Online Learning and Teaching Possibilities and Constraints - Research Paper Example

? Online Learning/Teaching- Possibilities and Constraints of the of the Teacher January 7, With the advent ofnew technologies, much could be expected to change in the sphere of education. In that context, online learning and teaching are comparatively recent developments in the field of education that have made it possible to proliferate education in those areas that do not have schools and colleges and amongst those students that could not benefit from the conventional approaches to education. Online learning has many distinct benefits that have revolutionized the concept of education. However, this approach towards education also has its flaws. Still, online learning is a positive development that needs to be further explored by the academicians, policy makers and interested stakeholders. Online Learning/Teaching- Possibilities and Constraints There is no denying the fact that the advent of the new technological possibilities and the ongoing IT revolution has indeed influenced the varied aspects of the human life (McPherson & Nunes, 2004, p. 25). One of the areas influencing the human life that has indeed been readily revolutionized by the IT revolution is the sphere of education. The advent of online learning also referred to as electronic learning has opened up new possibilities for the students around the world (McPherson & Nunes, 2004, p. 92). The concept of online learning has indeed established the fact that technology is going to invade every aspect of the human life and the way people teach and learn. Not only this, online education has also changed the way governments, academic authorities and universities, colleges and schools conduct and manage their courses and activities (McPherson & Nunes, 2004, p. 77). Thereby, online education is a possibility that is poised to make things easier for both the teachers and the students. Yet, varied segments of the society and the affiliates of the student and teacher community tend to have diverse opinions about online learning. If some extol online learning as a possibility that could help disseminate education in the far and distant parts of the world, there are others who believe that online education is a concept that takes away much from the actual learning and teaching experience. In that context it would be really enlightening to delve on the possibilities brought into existence by online education and the constraints it poses to the actual experience of learning and teaching. To mull over the pros and cons of online education, it is somewhat imperative to consider the evolution of the concept of online education. It is a fact that the academic authorities and experts around the world had been trying hard to facilitate learning and education to those students who for some reasons could not benefit from the conventional approaches towards learning and teaching that are the universities, schools and colleges (McPherson & Nunes, 2004). This need gave way to the concept of distance education. The purpose of distance education was to provide the students who could not attend universities, schools and colleges, with the requisite learning materials and teacher feedback through the available means of communication (McPherson & Nunes, 2004). The problem was that the available means of communication like post, radio and telephone was that they were quiet slow and left much to be desired (McPherson & Nunes, 2004). However, with the advent of the internet, new possibilities emerged in the domain of distance education. Hence, it would not be wrong to say that online learning and teaching is a highly evolved form of the concept of distance education that emerged decades ago. The tremendous advances made by humanity in the communication technology actually made it possible to extend education to the students located in the far flung areas in an easy and assessable manner (McPherson & Nunes, 2004). No doubt there are multiple convenient factors that are indeed supportive of the concept of online education. Yet, there are many who believe that online learning is fraught with many deficiencies and it in no way tends to be an ideal way of extending education. Thereby, the objective of this paper is to research the possibilities and constraints inherent in the concept of online learning and teaching in a factual and logical manner and to delve on the claims emanating from both sides of the debate in a threadbare and rational manner. It does need to be mentioned that this debate is of immense importance in the sense that online learning is a trend that is poised to influence the nature of learning and teaching in a drastic manner in the coming times. One big aspect of online learning is that it has done away with the constraints imposed by time and space (Shank & Sitze, 2004, p. 5). With the changing nature of the workforce and the emerging career options there happens to be a significant pool of the learners and students around the world that could not benefit from the conventional approaches towards education like attending the universities, schools and colleges either owing to career constraints or owing to many other reasons (Shank & Sitze, 2004). Yet, it does not mean that if one could not adhere to the conventional means of learning, one is sans the desire to learn and to upgrade one’s qualification and skills. In that context, online learning is just the right option in the right time, which could immensely benefit the students who want to learn at the place of their choice and at the time they want to (Shank & Sitze, 2004, p. 5). Online learning allows the students to engage in learning and skill up gradation, no matter where they are located. Thereby, it could readily be concluded that online learning has indeed opened new avenues for many students for whom learning earlier happened to be a dream or an impossible option. The other thing is that there are also many students who are physically challenged or suffer from learning disabilities who could not assess education through the conventional approaches towards learning and teaching (Shank & Sitze, 2004, p. 35). In the earlier times such students had either to go without education or had to make do with whatever little learning they could lay their hands own, considering the physical constraints they faced. In that context, it is really heartening that online learning and teaching has not only made education