Pros and cons of online education for educators and students.

• Author: Nagel, Sara Lange
• Position: Report

1. INTRODUCTION

   Higher education started in 1088 in Europe at the University of Bologna and although many changes have occurred, brick and mortar classrooms have been the primary means of education ever since. (Universitas de Bologna). However, the social media changes in the past ten years have altered the landscape more dramatically. The computer has transcended from a data manipulation tool to a means of constant communication between individual and among large groups with the Internet. The Internet has transformed the way people communicate, shop, and work. Social media is now at the forefront of information exchange. The Internet has also opened up new means for the way people are educated and trained. Whether it is to find out how to fix a broken screen door on YouTube or receive a post-graduate degree., the Internet provides the means for people to fulfill their goals. This paper will define online education as web-based (distance) learning for degree-oriented higher education. Both online student and professors are affected by online education and this paper will examine the benefits and issues that online education has on these groups.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

   Edge and Loegering (2000) studied the benefits and issues surrounding distance education. When discussing the benefits and issues that relate to online education they focused on access: access to the internet, access to the teacher, access to other students, and access to materials were generally superior to face-to-face instruction. Meanwhile a paper by Powell and Cleen (2006) describes the axioms with distance education on a university level. The first three axioms explain that distance education benefits students who would not normally benefit, that distance education is primarily about providing programs for students to complete, and that distance education emulates a conventional university education. A fourth axiom is presented to overcome gaps within the first three, which is, that distance education now has the technology to be a substitute for a traditional classroom education. Despite the axioms presented and explained, Powell and Cleen's project demonstrated that none of the students who entered the online program observed completed the program.

   Culture and language have an effect on education. Warschauer (1998) studied the sociocultural context of online learning. The population for the study was a group composed primarily of international students at a conservative American college whom were enrolled in a semester long English as a Second Language class that was designed to teach students different genres in academic writing in order to succeed regular college courses. The students met in a classroom but utilized the internet for all assignments and communication to the teacher and each other. The study concluded that the online method was detrimental for those students who had minimal at best computer skills. These students ended up either failing the class or receiving incompletes. The students who were familiar with the computer found that the online learning was more balanced and equal. They were able to focus on the content of the assignments without judgment towards their accents or language idiosyncrasies.

   There are many factors to consider when a class is taught online versus face-to-face. An article by Nemanich, Banks, and Vera (2009) examines the factors affecting students' learning outcomes from traditional and online education using the 3P model by Briggs& Moore. The three P's examined for the purpose of the article are explained as the following: presage characteristics covering the instructor, course content, learning environment and student's ability; process characteristics covering student motivation and learning; and product characteristic which covers learning performance. Several hypotheses were tested in an urban university in the southwestern United States with a "Principles of Management" core course for juniors and seniors taught by the same professor. The study concluded students in the classroom enjoyed the course more than the online students. The study confirmed a perceived hypothesis that the richer social interactions and feedback that a classroom setting provides a more positive emotion. The study also concluded that the same social interaction could be detrimental to the student experience due to individual perceptions of body language or responses to questions made by the professor.

   Liebowitz (2003) conducted an experiment to compare the effectiveness of his graduate strategic management course taught online versus face-to-face. The strategic management course was designed to teach people skills such as active listening, conducting an interview, providing feedback, and dealing with employee problems. Liebowitz used role playing to teach many of his lessons and so utilized chat rooms to simulate. Online students were more effective in providing correct responses because they were able to think through the situations before commenting. Students in the classroom were deterred by body language, tone, and overall perception. Liebowitz concluded that online students achieved the objectives better than the students who took the course face-to-face.

   So much of learning is social as...