Do Students Learn Better in Electronic Classroom Environments - Essay Example

Do students learn better in electronic classroom environments The introduction of internet as a way of general communication has changed everything starting from economy and defense to research and education. All knowledge is instantly shared and all information is passed on or archived in moments. The internet, being something not in control of any specific country or government, represents freedom of information and could be termed as an archive of most of the knowledge known to mankind. Internet, in short, could be called the epoch of the information age. You could start a business on the internet, collect intelligence on criminal activities, operate your bank or use it as a tool for education. Not only has the internet presented something indispensable to those who want to learn online, it has also become the most favoured habitude for autodidacts. Those who previously had to go to libraries and archive centers for self learning, can simply spend a few hours a day on the internet to learn much more than that, both in quantity and quality, by the help of time saving search tools and the information available all in one place; at your desk. Now the question arises, how does it affect those who want to learn from another; in a classroom, a lecture, or tutoring from a professor? Most apparent quick arguments would cite the lack of eye contact and physical presence and would be in favour of a traditional classroom where learning or tutoring is supposedly unhindered. I will start with two basic arguments to stand in favour of online learning and electronic classroom environments. Firstly, an electronic classroom environment allows the student to take the class at a location of his choosing; a library with pin-drop-silence, a park in the suburbs with soothing nature all around and not much noise (since the sound is not unwanted), the student’s own bedroom or even a classroom with a small group of choosing and a multimedia projector to study with those who can be of mutual benefit or when the instructor can not reach the location. This makes electronic learning something that, rather, alleviates hindrances more than increasing them. Secondly, there is no way to simply put it than to say, moving electrons is much simpler and less costly than moving atoms; transferring data and telecommuting is much more feasible than actually going to the place of work or education. The benefits of electronic learning can boost up a lot more potential in those who already know what is being taught and help the ones lagging behind to keep up in multiple ways. In a traditional classroom, a student will have to listen to the whole lecture even if he already knows the topic from another course or self study. On the other hand, a student might not be able to keep up with the pace of the lecture, lagging behind, he might miss what might be essential for the topic. This presents sufficient challenges for students in a normal classroom environment and usually can not be overcome per se as a matter of fact. In an online electronic learning environment, the student who is ahead and has already well studied the topic, might utilize the same time studying further or reading further details till the lecture has proceeded to the point where he wants to resume, or in case of a recorded lecture he can simply forward it to where he wants to continue from. The student who is lagging behind can be further supported by supplementary course related data from the internet. The lagging student can watch video tutorials and read on related research papers, simultaneously record the lecture and the listen to it again to get clearer concepts. In a simpler way, this is essentially to make everyone learn at their own expense in terms of time. The faster you learn, the faster you can move ahead. Online learning gives the students an opportunity to earn degrees or certificates, usually at any age, right from their home; this presents the idea of ‘learning everywhere, all the time’ (Cook 78:3). Whether or not the online learning is accredited, the advantages are worth it (Cook 78:3). The online learning experience is much stronger and much more realistic than a simple use of whiteboard and a marker or presentation slides. The idea of internet learning allows many more study aids unrestricted by limitations of time or norms (Cook 78:3). As compared to traditional classes where a higher number of students would be considered as negative factor towards the effectiveness of the class, the electronic learning environment can easily be tailored to favour more learning with the higher number of students involved. Using the theory of connectivism that implies knowledge is a part of the world rather than the human mind, the students can then understand more and better by using the professor’s and each other’s opinion (Cook 78:3); the more diverse they become, the higher the learning outcome is. To further support connectivism, autodidactism creates the need for attaining the knowledge at which the student is good at, or simply the need for more knowledge (Cook 78:3). The extent to which the online class is networked among individuals, even at a macro level, helps the students to get exponentially increasing help and advantages from the learning experience (Cook 78:3). Highlighting the first two basic arguments to support the electronic learning in light of the above presented arguments and facts, it would be safe to say that online learning is a tool for actually removing the disturbance factor from the classroom as well as save the costs and energy that could further be spent on learning more than travelling. With that in mind, it is often missed that this is a recurring cycle. The development of internet itself has been a result of the learning process. The more the technology develops and provides better tools for learning, the more the need for learning increases as well (Bear 41:2). Being an excellent source for learning on any required topic, the internet also helps to be the tool that teaches the learner on how to learn (Bear 41:2). The improvising use of online technologies to benefit oneself can open one’s mind towards learning to an unimaginable extent (Bear 41:2). In addition, the rapid amount of research that is being done on each single topic of study separately might not be known to any tutor, but on the internet, it is a few clicks away to simultaneously help the student stay upto date with the most current research. It would be imperative here to answer the obvious counter argument. A student can still go to his computer after the class and consult the internet or bring an internet enabled laptop to the class - why does it have to be online learning? The answer is simple. Consulting internet after the class and then coming back to the professor to consult would be a hindrance itself. On the other hand, bringing an internet enabled laptop to class would solve this problem but would not solve the problem of the professor not knowing everything there is to know. A lecture would be interrupted if the lecturer starts consulting a computer in the middle of the lecture, but an online learning environment can easily be tailored to handle such tasks, as the students consult the research, so does the lecturer and the use of cloud computing could easily enable them to view the same content at the same time making it very simple for the lecturer to make a point. References Cook, Vickie (Spring 2012). Learning Everywhere, All the Time. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, Vol. 78, No. 3. Print. Bear, Anne A. Ghost (July 1, 2012). Technology, Learning, and Individual Differences. Journal of Adult Education, Vol. 41, No. 2. Print. Read More