final element. In the reading above you must have identified the following elements of an instruction system.
