The Benefits and Drawbacks of Online Education for Global Citizens
Non-traditional education is becoming more popular among young people as a means of starting and progressing in their careers while both finishing and enhancing their formal education. “Those who don’t have access to programs, employees who work during scheduled class hours, homebound folks, self-motivated individuals who wish to take courses for self-knowledge or progress, or those who are unable or unable to attend class” are examples of typical distance learners.
The online student is surrounded by three crucial elements: technology, the curriculum, and the teacher. These aspects must be carefully merged into a single, flawlessly operating delivery tool.
While online education can be a highly effective medium of education for mature, self-disciplined students, it is an ideal learning environment for more reliant students. To keep up with the pace of the course, students must be well organized, self-motivated, and have excellent time management skills.
For these reasons, online education or e-learning is not appropriate for younger students (i.e., elementary or secondary school age) or other students who are dependent learners and have trouble taking on the duties demanded by the online paradigm.
Hundreds of schools and colleges use e-learning technologies in over 140 countries, including companies like Kodak and Toyota, as well as education providers like ExecuTrain, New Horizons, the Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS), and Phoenix University.
According to studies, online learning improves student retention by up to 250 percent compared to traditional classroom instruction. Several recent ones have aided in framing the discussion.
The Sloan Consortium released a widely circulated paper in 2005 titled “Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States,” which looked at the growing frequency of online education at American schools.
Furthermore, according to a survey done by the Boston-based consulting firm Eduventures, while roughly half of institutions and more than 60% of companies believe online learning is of good quality, students’ perspectives differ. Only about 33% of potential online students believe that the quality of online education is “as good as or better than” that of face-to-face education.
Ironically, 36 percent of prospective students surveyed said they were hesitant to enroll in online courses because they were concerned about employers’ acceptance of online education.
What, on the other hand, is the true source of quality? Mission, curriculum and instruction, faculty support, student and academic services, planning for sustainability and expansion, and evaluation and assessment are among the six quality indicators identified by the US Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education in a March 2006 report.
The argument continues, with the pros and cons of online adult education for today’s international students being regularly studied to see if this type of education platform can produce predictable and measurable outcomes.
One college that uses this type of distribution system is Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS). ENOCIS improves students’ learning experiences by providing a variety of “value added” and cost-cutting benefits.
Online students can apply for scholarships for outstanding students as well as other financial aid programs with low interest rates, such as the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). They also offer handy payment options such as online banking, Western Union Quick Collect, and bank cards, and if a student has a business guarantor, they can begin repaying their loan after two months.
Advantages of Online Learning:
The following are some of the most significant benefits of online education:
1. Less expensive: Online courses are sometimes less expensive than those offered at colleges or trade schools. You may also save money on transportation expenditures such as gas, bus passes, and parking permits because you won’t have to commute to school, and you won’t have to worry about housing or meals because you won’t be living on or near a college campus. Housing and other living expenses are typically the most expensive components of a college degree, so taking an online course could save you a significant amount of money. The nicest thing about online education is that it eliminates travel and immigration issues.
2. More Convenient: Taking classes online allows you to choose when and for how long you study. You can also fit your studies around your career or social obligations.
You can perform your work anywhere you have access to a computer and the internet because you are not confined to a classroom. You’ll be able to move at your own pace and choose how quickly you go over the subject. Take online courses as needed, not on the basis of a college’s annual or semester timetable. You can learn whenever you want (Just-In-Time)
3. Flexibility: Because there are no set class times, you can complete your assignments and readings whenever you want. The tempo is set by you. You can even construct your own degree plan in some programs. Along with their online education, students can do their private or official work. They might devote more time to issues that they believe are more difficult, and vice versa. The speed at which students learn is entirely up to them.
4. Technology: Students can complete their online education from any location using scientific technology. The only requirement is that you have access to a computer and an internet connection.
5. Availability: Over the last few years, distance-learning opportunities have exploded, with many accredited and reputable programs.
6. Accessibility: With an online course, you can work on it from anywhere you have access to a computer. Your studying opportunities are not limited by where you are located. For the worldwide learning and education center, the new virtual classrooms have generated a plethora of learning options. On-line learning is a new era experience that adapts to the needs of global citizens.
