Critique on What Makes a Successful Online Student - Book Report/Review Example

work] Critique on "What Makes a Successful Online This is an article that poses between a how-to and a ial, enumerating how a student learning online should behave in order to be successful in the non-traditional way of learning. It is more of a tutorial, however, and as such should have included additional background and conceptual content to help teach readers ("How to write," 2007). Online learning is something novel and not many have undergone the experience. On the whole, the article is simplistic in approach and does not go very deep into some arguments but merely enumerate. There is no named author for the article. The writing in this piece is barely enough for anyone wanting to know about the basic requirements in online learning. The critical issues presented [but not treated as issues] include the following: 1) "The traditional school will never go away." However, the feature of the traditional school that makes it so was not highlighted. The writer assumes that the reader knows. Anyone not having experienced online learning, however, will not be able to compare these modes of traditional and online learning. 2) "Online is a convenient way to receive education but it is not an easier way." The writer only said it is not easier because the requirements are not less than those required in traditional learning. The comparison is only on quantity, and nothing is said on quality. 3) "Online is not for everybody." The argument here is that there are some who may only prefer traditional classrooms; therefore may not be happy online. This contention, however, is better supported with evidence as assessments without any basis shortchanges the reader. The experiences differ in this aspect as when people may be talking about the tightness of schedules or treatment of management on students. Larrabee (2006), for example said he found that on-line learning is not always as flexible and busy- schedule friendly as claimed to be. He said, "I soon found out that it was almost unacceptable and if I did not log on everyday, I could fall behind and possibly be penalized." 4) "While the level of social interaction can be very high in the virtual classroom given that many barriers come down in the online format, it is not the same as living in a dorm on a campus." Why "many barriers come down" in the online format may need some examples to illustrate what the writer means. Does this mean making it easy for the shy, those melting from having to speak with other people face-to-face The writer may benefit from Leslie's (1993) description about networks making obscure social distinctions such as race, gender, disabilities, physical appearance, including social status receding in cyberspace, and all that counts is one's capability for expression. 5) "Once a student gets behind, it is almost impossible to catch up". Why If the work involved is demarcated with weekly schedules, can't the student catch up since anyway there are time markers Does this have to do with class discussions as anyone left behind would have no one to discuss with What has time got to do with it if there are markers Again, there was no elaboration. 6) A thesis that closely capsulizes the discussion in the article is this. "Just as many excellent instructors may not be effective online facilitators, not all students possess the necessary qualities to perform well online." The article is oriented to the student. However, even if done in passing, if an intriguing statement is made, it needs support by way of an explanation. So, is this because excellent instructors lacked the experience of being online students Is it because they have to interact with the students from time to time In what area are they not effective For this part not to be questioned, the least the writer should have done is mention a reference or a source. This part of the statement is followed by "students not possessing the necessary qualities to perform online." The 10 enumerated qualities which are more of pieces of advice and expectations will do for this part. There is a blurb at the end about "including reference links to resources and tips," "outlining expectations," and providing a questionnaire for prospective students to fill out to assess whether they are good candidates for online learning. These are still shallow postscripts as explained by what follows. While the article is specifically addressed to the student, towards the end it suddenly shifts to address those offering online education. It is not able to address this fully, however, because, just as pointed out earlier, the writer seems not to have fully experienced a cogent design of online learning in terms of interaction, assignments and tutorials and is not fully appreciative of online learning. It has not even mentioned these three things in the whole article. There is one feature that can enhance online student learning, and that is the help desk. Students post their problems here for the assignment of the week and they mentor each other in terms of what know. Analysis is the sum of what they do and they can then pick up the best alternative as a solution to the problems being dealt with before they pass their assignments. That way, even without the instructor, they are able to