Rethinking Online Course Learning
Are
you a student like myself taking an online course? Are you just like me and
having to take all online courses to get your degree? I know for myself this
was not my favorite option, but with having a family that I need to support
comes a job/career. Unfortunately there are many jobs out there (like mine)
that require rotating shifts, which makes it very difficult (if not impossible)
to attend classes in person.
There
are other concepts that schools can and should use when adopting online course
program. Schools need to remember that there are a lot of students with
different backgrounds and different needs; however most people learn much
better through different learning styles, and they will be more inclined to
remember what they learned by stimulating other senses than just sight from
reading.
When
we think of learning styles we often think of visual and auditory, but there
are others as well that affect our learning ability. These other styles are
kinesthetic/physical and social or solitary. Typical online courses engage the
visual (mostly reading) and some auditory (reading can be linked to this style)
but the only kinesthetic or physical aspect is the typing or page flipping. I
think that is normal for in person classes as well. Online courses are a
solitary form of learning because we don’t interact with the other students.
Sure many online programs have discussion threads, but that is not the same as
having an in depth conversation in a class. For the most part our visual sense
is the only sense being truly stimulated, which can make it difficult to
regurgitate information that we learned later on.
When
going to class in person we are engaged in the class’s sights, sounds, and we
are in a social environment. Many of our senses are stimulated such as sight,
sound, and even the smell of the classroom (or class mates). There are still
required readings when taking class in person, but this is ok because we are
receiving other information through other learning styles. Our memories will be
able to retain this information more easily because it has been stimulated in
more than one way.
Harvard
Extension (Harvard University’s online program) utilizes the internet, to not
just their advantage, but their students advantage as well. They realized that
students –taking online courses- are not going to remember the large amount of
information that college courses disseminate through just reading. Instead they
have their instructors post their lecture (that was giving to a class in
person), and their materials such as, the power point presentation and any
video they may have shown. This may not be the exact answer to the problem of
learning online, but I think this is a great step forward in the right
direction to ensure the quality of education can be as equal as possible for
all students.
Jesse
10 comments:
I agree that instructors posting their lecture and other materials online would be a nice addition to online learning. I am not one that learns from listening but it would be nice to see or even hear lectures of difficult material.
The class we have just taken did a good job of having us learn in different ways...ie having to search for things on the net. In the past I have appreciated links to video's and other tools for learning, but have been frustrated when the links don't work properly.
Today I am in a class in person, and the teacher is having different people read parts of our book. This is great at keeping us all engaged.
Online classes are my least favorite way to learn. I for the most part do not learn by reading and rely on the in-class discussion and doing the assignment after the class. So in the online environment I struggle with the readings and then the assignments, trying to figure out how to do that without having the previous in-class discussion.
-Andy
Jesse, I agree that it can be more difficult to remember certain things via the online format we're used to. Harvard's format seems like it would be a lot more engaging to participate in. Still, I have the convenience associated with taking online courses better suits my current lifestyle.
It is important for schools to understand their students when it comes to online classes. Many students do not work 8-5 jobs and it can be difficult to balance school and work. This is one reason why I love our school. Regis understands all students are different and lead busy lifes. I have taken online courses at different university's and it is more work than acanything. There is a set amount of times you must login and it has to be at certain times. Online courses can be difficult because it is completely up to the student. The student must be self-motivated to attend online classes.
I think the subject matter also affects which delivery method is preferable. I often wish the programming classes were taped lecture or even video streaming live lectures that allowed us to view things written on the board and ask questions as the difference to being a programmer and a good programmer often relate to the little things you ask as you are doing it, learning the correct way to do things, improving efficiency, or incorporating a shorthand that is not in the books. This is where we miss out on the professors years of experience in the field and other students experiences in their current positions.
Lindsay
I think that the addition of tapped lectures could be helpful, however more time consuming to use. I prefer the written notes as I can look over them as needed, and skip to the parts that may represent the most difficult work.
Otherwise I think it is valuable to research ways to engage students in more active and interesting ways, both online, and in class.
Really liked this article. I couldn't agree more. I myself have no choice but to take online courses there are so many ways to learn. While I don't have a problem learning online as I am a visual person so seeing it in a book or even looking at youtube videos I am usually able to learn just about anything. I never really thought about flipping pages as a way some people learn. Thanks for this good reading.
Sammy said,
Not a big fan of online classes. I understand that you can do your work on your own schedule. That is a great advantage but I feel there are social limitations when taking classes online. I think socializing with others is very important and necessary.
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