7. Self-Directed: You control the learning environment by setting your own pace and schedule.
8. Classroom Time: You can now take a course on almost any subject without ever having to be in or travel to a classroom, resulting in very little wasted time. However, some distance-education programs have an in-class component, and international students must often spend one or two semesters on campus in order to acquire a fully approved US university degree.
9. High-Quality Dialog: The learner can carefully consider each comment made by others before responding or moving on to the next item in an online asynchronous discussion structure.
This framework gives students more time to articulate comments with greater depth and preparation than in a typical face-to-face discussion, when participants must study another’s opinion on the spot and construct a response or risk losing the opportunity to contribute to the conversation.
10. Student-Centered: Each student responds to course material (lectures and course books, for example) as well as comments from other students in an online discussion. Students frequently reply to the themes in the larger conversation that most clearly speak to their own worries and experiences, resulting in multiple smaller dialogues going place within the group at the same time.
While students are expected to read all of their peers’ contributions, they will only become actively involved in the sections of the conversation that are most interesting to them.
Students can take charge of their own learning and adjust class discussions to their unique needs in this way. Students should, in theory, contribute their own unique perspectives to the course while also taking away a unique combination of material that is directly relevant to their interests.
11. Level Playing Field: Learners in the online environment maintain a high level of anonymity. Age, attire, physical appearance, impairments, color, and gender are all entirely gone. Instead, the focus of attention is squarely on the discussion’s topic and the individual’s capacity to calmly and intellectually respond to and contribute to the issue at hand.
12. Synergy: The online format allows for a high level of dynamic interaction between the instructor and students, as well as among students. As each participant contributes to the course discussions and comments on the work of others, a continual synergy will be formed through the learning process.
One of the unique and essential characteristics of the online learning format is the synergy that exists in the student-centered virtual classroom.
13. Resources: Including distinguished guest experts or students from other institutions in an online class is simple, as is allowing students to access resources and information from anywhere in the world. In the global classroom, an instructor can create a resource section online containing connections to scholarly publications, institutions, and other relevant materials relevant to the course topic for students to use for research, extension, or in-depth examination of course content.
14. Innovative Teaching: Adult education research supports the use of interactive learning environments as a means of encouraging self-direction and critical thinking. Some instructors have made significant progress in implementing these ideas in their classrooms. Innovative and inventive techniques to training are even more vital in the virtual classroom because of its semi-autonomous and self-directed nature. The facilitator and the learner interact to create a dynamic learning experience in the online environment.
Online Education’s Drawbacks:
Some elements that may have a negative impact on your success with remote learning courses are briefly described below:
1. Equity and Technology Accessibility: Any online program must have students who can access the online learning environment in order to succeed. Students who are otherwise eligible will be unable to participate in the course due to a lack of access, whether for financial or logistical reasons.
This is a major problem in rural and lower socioeconomic areas, as well as in educating the world’s underprivileged people. In terms of Internet accessibility, it is not ubiquitous, and in some parts of the United States and other nations
, access to the Internet comes at a large expense to the user.
Some Internet users pay a set monthly fee, while others are charged based on how much time they spend online. If the amount of time participants spend online is limited by their ability to pay for Internet access, then instruction and participation in the online program will be unequal for all students in the course.
This is a drawback of online programs that rely on connections to the Internet. Learners from all walks of life and from all areas of society have equal access.. It requires new skills and technologies: If you don’t know how to use a computer or are afraid of change or new technology, online education is probably not for you. Online students are expected to learn new abilities such as internet research and review.
i. Requires New Skills/Technologies: If you don’t know how to use a computer or are afraid of change or new technology, online education is probably not for you. Online students are expected to learn new abilities such as internet research and review.
ii. Computer Literacy: In order to function successfully in an online environment, both students and facilitators must have a basic understanding of computers. They must, for example, be able to navigate the World Wide Web and use a number of search engines, as well as be conversant with Newsgroups, FTP processes, and email. They will not be successful in an online program if they do not have these technological tools.
iii. Technology Limitations: A successful online program requires user-friendly and dependable technology. Even the most advanced technology, however, is not 100 percent reliable. Unfortunately, it is not a question of whether, but when, online program equipment will fail.
