Online Education
ONLINE EDUCATION: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES by Jarrod Novicke
ABSTRACT
Online Education is a rapidly growing field within a highly competitive educational market. With the advances in technology over the last several years, more universities are offering an online curriculum to a diverse range of students. The increased demand for an educated workforce; has increased the need for additional means of education beyond the traditional in-classroom experience. Due to this increased demand, institutions are being tasked with developing a reputable form of online education. The program needs to meet the needs of the faculty responsible for delivering the material, a growing student base, and also prospective employers. This study will look at the perspectives and problems faced by both the faculty and students as this medium for education continues to grow. In doing so, we will take a brief look at the history of online education and how its growth has affected students and faculty, both negatively and positively.
INTRODUCTION
Colaris, Gibson and Harris (2008) defined distance education as asynchronous or remote; computer based, and has an instructional system that supports it. Contrary to what many people believe today, distance education did not begin with the electronic age. The first recorded instance of this form of education was much earlier. Distance education began in the United States as early as the 1800s, when the University of Chicago introduced the first major correspondence by mail program based on the fact that the teacher and student were in different locations (Seibold, 2007). From these early beginnings, distance education has thrived in the U.S. for many reasons such as the expansive geographical distance between U.S. citizens from institutions, the great thirst of our citizens for education, and technologies’ rapid advancement (Casey, 2008). The technological advancement can be seen while tracing the origins of distance
ABSTRACT
Online Education is a rapidly growing field within a highly competitive educational market. With the advances in technology over the last several years, more universities are offering an online curriculum to a diverse range of students. The increased demand for an educated workforce; has increased the need for additional means of education beyond the traditional in-classroom experience. Due to this increased demand, institutions are being tasked with developing a reputable form of online education. The program needs to meet the needs of the faculty responsible for delivering the material, a growing student base, and also prospective employers. This study will look at the perspectives and problems faced by both the faculty and students as this medium for education continues to grow. In doing so, we will take a brief look at the history of online education and how its growth has affected students and faculty, both negatively and positively.
INTRODUCTION
Colaris, Gibson and Harris (2008) defined distance education as asynchronous or remote; computer based, and has an instructional system that supports it. Contrary to what many people believe today, distance education did not begin with the electronic age. The first recorded instance of this form of education was much earlier. Distance education began in the United States as early as the 1800s, when the University of Chicago introduced the first major correspondence by mail program based on the fact that the teacher and student were in different locations (Seibold, 2007). From these early beginnings, distance education has thrived in the U.S. for many reasons such as the expansive geographical distance between U.S. citizens from institutions, the great thirst of our citizens for education, and technologies’ rapid advancement (Casey, 2008). The technological advancement can be seen while tracing the origins of distance
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