Online Education Instead of On-Site

Online education instead of on-site classroom attendance has only been possible since the widespread use of personal computers, but distance learning has actually been around since the beginning of the 20th century (Li & Kirby, 2008). In those days, off-campus programs were called "correspondence courses" because they were conducted through handwritten letter mail. Nowadays, Internet connectivity and e-mail have greatly increased the speed and efficiency of distance learning. The availability of real-time screen conferencing narrows any gap remaining between on and off-site education even further (Li & Kirby, 2008).

However, it may be more difficult to monitor the quality of online curricula or to ensure against academic dishonesty aided by the online medium. There are probably instances and courses of study where online education is more appropriate than others, and it may be better suited to some types of students than others. Where online education provides educational material of comparable quality, it may represent a tremendous opportunity, especially in the current economic conditions.

Specific Concerns about Online Education:

At the simplest level, there are legitimate concerns about the online equivalent of traditional "diploma mills" that provide little else in the way of education besides a framed degree for the price of the educational program. One of the more significant concerns about online degree programs is their greater susceptibility to academic dishonesty (Trotter, 2008). Ordinarily, the only real opportunity for extensive academic dishonesty arises in connection with out-of-class assignments because it is very difficult to guarantee that the work is that of the student's. Most graded work in on-site programs is done in class where instructors can monitor conditions. Online programs generally do not have comparable mechanism for ensuring that work submitted remotely represents the work of the student (Trotter, 2008).

Already, the instantaneous availability of thousands of references within a few mouse clicks has dramatically increased the problem of academic plagiarism on high school and college campuses. Off-site students, especially those whose course require no real-time audio/visual participation, have no worries about an instructor suspecting that plagiarized work is different in quality or style from the student's in-person class contribution. The combination of online resources and the anonymity and remoteness element of online education probably increases academic dishonesty substantially.

On the other hand, remote online learning in certain courses of study and at high levels of study, and for certain types of students (such as post-graduate students, or those with particularly strong academic achievements and aptitude) undoubtedly adds valuable flexibility to educational opportunities. They may also be well designed for use in connection with any course of academic (or vocational) study that is capable of objective (on-site) testing to verify that students have, in fact, learned the required material (Trotter, 2008).