When everything is going well, technology is meant to be low-key and used as a tool in the learning process. Technology is neither seamless nor trustworthy in downtime situations caused by faulty systems, and it can distract from the learning experience.
2. The Institution: Because many online education facilities are new and offer a large number of courses, they lack modern instructors to teach the new curriculum. According to estimates, more than half of all certified instructors in online education are still needed.
i. Administration and Faculty: Certain environments can make it difficult to implement an online program successfully. Administrators and/or faculty members who are hesitant to change or engage with technology, or who believe that online programs cannot provide a high-quality education, frequently stymie the implementation process.
3. The Facilitator: Inadequate Online Competencies: Successful on-the-ground training does not always translate to effective online training. The effectiveness of the online program would be jeopardized if facilitators are not properly trained in online delivery and techniques. An instructor must be able to communicate effectively in both writing and the language in which the course is taught.
4. Perceptions/Reputation: While attitudes toward distance learning are slowly changing as more and more traditional colleges and universities embrace it, there is still a stigma associated with distance education and student interaction in online education. Some students perceive that there are few opportunities for face-to-face contacts and feedback.
5. No face-to-face time with instructors: If you prefer one-on-one attention from your teachers, online education is unlikely to meet your needs.
6. Limited Assistance: Students are expected to find their own resources for completing assignments and exams, which can be liberating for some but terrifying for others. In the online education system, there is very little support and very few guidelines.
7. Lack of Social Interaction: While you may communicate with classmates via email, chat rooms, or discussion groups, there are no parties or off-line social gatherings.
8. No Campus Atmosphere: The beauty of the campus and the college spirit are both part of the traditional college experience, but distance-education courses lack both. You may not have many opportunities to meet other students because you are not on campus or in classes.
9. Making Time: If you are a procrastinator or someone who requires extra motivation to complete tasks, you may find it difficult to find time for your online classes. Learners must develop new abilities and take on new responsibilities as a result of online learning.
10. Online students’ academic honesty necessitates a shift in mindset when it comes to online assessment. In any scenario, most education professionals believe that rote memory testing is not the best measure of learning, and other assessment and evaluation systems are being developed.
11. Assessment types and effectiveness: The significance of outcomes in online learning cannot be overstated. Is the program’s success measurable? Are your pupils learning what you want them to learn? Then there are the institutional outputs, which include course completion rates, job placement rates (if that is the institution’s purpose), graduation rates, student performance on third-party assessments, and student satisfaction scores.
These considerations, both positive and negative, aid in making an informed decision on the direction of your career path and how you will achieve your objectives: online, in the classroom, or a combination of both.
Similar judgments must be made by institutions and businesses that use continuing education to suit their needs. Institutions that provide online education have a number of obstacles, including finding qualified instructors, utilizing technology, and providing proper student services.
According to the Sloan Consortium report, “Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States in 2005,” 64 percent of chief academic officers and faculty believe that a student’s ability to succeed in an online course requires more discipline than a student’s ability to succeed in a face-to-face course.
More and more businesses and industries are turning to online continuing education as a realistic and cost-effective resource for training their people. Hilton Hotels has 380 hotels in 66 countries.
When you consider the benefits and advantages of on-line adult continuing education, the cost of study and scheduling flexibility tip the scales in favor of programs such Enoch Olinga College, Capella University, and Phoenix University’s remote learning program.
However, like with any circumstance, the concept of online education and the benefits of the virtual or global classroom have both advantages and disadvantages. Before deciding on an online education program, you should consider both options.
You will be able to make a more informed decision if you examine the benefits and drawbacks. However, at the end of the day, online learning is self-directed. Although online programs include a lot of structure, they nevertheless require a learner to sit in front of a computer by themselves.
The knowledge you gain and the rewards it brings, whether in terms of self-esteem or increased earning ability, are entirely up to you, the student.