Monday, February 9, 2009

Education and Virtual Reality

Online classes are the best thing I have ever used the internet for in my entire life. It gives me the relaxation of not being in a classroom environment while still learning with the rest of the students online. Online education gives the same substance as a formal class by having an instructor, students and a subject to focus around, but in my opinion online education gives a better forum for learning then a traditional classroom. By being in your own environment when learning, you can work at your own pace and base your knowledge of the subject not only on the assigned readings and your professor, but on your fellow peers. Another great advantage is the 24 hour access to your instructor, whereas in a 1 day a week course you have to wait and ask your questions in class. 

With the use of the personal computer no one is subject to not having a reasonable education; no matter your age, career or social status, anyone is able to have a higher level of education. You can take a course online whether if your in another country or if you have a career where you only have a certain amount of time to do work online, IT IS POSSIBLE! 

The only drawback of online education that I agree with is the most obvious, "no Panacea," a person who does not have the will to learn despite all other drawbacks will not learn in an online class. If you do not want to learn, why take the class? I believe that the only people that find online education useful are students with an overpowering drive to learn, because with out this drive there is no one holding your hand, like in a classroom making you participate. This is the exact reason why I like online courses, there is no one telling you what to do and when to do it, everything is based on your own timeframe and your own will to learn. Other drawbacks include no campus activity and the lower level of classes able to be taken online. The campus allure does not really thrill me based on my opinions of campus life, but the fact that you can not learn subjects that you need hands on experience; "ranging from horticulture to ceramic science to surgery."

During high school I took college courses online at my local community college and I only had good opinion's based on my experiences. I was enrolled in three classes online earth science, peer education and physical education, it was the easiest thing I have ever been apart of. The 24/7 access to teachers gave me a feel of one on one attention even though I have never meet the teacher in person. Despite all three of these classes being simple the feedback from my peers in the class were extremely helpful, in each class we had a blog much like "The Social Moose" where everyone could read each others Q and A. My only drawback with the class was that I did P.E online, there was no physical activity, in a class based on physical activity. Other than that drawback I loved online education and wished I could of went to a school where it was given.

WHERE CAN I SIGN UP FOR A FORDHAM ONLINE CLASS.

A couple success stories in online education in the elementary school level through highschool.



1 comment:

  1. What exactly was your experience. I think the argument is well made in this video, but there needs to be some consideration of the downside--there are no benefits without costs, and there needs to be an assessment.

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