Online Courses vs. In-Class Courses

¶ … Online Courses vs. in-Class Courses

Review of Student Participation and Quality of Learning

With the incorporation of technology into the classroom, teachers have the choice of many formats in which to impart their knowledge to the students. Teachers can have students meet in class, and use a variety of technologies such as multimedia, computer labs, and overhead magnifiers to aid learning. Teachers can also have students use the Internet to complete hands-on learning modules, research, discussions and more. Both in-class and online learning are offered at a variety of colleges, though some offer only one specific type of course and others use a combination of online and classroom learning in their courses. By examining online and in-class course structures in regards to student participation and quality of learning, one can conclude that online learning has several advantages in comparison to classroom learning.

Most teachers in both online and classroom environments require their students to participate in order to earn credit in a course. Student participation, however, looks much different in the classroom than online. In the classroom, student participation usually consists of coming to class and becoming involved with the activities of that particular class period. For instance, collaborating with others in a group, asking or answering questions during discussion, listening attentively and note taking during lecture, and becoming engaged with the material during hands-on learning. Online courses, however, measure participation in other ways. For instance, posting during modules, chatting with class members about a topic, submitting work, and completing online workshops and quizzes can be seen as participation. In this case, the online form of participation has several advantages over the in-class. For instance, many students may be hesitant to communicate in class because they are shy or worried about what their peers may think. This leads them to receive poor grades in participation, or stop participating completely, even when they could be easily engaged by the material. Furthermore, just showing up for class is often considered participation, when the student may not care or care to learn about the topic. Online, students must actually demonstrate engagement. This forces them to think critically about the material. While it is much easier to fake participating in the classroom scenario, doing so is much more difficult online. Online courses also offer a degree of anonymity, which allow students to post what they really think and feel, encouraging intelligent discussion. Furthermore, online classes allow students who want the ability to participate the ability to do so 24/7, while being present in a classroom can be difficult for the returning adult student, or the working college student.