Throughout history, the typical face-to-face learning system has been the only means of education. However, due to the rapid advances in technology, there has been an increase in the number of institutions offering online courses in the modern day. “Total student enrollment in distance education courses went from 754,000 in 1995 to 1.6 million in 1998 (Harasim, 2000), and over 3 million students enrolled in distance courses in the 2000-2001 academic year (Waits and Lewis, 2003). By fall 2007, 3.9 million students were taking at least one online course (Doyle, 2009)” (Lei, S. A., & Gupta, R. K. , 2010). Although there are benefits to both learning from a conventional education and an online system, technology-based education is the better choice
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Technological learning provides students with the ability to mold education into their time schedule. “When carefully planned, constructed, and monitored, Internet-based courses can effectively address many of the same learning goals of campus-based instruction, while allowing students to engage in their learning experiences asynchronously, or according to whatever daily schedule their other personal and work obligations allow” (Davey, 2004). Online courses do not have a specific time schedule for classes to be held; therefore, students are able to fulfill their time commitments while also pursuing an education. Although discussions, chat-rooms, and teacher-to-student interactions have set schedules, the rest of the coursework is free from time restricting deadlines. Due to its asynchronous nature, online learning has been often dubbed as a joke instead of being noted for its flexibility. However, students are required to maintain discipline and focus in order to successfully achieve credit for the course. Therefore, online learning maintains standards that provide an educational atmosphere. Conversely, traditional learning has set class times and strict attendance policies. Its synchronous nature undermines the ability of students to commit time towards other activities such as working or specializing in a certain
Technological learning provides students with the ability to mold education into their time schedule. “When carefully planned, constructed, and monitored, Internet-based courses can effectively address many of the same learning goals of campus-based instruction, while allowing students to engage in their learning experiences asynchronously, or according to whatever daily schedule their other personal and work obligations allow” (Davey, 2004). Online courses do not have a specific time schedule for classes to be held; therefore, students are able to fulfill their time commitments while also pursuing an education. Although discussions, chat-rooms, and teacher-to-student interactions have set schedules, the rest of the coursework is free from time restricting deadlines. Due to its asynchronous nature, online learning has been often dubbed as a joke instead of being noted for its flexibility. However, students are required to maintain discipline and focus in order to successfully achieve credit for the course. Therefore, online learning maintains standards that provide an educational atmosphere. Conversely, traditional learning has set class times and strict attendance policies. Its synchronous nature undermines the ability of students to commit time towards other activities such as working or specializing in a certain