Is an online education really the best option for obtaining a college degree?

Is an online education really the best option for obtaining a college degree?

“The great end of education is, to discipline rather than to furnish the mind; to train it to the use of its own powers, rather than fill it with the accumulations of others (Tyron Edwards 1809-1894).” (Lukaitis &Davey, 2010, p. 25) This was the quote at the very beginning of the journal article entitled “Motivations of the Online Student” by Audra Lukaitis and Bill Davey; they are both senior lectures at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Melbourne, Australia. With a great quote like that starting this journal article I was really excited to read about what motivates online students, because to me that quote is exactly what is being accomplished in my online classes here at Regis University. The classes I have taken online have disciplined me to think for myself “rather than fill it with the accumulations of others”, as the above quote states. So it was with a bit of disappointment that I discovered the article seemed to be trying to show that what people have always considered benefits of online education are not really true. The article made me feel that these instructors were trying to show that a traditional face to face education was more valuable and beneficial. I decided to go ahead and review this article because I thought it would be interesting to compare what the article questions as motivating reasons for a student to complete an online degree program such as flexibility, amount actually learned, and the amount of participation that happens in online degree programs compared to what my own experience has been like.

Flexibility?

One of the main reasons that are often given for utilizing an online degree program is the increased flexibility that it offers. Lukaitis and Davey says, “Our study found that students do not seem to be choosing online delivery as a method of making their studies more flexible as they mostly were accessing resources during office hours.” (2010, p. 36) I don’t think this is a valid reason for saying that online classes don’t increase flexibility for students. The students might be working evening or night shifts or they could be working during the day, but able to access their class site while at work. I know that I access the classes through Regis during the day because I have access to the internet at work. I am able to work on homework during my breaks and when I have lulls during our consultation hours. I did choose an online degree program versus a traditional degree program because it enabled me to continue working. I also chose it for the flexibility of choosing when I work on homework versus having to go to class at a set time and having to pay for a babysitter. I think the authors of this study should look at more than just the numbers when coming to their conclusion and should actually interview a number of students to see why it works better for those students.

Learning versus Assessment?

The authors of this article questioned whether students completing an online degree were actively learning or were they just concentrating on the assessment aspect of the courses. They feel that more online students are interested in assessment versus actually learning. Lukaitis and Davey says, “The heavy concentration on material directly related to assessment and the tendency to put time into the course only near assessment time leads to some speculation about the motivation of online students.” (2010, p. 37) I don’t know that I agree with their conclusion that online students care more about just learning what they need to so they can pass the class. I can honestly say this has not been my experience, but maybe it has more to do with the age of the students versus the type of learning platform they have chosen. When I was younger and completing classes for a traditional university setting I admit that I was more assessment focused just because there was a lot of other things that I wanted to do, but now that I am older and have different priorities I am more focused on actually learning what I am studying. I think the authors of this article once again need to focus on more than just comparing numbers. It would be more helpful to discuss with actual students their experiences versus speculating about what motivates online students based on crunching numbers.

Participation?

The authors of this article feel that students ignored the online discussion component of the classes. They didn’t feel like students participated like a traditional classroom requires. Lukaitis & Davey says, “The provision of richer materials and opportunities for online discussions with their peers and teaching team members was completely ignored.” (2010, p. 37) They felt that even when students were required to participate in the online discussions that they just chose not to. I can say that I don’t agree with this at all. I know that Regis requires online discussion postings as part of the grade, and I have never seen people ignore the discussion posting aspect of the class. I know that some students don’t participate as much, but I see that as a personal choice. And I know that when I went to a traditional university program that not all of the students participated in the class room discussions. I know that I participate in discussions more online than I ever did in the large university classes. I once again feel that the authors need to look more closely at why the students in their surveys were not participating by actually speaking to students instead of just looking at the numbers.

Conclusion

My conclusion is that the authors of this study need to look at each of the motivations for completing an online degree from a different angle. They just looked at the numbers and not at what motivates actual individual students to purse an online degree program. I think they would find that their answers don’t match up to the numbers; I know that their conclusions don’t match up to my experiences at all. I would say that I am a much more motivated student now that I am able to complete my degree online and the biggest motivations are the flexibility it affords, the amount I actually learn, and the amount I am able to participate in the online discussion. In the end each student needs to decide whether an online degree or a traditional degree program works best for them.

Reference

Lukaitis, A. & Davey, B. (2010). Motivations of the Online Student. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 7, 25-37.

Thank you, Jennifer Masters