Teacher: Mr. September
Like any other technology-based innovation, online learning present benefit to education stakeholders including students, instructors, providers, community, and government. The focus of online learning revolves around the benefits of globalized access to education programs, costs issues for both students and education providers, and incorporation of information technologies in learning. Altmann et al. (2018) argue that e-learning enhances the flexibility of learning since a student can access learning materials and activities without the necessity of a fixed schedule. Students can attend classes while engaged in other commitment and access the electronic records in case of a missed lecture, due to the flexibility of e-learning. Online learning helps to reduce education expenses due to the elimination of daily commuting, reduction of training expenses, and need of few resources to facilitate learning (Dumford & Miller, 2018). Studies indicate that educational institutions implementing online learning report reductions in operational costs due to budget cuts associated with demand of fewer instructors, elimination of expenses on printing and library, reduction of facility booking fees, and fewer travelling expenses (Stone, 2019). Additionally, online educations enable students to get global networking opportunities since online classes are remotely accessible to any individual connected to the internet (Dumford & Miller, 2018). Similarly, a student in an online learning environment benefits from increased instructor-learner engagement because online education technologies facilitate personalized attention and communication. Moreover, online education improved equality of access to expertise and specialized training (Gillett-Swan, 2017), since students from developing countries and rural areas can access courses and training offered by revered institutions such as MIT, Harvard, among others.
Despite the benefits of electronic learning, the delivery mechanisms of online education jeopardize the effectiveness of learning activities and pedagogies. Altmann et al. (2018) argue that online learning makes it hard for instructors to assess the ‘real’ outcomes of learning and to evaluate student engagement. Online learning has similar learning outcomes as traditional classroom learning despite the different learning environment as the foundations of online learning emanate from the legacy of traditional learning pedagogies. The absence of face-to-face interactions have negative implications on student engagement, emanating from the negative learning experience and poor student outcomes (Gillett-Swan, 2017). Online classrooms encourage social isolation due to the elimination of interpersonal interaction and communication among students. As a result, social isolation increases the possibility of poor self-discipline and poor time management among students due to diverse home environment and difficulty to assess student’s learning experience (Stone, 2019). According to Dumford and Miller (2018), online learning is limited to certain disciplines and learning activities, and thus lacks the universal application experienced with traditional classroom learning. E-learning is best suited to disciplines and topics dominated by theory, as opposed to practice-based learning. The virtual learning environment eliminates teachers’ ability to assess and evaluate practice-based learning activities since some require physical teacher supervision. As a result, different countries have different regulations, accreditations, and quality assurance guidelines in online education. Besides, online education is dependent on technology to facilitate learning and enable remote instructor-learner interaction. Hiranrithikorn (2019) claims that assessing the effectiveness of online learning involves a significant influence of technology as a primary variable, hence making online education as a function of technology. In other words, lack of internet services, computer illiteracy, cybercrime implications, and obsolete educational technologies could lead to unreliability and poor delivery of online education.
In conclusion, online learning is an emerging practice in education, with generous room for improvement and innovation. The benefits of online education include flexibility and convenience, reduced costs, globalized networking, electronic documentation, remote access to expertise, and increased instructor-student time. On the other hand, the disadvantages of online learning include social isolation, time management issues, ineffective assessment, lack of practised-based learning, and technology overreliance. Despite the challenges of online learning, it is paramount for learning institutions and governments to promote online education because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Adopting standardized regulatory practices and addressing the issues on student engagement will facilitate successful and universal adoption of online learning as the new normal education practice. It is evident that online learning is the future of education; continuous improvement of learning pedagogies and innovative e-learning technologies expected to address the current limitations of e-learning.
References
Altmann, A., Ebersberger, B., Mössenlechner, C., & Wieser, D. (2018). Introduction: The disruptive power of online education: Challenges, opportunities, responses. In The disruptive power of online education. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Dumford, A. D., & Miller, A. L. (2018). Online learning in higher education: exploring advantages and disadvantages for engagement. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 30(3), 452-465.
Gillett-Swan, J. (2017). The challenges of online learning: Supporting and engaging the isolated learner. Journal of Learning Design, 10(1), 20-30.
Harasim, L. (2017). Learning theory and online technologies. Taylor & Francis.
Hiranrithikorn, P. (2019, October). Advantages and disadvantages of online learning. In International Academic Multidisciplinary Research Conference In Berlin 2019 (pp. 14-17).
Stone, C. (2019). Online learning in Australian higher education: Opportunities, challenges and transformations. Student Success, 10(2), 1.