Online Education Find Three Articles (in Newspapers,

¶ … Online Education

Find three articles (in newspapers, journals, or online) that discuss the value, soundness, or impact of online education.

Over the last several years, online education is becoming increasingly popular. This is because there a number of benefits touted as a way to help address critical issues inside the education system. However, there are also many challenges that are having an impact upon these solutions. To fully understand what is happening, there will be an examination of three different sources. Together, these elements will highlight underlying strengths and weaknesses associated with online education.

In the first article, Overly (2010) is talking about the benefits and drawbacks that online education can provide. For many students these advantages include: more one on one attention, there are greater amounts of flexibility and they can receive a better quality education. This is important because these attributes are helping to create changes in the kinds of solutions that are provided to address these issues. However, one of the biggest concerns is that many of these applications could be focused on using a particular operating system or device (such as the I Pad). This makes it more difficult for providers to create solutions that will address the needs of different demographics of students. (Overly, 2010)

Evidence of this can be seen with Overly stating, "There are so many different types of mobile devices. Do you do things like a mobile Web site vs. An app? And with so many different devices and platforms, the question becomes: What do you really get for it all? At this point it's unrealistic for an interactive session with a calculus tutor to happen on your BlackBerry." This is illustrating the potential challenges associated with introducing these kinds of solutions. As a result, online education is having a positive impact. However, until these issues can be addressed; there is a possibility that this will limit these kinds of solutions. (Overly, 2010)

Moreover, the article that was written by Clark (2009) is talking about how online schools are reducing costs and increasing the total number of offerings. This is because there is demand from students who want to save money and do not have the time to commute to class. At the same time, technology has evolved to the point that many of the videos and tutorials are helping to increase the quality of education that is provided. To improve this even more, many schools have surveys they are sending out to students and will continually monitor for complaints / dispute resolution. Commenting about what was happening Clark observed, "Colleges are also trying to make online courses more engaging by moving beyond simple reading assignments and videotaped lectures. Good online courses require more work on the part of instructors and students, which can pay off in more learning." This is showing how online courses are having a positive impact on the quality of education and price (thanks in part to advancements in technology). (Clark, 2009)