learn. This is the kind that is found in Walden University (2007) and some other schools. A Walden University education is said to be based on the concept of distance learning. Unfortunately, for some schools, dialogue is constricted as they are teacher-centered; meaning, the teacher figures most of the time as the all-knowing authority so that dialogue between student-to-student is scarce. The problem with an un-authored writing actually is that no one takes the challenge to go deeper than normal for discriminating readers. This is because the byline has the effect of requiring the named author to do one's best in terms of research. No wonder, no single study or theory was mentioned in this article. There is no reference to any literature that has something to do with this issue. In fact, it does not even treat the topic as an issue and there seems to be no debate about anything but only personal assertions. The enumeration of student qualities for online learning which makes for the whole of the article appears merely advice at best. A good backgrounder for the writer would have been Tait's (2003) "Reflections on Student Support in Open and Distance Learning." Here, the writer would be treated with some history of online education. Another is Moore's (1997) "Theory of transactional distance" where distance is defined not in terms of the physical. Best of all, in contrast to traditional teaching is the concept of stigmergy found in Dron's (2006) "Termites in the Schoolhouse." The latter highlights the absence of a pre-planned syllabus, a distinct feature of the traditional classroom. It is not that there is no syllabus online but that what happens in the interactions is a lot of good that forms slowly from the dialogues devoid of the structures that the teacher may impose. This is one good product of online learning that is not found in the ever-present teacher-ed classroom. All of these, the writer must at least have an awareness of. In terms of writing prowess exemplified in the article, therefore, it cannot be said that it is remarkable. It is basically flat and unimaginative, and proves shallow to those who have tasted good online experience. It also lacks credibility from its exclusion of related studies and important concepts. From reading the article, I get the feeling that the writer has not enjoyed an excellent online experience in terms of the design provided for interactions, assignments, and tutorials. To be fair, it has recommended placing links and resources but how these are to be integrated is not stated. I feel that the article fails to convince anyone of the beauty of online learning. For any writer to be writing of online experience, one must have experienced a good one. True, there are many designs being utilized in terms of website features, just as it is also true that not all of them encourage full and natural interactions. For example, requiring that at least two substantial postings are required for the student for the week may find the students merely labeling their interactions as Response1 and Response2 and no more, instead of interacting freely and fully. It would take encouraging one's classmates to desist from labeling and instead concentrate on participating in the analysis naturally. If the instructor is also bent on counting the number of postings for the week's grading instead of reading the whole interaction, he would perfectly match the short-sighted students and everything is shortchanged. For all that were detailed here, the contribution of this article to distance education is not much and only merits a 3.5. References Dron, J. Termites in the Schoolhouse: Stigmergy and Transactional Distance in an E-learning Environment. Retrieved January 27, 2006, from www.cmis.brighton.ac.uk/staff/jd29/papers/dronedmedia2004.doc How to write a How-To. Retrieved February 6, 2007, from http://forrest.apache.org/docs_0_70/howto/howto-howto.html#steps Larrabee, A. K. Online Learning Is Not for Everyone. University of Phoenix Review. November 6, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2007, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/79697/university_of_phoenix_review_online.html Leslie, J. Kids Connecting. You've heard it before, but this time it's true: online technology can reform our schools. Wired Ventures. 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2007, from http://www.eff.org/Infrastructure/Regional_rural_edu/school_online.article Moore, M. "Theory of transactional distance." Keegan, D., ed. Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. (1997). Routledge, pp. 22-38. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from http://www.aged.tamu.edu/research/readings/Distance/1997MooreTransDistance.pdf Phillips, D. Incredibly Bad Articles Will Kill Your Credibility. Retrieved February 6, 2007, from http://www.afroarticles.com/how-to-write-articles/27568.php Tait, A. (2003). Reflections on Student Support in Open and Distance Learning. Faculty of Education and Language Studies. Open University UK Walden University. Worldwidelearn. http://www.worldwidelearn.com/waldenu/online-degrees.htm What Makes a Successful Online Student Pedagogy and Learning. Illinois Online Network. Retrieved February 6, 2006 from http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/StudentProfile.asp Read More