Distance Learning and Brick-and-Mortar Learning - Coursework Example

[Student’s Name] [Instructor’s Name] [Course name and code] 09 November 2011. Compare and contrast essay: This paper is primarily based on attempting to compare and contrast between distance learning and brick-and-mortar learning. While on one hand this remains a credible reality that brick-and-mortar learning provides the students with the amazing academic opportunity of real-time interaction with the professors, this fact cannot be denied as well that online courses available for learning provide the students with more spare time which could be used by them for extracurricular activities, especially if they happen to have families of their own or other part-time jobs. The discussion contained in this essay basically focuses on highlighting the aspects which are similar between online learning and brick-mortar classroom learning along with identifying those which make these two modes of learning seem to be poles apart, while taking care to base the entire discussion on my personal academic experience in order to make the discussion seem more practical and realistic. At the beginning of my journey to online learning, I would not hesitate to claim that I happened to be particularly cautious, insecure, and slightly afraid about the unknown and unpredictable aspects of online learning. But, after being deployed to Afghanistan and having been left with no other choice but taking online courses so as to continue my educational journey, I committed myself to online learning and discovered many obscured academic aspects to my utter amazement. I particularly liked the “on your own pace” type of an online class for myriad reasons, the most important of which is that working at your own pace type of online learning provides the students with an excellent opportunity of using visual media and other free softwares available online for learning purpose, which can profoundly enhance the learning process along with simplifying it and making it more riveting for a student. On your own pace type of an online learning course provides the students with the type of personal freedom which most students find themselves craving for in the brick-and-mortar classroom environment where they are strictly required to abide by the rules and regulations formed by their professors with virtually no availability of visual and auditory media for facilitating the students wilt latest technology-based learning opportunities most of the times. This remains a reality that in a more traditional brick-and-mortar classroom type of learning, students remain oblivious to the amazing freedom of surfing on their own for gathering useful academic information which is based on latest research and offers more up-to-date knowledge which differs hugely with the more conventional academic theories pursued by the professors since ages in the brick-mortar classroom learning. I, on my part, cannot deny the fact that had I not engrossed myself in online learning so as to continue my educational journey in a country like Afghanistan, I would never have acknowledged the myriad benefits of online learning like developing the amazing ability to search answers to complex academic questions on my own without any supervision. Coming to the resembling features between online learning and brick-and-mortar learning, it is worth mentioning that the process of submitting academic assignments remains pretty much the same in both modes of learning. This is because the students have to mail their assignments to their professors so that they could be evaluated and analyzed by them, thus ruling out the factor that most of the students still have to line up for having their projects assessed by their professors in the traditional classrooms. The process of submitting assignments thus remains the same between an online education college and a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom. Secondly, though people can be educated and acquire a professional degree both through traditional colleges and online learning colleges these days, still absence of a traditional blackboard makes much difference which most students take time to adapt themselves to that difference. Actually with the use of a blackboard, the professors can directly demonstrate many intricate academic problems to their students so that they do not have to wait for responses in the form of e-mails from their supervisors as in the case of online learning process. Therefore, it can be easily deduced from this discussion that the absence of traditional usage of a blackboard rules out the facility of real-time interaction between students and teachers in an online learning course, but which is readily available in a brick-and-mortar classroom. Another resemblance worth evaluating between a traditional teaching campus and an online education program is that the aspect of class time scheduling remains pretty much the same considering the fact that classes are taken according to a schedule time, though absence of a teacher afterwards makes much difference between the two modes of learning who could be pursued by the students later on, if they happen to find any problem in any particular learning course (ONLINE EDUCATION SPECIALIST). According to research studies, distance learning like involving oneself in an online education program saves one from relying excessively and unnecessarily on the professors for getting answers to certain academic problems. On the other hand, online learning process provides the students with the commendable facility of developing a broader academic vision especially when they start searching for latest information available online which relates to their queries. Research studies identify as to how online learning “might contribute to desired learning outcomes like critical thinking, taking ownership of learning, forming essential questions, collegiality, and the like” (Brooke). The factor of collegiality is enhanced by engaging in an online learning course when students are explicitly united for a common purpose like an academic purpose on a useful online forum like Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites for resolving certain complex problems and discussing answers to them after resolving on one most credible answer. The factor of online discussion among students who may be literally scattered all over the globe is a highly commendable facility provided by online learning, which I found of great use when I first engaged myself in an online learning course. Now, when I was enrolled at a traditional education campus back in time for a certain academic course, I found myself rushing after the professors after classes for retrieving answers to certain complex questions instead of group discussion about them with my other classmates who more than often rushed to a game spot like cafeteria after classes instead of going for group discussion. This way, many uncertainties and complexities remained unaddressed though I was enrolled at a traditional education campus where there is real-time interaction but no concept of self-research. Independence, self-motivation, and learning via visual media are the three most important benefits offered by online learning process, as identified by (Anczerewicz) in comparison to traditional style learning. While traditional courses are offered to the students via reading the written text, online courses employ the facility of visual learning medium like delivering course through high-definition pictures and videos, which make the academic learning process all the more interesting and engaging. “New scientific studies have shown that if you learn through a visual learning style, online education courses may fit you better than a traditional program in a campus-based school” (Anczerewicz). Summing up, this remains a reality in the light of the above discussion based on online learning versus traditional learning that though both modes of learning are based on educating the students in a constructive manner, both differ hugely in the way by which the academic knowledge is delivered in terms of learning and researching. While the independent learners may opt for online education programs since that provide them the opportunity to work alone on projects, other more dependent students readily opt for traditional brick-and-mortar mode of learning since that helps them in relying more on other more competent students. Works cited: Anczerewicz, Kenneth. “Online Education Courses - Do They Fit Your Learning Style? 03 Mar. 2008. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. < http://ezinearticles.com/?Online-Education-Courses---Do-They-Fit-Your-Learning-Style?&id=1023988> Brooke, Anumma. “Distance Learning Strategies in the Brick-and-Mortar Classroom (SBL 2009). 11 Apr. 2009. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. ONLINE EDUCATION SPECIALIST. “6 Similarity Between Online Education vs Traditional Education.” 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. \ Read More