Thursday, April 22, 2010

Understanding the Drawbacks and Challenges of Online Education

Edward Callinan
Fundamentals of Curriculum Development
Dr. Jay Dugan
22 April, 2010

Understanding the Drawbacks and Challenges of Online Education

Though the benefits of the advancements in technology cannot be denied, online education presents drawbacks and challenges that must be recognized in order to further its development. Indeed, even the fact that online education is still in its infancy can be seen as a problem compared with traditional education. The 2005 report by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory noted that “we cannot have real ‘confidence’ in these [online students perform as well as or better than traditional students] conclusions until there is much more support available from high-quality quantitative research.” Such a lack of definitive conclusions prompted the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) to importune definite benchmarks to better understand its effectiveness. According to NACOL’s 2007 National Primer on k-12 Online Learning, “A mechanism to track online programs and students is an apparent first-level policy requirement that a surprising number of states have not yet put into place.”

This urgency was resounded by Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association. He stated that much more research needs to be conducted before drawing conclusions about the effectiveness of online education. “Virtual learning is very young. It’s in its infant stage compared to the age of the educational system itself.” A response came in July of 2008, when the U.S. Department of Education released a guide to help schools evaluate K-12 online education programs. The U.S. Department of Education explained that because of the rapid expansion of programs and the “dearth of existing research on the topic, it is critical to conduct rigorous evaluations of online learning in K-12 settings to ensure that it does what people hope it will do: help improve student learning.”

The above information proves that while online education can certainly have benefits, reservations about online education are help by experts and laypeople alike. The following is a list of those drawbacks and challenges. The chronology of the list does not suggest a level of importance or priority concerning the list.

1. Loss of Personal Interaction

It is ironic that in a world in which more and more people find themselves “connected,” the meaning of that “connection” has changed. Today, the description of “connected” refers to the personal utilization of cell phones, Internet connection, iPods, and other communication devices. However, those very same devices allow people to function daily without face-to-face interaction. Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association (NEA), warns that online education should not completely replace full-time education in the classroom. He noted that “When you start using online courses as a total alternative, you lose all the benefits of the face-to-face interaction, … [the] sense of community, social development…” This concept of social development is even more critical for students in early developmental stages. Mark Pudlow, spokesman for public policy at the Florida Education Association, resounds Van Roekel’s warnings. Pudlow further intimates that ‘brick-and-mortar’ schools expose children to diversity, an important aspect of socialization that’s difficult to recreate online. “When you go to public schools, you interact with [different people] and you get to see how [they] look at the same situation. That’s very important to the health of our nation.”

2. Reduction in the Variety of Instructional Methods

It is readily apparent that online education precludes the presence of a teacher to interact, discuss, or motivate. This fact holds the potential to reduce the instructional methods that might be employed in education. Instructional/learning methods such as Socratic seminar; think, pair, share; and demonstration-performance all require live interaction with fellow students and teachers. These methods can require an immediacy of response, recognition of body language, and even an acknowledgement of the dynamics of a group setting. The aforementioned instructional methods and the requisite aspects of these methods would all be lost with an educational curriculum that is exclusively online.

3. Reduction in the Quality of Educational Offerings

Quality is a problem, too, which is a key reason why many online students do not complete online educational programs. In his article “Giving It the Old Online Try,” Business Week writer William Symmonds stated a belief that this lack of quality offerings will force a further shakeout, eliminating mediocre players. Symmonds expanded on this point, stating that many colleges are still grappling with such issues as how much time their faculty should devote to eteaching. Such facts convinced Andy DiPaolo, director of the Stanford Center for Professional Development, that “online learning will never be as good as face-to-face instruction.”

4. Potential Costs of Online Education

The greatest potential cost of online education is simply the total expense of making online education a possibility. One must consider the mechanisms essential to make online education possible. These include a computer with sufficient processing capabilities, an Internet connection with sufficient delivery speed, as well as microphone and camera equipment. The need for all of these components speaks to what has become termed the “digital divide.” It suggests that quality online education could become an asset to only those of sufficient economic means.

Even if a person can afford the necessary equipment to begin an online education, there may also be technical problems during the process. These problems include breakdowns in image or media software, a deceleration in processing speed, or a corruption of hard drive space.

Finally, online education can present financial challenges not only with equipment, access, and connection, but even with funding of that education. Finding financial aid to enroll in an online education program can be challenging. Institutions that offer financial aid must meet set accreditation standards. These standards present challenges to those institutions, and online course only make that challenge greater. These facts can account for the lack of online educational offerings at certain institutions, as well as the lack of financial aid for online education programs at other institutions.

Conclusion

As noted at the beginning of this blog, online education is certainly indicative of a rapidly changing and advancing world. But this post has also made clear the dangers of advancing into an exclusively online educational system holds. Clayton M. Christensen, co-author of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, predicted a blended system will prevail. Christensen expanded on this prediction:

People will go to school buildings, but much of the learning will be offered
online, and the role of the teacher in the physical classroom will change over
time from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side – to be a mentor,
motivator, and coach… The teacher will work individually with many students,
diagnose what learning needs they have, and help them find the best online
course or resources to help them and motivate them. It will be a very different
system, but it should be a much more rewarding system for everyone.

Works Cited

Cowan, Kristina. “Learning Across Distance.” Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review 74.8 (2009): 4- ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 15 April 2010

Symonds, William C. “Giving It the Old Online Try.” Business Week 3760 (2001): 76-80 Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web, 15 April 2010

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