Online Education - Research Paper Example

Online Teaching and Learning Introduction Online learning is a structured learning process that uses technology with internet/intranet based resources and tools to help in the delivery of instructions, communication, research, and assessment. Research has indicated that students are very successful in teacher-led or traditional learning environment and it’s mostly preferred by many countries. Although it’s preferred, not all countries have the full capacity to employ adequate teachers to match the teacher student ratio.

Students with special needs and disabilities also finds it difficult to attend daily classes. It’s for these reasons therefore that I support online teaching models that has high order thinking, substantive conversation, deep knowledge, connection to the outside world beyond classroom into the vast experience available in online learning. This paper discuss in details the overview of online teachings and its benefits that makes it preferred to traditional teaching models. Online learning overview Online teaching programs is becoming popular majorly for students studying in rural areas or those attending small schools and do not have chance of taking college credit classes.

Some students also need alternative methods of learning to complete other related courses and high school diploma courses (Allen & Seaman, 2010). Students who have failed in their courses can gain from online credit retrieval options, teenage mothers incarcerated students, students who need more time for learning in order to graduate on time, and students who are unable to attend classes due to sickness or poor health conditions. Benefits of online learning There are vast distinct advantages of developing, designing, and delivering web-based training or teaching, Online teaching supports accountability framework that ensure quality assurance to the students by providing data transparency on individual student learning growth and proficiency.

It’s therefore student-centred, based on competency where new learning models need data for learning which provide information on each student growth models used to analyse student learning data for federal accountability, state and district. According to Horspool (2012), the entry and exit proficiency, closing achievement gap, career, and college preparedness show improvements in online learning environments. Moreover, online teaching creates advanced systems of transparent data collection and assessment that supports standard based, competency education, student-centred, and personalised data that helps in monitoring the students’ performance.

These include the multiple measures and multiple times of the year for example the formative, and performance based. Additionally, online learning provides accessibility, suitability and extendibility. Students can continue through a training program at their own place and their own time. Students can access the training at any time receiving only the necessary information required for the program at that particular time. In other words, the information is received ‘just in time and just enough’ Online learning is an inexpensive worldwide distribution in that it has no distinct or separate distribution mechanism that’s needed, for example the distribution of CD-ROMS for computer Bluetooth technology training.

The Web-based Teaching can be accessed from any computer in the world and at the same time reducing the cost of delivery. Online teaching provides a cross platform where the Web-based Training can be downloaded by the web browsing software on any platform, such as UNIX, Windows, MAC, and Solaris. The training course can be delivered over the internet by the trainee to the students who will finally get the information from the internet without developing a different course for each platform. Furthermore, online learning provides direct access to the vast training resources available in the internet.

The internet is one of the largest library in the world that gives access to all sorts of information relevant for teaching in academic field. It majors on the offers already created and finally use them to enhance learning and distribution of information. It therefore ensures ubiquitous and reliable student broadband access to the internet. Online teaching provides vast, and untapped market for learning where the untapped Web-based Training market is still very large that if one is looking for commercial markets then there is a huge audience that is very hungry for materials that can be availed to them through the internet (Means, Toyama, Murphy, Baka, & Jones, 2009).

Moreover, online teaching provides the professors with an easy way of content update. Changes that are made by the professors on their contents can immediately be available to all the learning audience and students across the whole world. This therefore reduce the technical support required in making the exact changes in the books, journals, and magazines. In addition, online learning avails an easy and affordable training delivery to the audience and students. All the audience across the world can easily access the browser at their homes and get the contents at cheaper cost compared to when one has to be physically present in the classroom where he has to incur the transport cost every day.

Conclusion Online education and programs are continuing to grow both in high school education and post-secondary education, and many professors in information systems technology are vastly becoming involved in implementing online teaching and planning for their students. Students input is important when designing online courses. Online teaching and learning model is therefore the proposed framework for professors to design courses more effectively, inspire and direct further research, and detect anomalies so that to improve online education systems for both students and teachers allowing for advanced and accurate assessment, and more effective evaluation of the learning process.

References Means, G., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Baka, M., & Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education. Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (Nov 2010). Class differences: Online education in the United States, 2010. Retrieved from http://sloanconsotrium.org/publications/survey/class_differences Horspool, A. (Feb 2012). Applying the scholarship of teaching and learning: Student perceptions, behaviours and success online and face-to-face.

Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 37(1), 73-88.