The Education Debate
Andrea N. Anderson
J. Sodon
ENG102-577
29 March 2015
Essay 3: The Education Debate
Wouldn’t school be great if we could make our own schedules? Not just picking out classes from pre-selected schedules, actually doing everything when it’s convenient for us. That’s exactly how it works when taking online courses. Online education is a great option for individuals who can’t participate or don’t prefer to participate in classroom education. I’ve successfully done it myself. Online and classroom education both have the same goal; to teach the content of the selected courses to the students and to help the student to understand and pass the course. Now the instructors obviously can’t go about it the same way, there has to be different teaching styles to reach the end goal. Traditional education requires in person attendance in class on a pre-selected schedule. Some students live in dorms and spend a lot of time on campus. There is more opportunity to join clubs, associations & fraternities. All the resources that the school has are readily available during the day for campus students. Online education, or distance learning, consists of taking classes via internet. It is flexible and convenient because there’s no set schedule other than assignment due dates. A student can work on assignments and study any time of the day that works for them. Distance learners don’t spend much time on campus because there’s really no need to be there except for midterms and final exams. In some cases, there’s no requirement to come to campus at all. Distance learners must communicate with instructors via email, phone or blackboard. Online classes are perfect for “adult” students or people with busy work schedules & family responsibilities. It’s very hard to dedicate set times to go to a classroom 2-3 days a week per class when there’s so many other things going on in life that are just as important. It also saves gas money because there is no commute to/from campus
J. Sodon
ENG102-577
29 March 2015
Essay 3: The Education Debate
Wouldn’t school be great if we could make our own schedules? Not just picking out classes from pre-selected schedules, actually doing everything when it’s convenient for us. That’s exactly how it works when taking online courses. Online education is a great option for individuals who can’t participate or don’t prefer to participate in classroom education. I’ve successfully done it myself. Online and classroom education both have the same goal; to teach the content of the selected courses to the students and to help the student to understand and pass the course. Now the instructors obviously can’t go about it the same way, there has to be different teaching styles to reach the end goal. Traditional education requires in person attendance in class on a pre-selected schedule. Some students live in dorms and spend a lot of time on campus. There is more opportunity to join clubs, associations & fraternities. All the resources that the school has are readily available during the day for campus students. Online education, or distance learning, consists of taking classes via internet. It is flexible and convenient because there’s no set schedule other than assignment due dates. A student can work on assignments and study any time of the day that works for them. Distance learners don’t spend much time on campus because there’s really no need to be there except for midterms and final exams. In some cases, there’s no requirement to come to campus at all. Distance learners must communicate with instructors via email, phone or blackboard. Online classes are perfect for “adult” students or people with busy work schedules & family responsibilities. It’s very hard to dedicate set times to go to a classroom 2-3 days a week per class when there’s so many other things going on in life that are just as important. It also saves gas money because there is no commute to/from campus