Whether Colleges and Universities Should Continue to Increase the Proportion of Online Courses - Essay Example

Module Whether Colleges and Universities Should Continue To Increase the Proportion of Online s In the previous years, mostlearning took place in the ordinary classes, where learners would physically attend classes. However, with a change in technology, the education sector has experienced immense change. Online learning is on the rise, as people tend to savor its effectiveness. According to recent statistics, Carr (34) notes that many public schools have started to offer online courses. It is noted that close 80% of public schools are enhancing technology in concern to online learning. On the other hand, over 60% of all the private schools have started to offer online courses to their students. With such changes in the education, it is most likely that many people will adopt the online courses. This is due to the immense supply of online courses from different schools in the world. According to Carr (35), millions of people across the globe have decided to enroll for “Massive Open Online Courses”. This brings the issue of many people having access to education despite the underlying factors. Apparently, the online courses are enhancing the productivity of the education sector as many people have constant access to education. Carr (35) states that online learning has been a factor in the development of the world. Many people that are in remote areas have access to online education. As such, they are enhancing and improving their lives by fostering education. The author notes that some places do not have educational and learning facilities. This limits many people from cessing quality education. However, with the induction of online learning, such people do not need to physically access the learning institutions. For example, many schools that have sufficient resources only admit a limited number of students. This is to limit overcrowding in classes. Similarly, a tutor only needs a limited number of students per each session. For example, a tutor prefers to teach less than 40 students per session. This will enhance concentration ion the needs of each student. However, when the number of students in each class is massive, the tutor will not give all the students enough concentration. This is a limiting factor to the quality of education. As a counteraction to such, online learning has gained supremacy. This aspect has improved the accessibility. Apparently, this has also had its setbacks ion online learning. For example, over 16000 students enrolled for online courses in a single class. In essence, this is a massive number for a single class. Though learning is made accessible to many students, the tutors have to input more pressure in ensuring the learners get high quality education. The president of the United States, Barrack Obama stated that education should be enhanced by the use of technology. As such, online learning courses have been improved to serve a large number of learners. According to Sturgis (16), the number of students enrolling for online learning increased to over 6 million in the year 2010. This was an increase of over half a million from the previous year from the statistics relayed by Babson survey research group. Apparently, this has its various setbacks. To begin with, the community colleges will focus on enhancing online learning. This is negativity to college students in need of traditional learning. Apparently, the community colleges will find it easy to propagate online learning. As a result, they will not focus on investing in more resources and equipments to cater for the traditional learning. For example, some students would wish to engage in practical learning where they have access to the resources and equipments that are provided by the institution. To some students, online learning is not effective enough. This will be disadvantage to students without the financial muscle to procure the gargets for online learning. Secondly, online learning has increased competition in the courses that are offered by the learning institutions (Anderson 11). Many institutions offer a minute number of courses to students. This is due to the underlying factors that include the tutors that are versatile in the courses. This is both a disadvantage to the tutors and the students. The tutors will find it hard to monitor and evaluate the large turnout of students in the online courses. This may delay the result of the students. Similarly, the evaluation of the students will not be thorough. The tutors may work haphazardly especially when hindered by deadlines. This may limit the quality of education especially when the learning period is short. On the other hand, students have to face stiff competition when making choices for their courses. As a result, some students may end up enrolling for some courses that are less competitive. Cheating in exams is a vice that has been condemned since time immemorial. As Young states, scoring A’s in these days is easier, especially when enrolled in online courses. For example, Bob Smith only committed 25 to 30 minutes of learning each week after enrolling for an online course (Young 7). Apparently, the student never read or comprehended the materials given in the course. Bizarrely, the student attained grade A in the online science course. As a fact, students find various ways of cheating in the online courses. Students that are techno-savvy have manoeuvres that are rarely detected when cheating in exams. For example, some of the students use previous researches during their exams. Similarly, some students engage the services of other people that have an excellent record of accomplishment in the course. It is not easy to detect the identity of a student especially when engaging in online learning. Therefore, some students get excellent grades that they do not deserve. McNulty (42) notes that online learning is among the fastest growing sectors in the world. Many people are enrolling for long distance learning courses. For example, the author states that a 77% increase of students was recorded in the American public schools. As a result, many students are upgrading from the traditional way of learning by engaging in long distance learning. This has helped many students learn with ease. However, there is a need to regulate the online learning aspect. For example, students learn other skills in the traditional classes that can never be learned in online classes. For example, learners need to interact with other students to perfect their communication skills. This will be instrumental in developing a learner’s career. In conclusion, online learning has gained ground in learning institutions. However, there are several setbacks. First, online learning is marred with cheating. Secondly, many people are enrolling for online courses. This brings unnecessary competition. Thirdly, some students who may want traditional learning do not find the perfect opportunity since many institutions are concentrating on online learning. Therefore, there is a need to regulate the issue of online learning to enhance the quality of education. Works Cited Anderson, Terry. The Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Edmonton: AU Press, 2008. Print. Carr Nicholas. The Crisis in Higher Education. New York. MIT technology review. 2012. 115:6. Mcnulty Ray. The Luminosity of Online Learning. New York. Techniques January 2013. Sturgis Ingrid. The online frontier. New York. www.diverseeducation.com. March 15. 2012. Young Jeffrey r. Online Classes See Cheating Go High Tech. New York: The Chronicle of Higher Education. 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