Online Education

Current Issues in American Education:Online Education

Emma R. Brown


There are many issues that can be considered “hot topics” when it comes to higher education. One that affects all disciplines taught in higher education is online education, also referred to as distance education. There is considerable debate over the quality and usefulness of distance education.

The particular type of institution involved can also have an effect on online education’s overall usefulness. For instance, Lattuca and Stark (2009) emphasize that the missions of many public universities are to serve their state and region’s populations by educating undergraduates and graduates. Online classes aid in this mission by providing students an opportunity to learn without having to be on campus. Larger universities can also have a greater opportunity to provide online education as they have greater financial resources at their disposal to fund and staff them. In addition, with such a large student body enrolled, they can see a greater profit margin from online education as more students are able (and likely) to enroll. In general, advances in technology have increased the likelihood and capability of online courses.

Online education is not the answer to all education woes. Additionally, it is not an option for every type of degree. Some program curricula are not appropriate for online teaching. For many degrees, particularly those in the sciences, physical time in a lab, or hands on practical experience, is an absolute necessity. Lattuca and Stark (2009) raise the point that staffing becomes an area of concern too. Are instructors able and willing to teach online courses? Are they trained to do so, and if not, would they be provided with such training?

Lei and Gupta (2010) look at distance education from the perspectives of the institution, faculty, and students, to evaluate the benefits and costs associated with distance education. Their definition of distance education is perfectly appropriate for this paper: “distance education refers to technology-based instruction in which the students are at a location physically separated from their instructor during the entire course of study.” (Lei and Gupta, p. 616)

Literature reviews show common pros and cons when it comes to getting an education online. For the student with a busy schedule, either due to course scheduling conflicts or full time employment, distance education has obvious benefits. Doyle (2009) found that most online education students tend to be older; the average age is 29 and most are over 30 (p. 57). Students in other states or even countries can now participate in the course. Students need not fight over parking, nor worry about physical appearance. The universities benefit by having much larger class sizes, without an overcrowded classroom.

While the technology and programs needed for distance education can be costly, there is also a decrease in cost as photocopies are no longer necessary. Another way to offset some of the cost to the university is to charge students technology fees in order to take the classes. (Lei and Gupta, 2010)

Some downsides to online education are for students with lower socioeconomic status who are left out of this opportunity because they have limited, if any, access to computers. There is also a risk of a lack of computer skills among students. Technology always comes with the potential for hiccups, whether it is due to downed servers or incompatibility between the programs the instructor and student are using. Greater opportunities for cheating on tests and quizzes can also be a problem. Students must learn to develop proper time management to succeed in distance education because there is a serious lack of accountability.

An online course can be a very successful learning environment for students. In order for it to be a high-quality course, it becomes very time consuming to the faculty involved. It is the opinion of this author that distance education can serve a great need in our society, particularly when it comes to special needs students. It becomes efficient from an administrative standpoint since the university can get many more students into a course without having to use up resources on campus. However, lack of face-to-face interaction is slightly disturbing. Part of what makes a good group discussion is being in the same room. Conversation largely involves facial expressions, tones, and even gestures that are lost through a keyboard. It is more difficult to make sure the correct message was sent, received, and retained by the student.

Online courses tend to require one to “read and regurgitate” information onto exams. Brown and Liedholm (2002) found that students actually did worse on online class exams than a live course when asked questions that were deeper and required practical application of the material.

A benefit of online education cited by Lei and Gupta (2010) was that students will feel more comfortable expressing themselves online and therefore participation from most students is more likely. While this may be true, part of the higher education experience is learning to assert oneself in a group setting. Students need to learn to get involved in discussions, whether confident or not. Confidence comes with time and practice and overcoming shyness is a necessary skill not just in the classroom but in life.

An online revolution to education is not quite in the works yet. It serves a purpose, but the majority of students mix online with face-to-face courses (Doyle, p. 57). Perhaps higher education institutions have just not figured out how to properly utilize online education in a way to make students want to go all online, all the time. It is the opinion of this author that there are some things that are just best learned in a classroom and we as a society have not changed our minds about that being the case.

Works Cited

Brown, B.W., & Leidholm, D.E. (2002). Can web courses replace the classroom in Principles of Microeconomics? The American Economic Review, 92,444-448.

Doyle, W.R. (2009). Online education: The revolution that wasn't. Change, 41(3), 56-58.

Lattuca, L.R. and Stark, J.R. (2009). Shaping the college curriculum: Academic plans in context. San Fransico: Jossey Bass.

Lei, S., and Govra, R. (2010). College Distance Education Courses: Evaluating Benefits and Costs from Institutional, Faculty and Students' Perspectives. Education, 130(4), 616-631. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.