It's been just over a year since I first announced that online education is becoming a part of college and university learning. Since then, I've had many requests from college and university students asking me how they can take online education to the next level. There is a lot to be said for participating in online educational programs and tutorials. With just three months left until the fall semester, it's time for college and university teachers to help current school members overcome any resistance to online education through properly presenting how their current teaching and learning skills translate to online learning.
Even as online courses and instruction continue to experience new and improved curriculum designs, there are still certain fundamental concepts that remain constant. For instance, every school should have clearly defined, uniform expectations for each online education course or tutorial. Uniformity in course content enables online instructors to better control their online learning environment and provide a higher quality of education to their students. It's important for colleges and universities to be aware that, if their current course offerings do not meet the needs of their student populations, they may find themselves losing students to online education.
Another fundamental concept that must be integrated into every online learning program and tutorial is an adequate online education support services program. In fact, there is no simpler way to lose students than to provide inadequate support services, such as instructions, registration processes and support services that fail to match the needs of the online learning program. A good online education service provider knows exactly what its customers need and provides a comprehensive, tailored solution.
In the last few years, I have conducted several online education pilot studies. During these pilot studies, we have found that most of our students did not perceive any significant improvement in their core subjects from taking their courses via online learning rather than in a traditional classroom setting. Students were usually satisfied with their course choices, but were more dissatisfied with the level of instruction they received from their instructors, and less satisfied with their virtual classroom environment. Clearly, there are many potential pitfalls that accompany the widespread use of online education programs.
When I began my academic research on the topic of online education, I expected that I would find a few benefits for students who took classes via the web. That was not what I discovered. I discovered that while some students benefitted from the web-based course design and delivery model, there were substantial limitations with respect to the flexibility that students experienced when taking courses via the web. One important drawback was the difficulty that students had participated in the online experience - a significant limitation that nearly crippled the online education model during the fall semester of my first year of teaching. Fortunately, there were a few online education training programs that helped my students overcome this particular obstacle, but there were still significant obstacles that remained.
This highlights the fundamental problem with on-campus instruction. When a teacher provides his or her students with an online education program, the teacher is providing virtual classroom space and student support services - two of the most valuable resources that any instructor can provide to their students. The instructor has a responsibility to support his or her students throughout the course of study. This includes ensuring that the student's textbook purchase and any other requirements are met, ensuring that the student is well-prepared for class, making sure that the student's needs are met throughout the course of study, and maintaining proper communication with the student throughout the semester. While administrators in some universities have attempted to address these issues by adding online student support services to their on-campus facilities, many administrators have not done an adequate job of integrating these services into the online learning experience.
When a student takes a course via the Internet, he or she is not taking any less of a class than they would if they were attending class in an on-campus facility. Therefore, the online experience must necessarily be accompanied by the same kinds of student support services - availability of reliable computer connection, access to a tutoring network, etc. In fact, when most people think about online tutorial adda education, they probably do not give much thought to the online computer connection. But, even if a student cannot bring his own laptop to class, there are a number of other resources available on the Internet that make it possible for a student to take classes online. There are many websites that offer downloadable materials for use by students, many of which also offer tutorials.
The availability of online guidance is particularly important if a student lives in a rural area where computer technology does not yet meet the needs of the local population. The teaching assistant teaching online could supplement the online instruction that is given and could also serve as a student support in the form of email or live chat assistance. The teaching assistant could be required to assist the online instructor with any technical issues that arise during the course of the online teaching. This is just another example of the sharing of resources that is necessary for a properly-designed online learning experience. It will also allow a rural student to take classes from the comfort of his or her home.
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