Amanda+Walker

=Disadvantages of Online Classes= [|Online classes-pros and cons list 1] April 26, 2010

Problematic Aspects of Distance Education
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/high-school/47337.html April 27, 2010

Some educators argue that both teacher-student and student-student contact are integral to the learning process, and online classes eliminate these elements of education altogether. Also, students who excel at class participation need to consider that this piece of the learning puzzle will be missing as well. The number of distance-learning programs is increasing rapidly, and educators are concerned that many online courses fail to provide valid educational experiences. Students must be sure to fully research any distance-education program before signing on. Participating in a weak program will only lead to a waste of time, effort, and money. Distance education truly lets students make their own schedules. Those who have a hard time with self-motivation will undoubtedly have trouble in this type of educational setting. Procrastinators beware. The heavy focus on writing can be a plus of distance education for some. However, for those students who struggle with writing, it can be positive or negative. If writing is a serious weakness, virtual learning may not be the best educational option.
 * 1) **Lack to Face-to-Face Interaction**
 * 1) ==== ** Poor-Quality Programs ** ====
 * 1) ==== ** The Need to Self-Start ** ====
 * 1) ==== ** Emphasis on the Written Word ** ====

http://technologysource.org/articale/online_drop_rates_revisited/ April 30, 2010
 * Dropouts and Online Classes **

The notion that more students will drop out of online classes than traditional face-to-face classes enjoys the widespread acceptance usually reserved for scientific precepts. More importantly, though, many educators imply that the observed high drop rates should disqualify online education as a high-quality option to traditional education ("Distance Education," 2001).

Cons of Online Education:

Briefly explained are some factors that could negatively affect your success with distance learning courses:

1. __**The Technology:**__

a. //**Equity and Accessibility to Technology**//: Before any online program can hope to succeed, it must have students who are able to access the online learning environment. Lack of access, whether it be for economical or logistics reasons, will exclude otherwise eligible students from the course. This is a significant issue in rural and lower socioeconomic neighbourhoods and educating the underserved peoples of the world. As far as Internet accessibility is concerned, it is not universal, and in some areas of the United States and other countries, Internet access poses a significant cost to the user. Some users pay a fixed monthly rate for their Internet connection, while others are charged for the time they spend online. If the participants' time online is limited by the amount of Internet access they can afford, then instruction and participation in the online program will not be equitable for all students in the course. This is a limitation of online programs that rely on Internet access. Equity of access to learners of all backgrounds and parts of society

b. //**Requires New Skills/Technologies**//: if you're not computer-savvy or are afraid of change or new technologies, then online education will probably not work for you. The online students are required to learn new skills, such as researching and reviewing the internet.

c. //**Computer Literacy**//: Both students and facilitators must possess a minimum level of computer knowledge in order to function successfully in an online environment. For example, they must be able to use a variety of search engines and be comfortable navigating on the World Wide Web, as well as be familiar with Newsgroups, FTP procedures and email. If they do not possess these technology tools, they will not succeed in an online program.

d. //**__Limitations of Technology__**//: User friendly and reliable technology is critical to a successful online program. However, even the most sophisticated technology is not 100% reliable. Unfortunately, it is not a question of if the equipment used in an online program will fail, but when. When everything is running smoothly, technology is intended to be low profile and is used as a tool in the learning process. In downtime situations of broken systems the technology is neither seamless nor reliable and it can detract from the learning experience.

2. **The Institution**: Many online education facilities are relatively new with many courses and hence, lack in modern instructors for instructing the new curriculum. Estimates show that there is still a need for an increase of more 50% of qualified instructors for online education.

a. //**The Administration and Faculty**//: Some environments are disruptive to the successful implementation of an online program. Administrators and/or faculty members who are uncomfortable with change and working with technology or feel that online programs cannot offer quality education often inhibit the process of implementation.

3. **The Facilitator**: Lack of Essential Online Qualities: Successful on-ground instruction does not always translate to successful online instruction. If facilitators are not properly trained in online delivery and methodologies, the success of the online program will be compromised. An instructor must be able to communicate well in writing and in the language in which the course is offered.

4. **Perceptions/Reputation**: while slowly changing as more and more mainstream colleges and universities embrace distance learning, there still is a stigma attached to distance education to the student’s interaction in the online education. Some of the students believe that, there are few opportunities with regards to face-to-face interactions and feedbacks.

5. **No Instructor Face Time**: If your learning style is one where you like personalized attention from your teachers, then online education will probably not work for you.

6. **Little Support**: students are expected to find their own resources for completing assignments and exams, which is empowering for some, but daunting for others. There is little support and limited guidelines provided in on line education system.

7. **Lacking Social Interaction**: while you often interact with classmates via email, chat rooms, or discussion groups, there are no parties or off line get-togethers.

8. **No Campus Atmosphere**: part of the traditional college experience, of course, is the beauty of the campus, the college spirit, but you have none of that with distance-education courses. Since you're not on campus or in classes, you may lack opportunities to meet other students.

9. **Making Time**: if you are a procrastinator or one of those people who always needs an extra push to complete work, you may have a hard time making time for your online classes. On line learning requires new skills and responsibilities from learners

10. **Academic honesty of online students**: requires a new mindset to online assessment. Most education experts agree that rote memory testing is not the best measure of learning in any environment and new measurement and evaluation tools are evolving.

11. **Types and effectiveness of assessments**: The importance of outcomes in online learning cannot be over emphasized. Does the program have measurable results? Are students learning what you say they should be learning? Then there are institutional outputs: course completion rates, job placement rates (if that's the goal of the institution), graduation rates, student success on third-party tests, and student satisfaction scores.