assessable to such students, but has also made it possible for them to fulfill their academic and career aspirations. The other big benefit with online learning and teaching is that it is an approach towards education that happens to be primarily student centric (Piskurich, 2006). In other words the option of online education has emerged in response to the difficulties and constraints faced by students who could not benefit from the regular approaches towards learning. The one big problem with conventional education system was that it placed the academic institutions way above the students’ needs and requirements and expected the students to adapt to the schedules and norms laid down by the learning institutions like schools, colleges and universities. This inhibited the spread and dissemination of education in the sense that education became an option only assessable to those who had the requisite time and resources. Such an approach towards learning and teaching left many students without the ambit of education because they did not have the required time and resources. Hence, online learning and teaching has indeed done away with these constraints. It is an approach towards learning that is utterly flexible and that evinces the willingness to adapt to the needs and requirements of the students in all possible ways (Piskurich, 2006). The other issue with conventional education was that it limited the way students responded to the course material as many a times the perspective developed by the students towards the course material was limited by the influence exerted by the teachers. Thereby, the students were left oblivious of the aspects of the course material that the teacher considered unimportant or forgot to touch upon. Online learning and teaching has done away with such constraints. While communicating on online portals and platforms the students get to read the views and opinions of the students located in diverse parts the world and this not only broadens their perspective on any specific aspect of a course material being taught, but also renders to them ample opportunities to communicate and express their opinions (Piskurich, 2006, p. 89). Even students who are shy are able to readily communicate with their peers on the online platforms. The other thing is that online learning allows the students to focus on only those aspects of the curriculum that they find relevant or feel that it is important for them (Piskurich, 2006, p. 56). Yet, going by the student centric nature of online learning, one simply could not ignore the important role played by the teacher in the learning process. In online learning it is quite possible that the students may ignore an important topic, just because they were not conveyed its relevance by an astute teacher. Besides, too much freedom facilitated by online learning may dilute the quality of education. The other significant aspect of online learning and teaching is that it allows both the students and the teachers to exercise creativity and improvisation (Aragon, 2007, p. 42). Since, in online teaching the teachers are required to get the course material across without engaging in the regular face to face interactions with the students, they are required to come out with new creative ideas and approaches that could help they convey their point to the students on online portals (Aragon, 2007, p. 40). Thereby, online teaching pushes the teachers to try new teaching approaches and techniques. The other thing is that online teaching makes the teachers inculcate more of the audiovisual elements in their teaching style to compensate for the absence of body language and gestures they can use in the face to face teaching (Aragon, 2007, p. 24). Thereby online teaching not only engages greater number of senses of the students, it is more impressive and interactive. On the other side online learning if deprives the students of the physical presence of a teacher; it pushes them to exercise their creativity, acumen and sense of self direction. Thereby, students come out with more novel and creative approaches towards mastering the course material. Hence, online learning is not merely about dry and boring memorization of the learning material furnished by the teachers, but rather requires the students to engage in a more direct manner with the overall learning experience and to exercise their judgment and discretion. Online learning is not about the fixed number of teachers, but rather allows the conductors to benefit from the help and services of a range of academicians and experts specializing in specific aspects of the course material (Lynch, 2008). In the conventional face to face teaching it is not possible to invite and array of experts in a single class. However, while planning the course materials for online degrees and in the online interactions, it is possible to invite in a range of experts and teachers (Lynch, 2008). This really broadens the resource pool accessible to the students and the teachers. Besides, in online courses students have the opportunity to access a range of sources located at diverse places. Hence, online learning and teaching does allow for an optimal exploitation of the available experts and resources. When it comes to seeking the flaws of online learning and teaching, one salient issue with online learning is that it happens to be technology dependent. By technology it means the hardware, software and the networking required to facilitate online learning and teaching. Hence, for a student to benefit from online learning, it is imperative that one is able to access the technological environment that could allow one to engage in online learning (Burge & Haughey, 2005). That is a student needs to have access to the required hardware, software and internet connectivity to engage in online learning (Burge & Haughey, 2005). This is a requirement that immensely limits the scope of online learning. Only those students who have access to the required technological environment can benefit from online learning (Burge & Haughey, 2005, p. 23). Students who could not access the required learning environment owing to financial or other constraints simply could not avail online courses. Thereby, it would not be wrong to say that online learning brings in a new type of elitism in the academics, especially if one considers the developing and third world nations where a large number of people could not afford or avail the required technological inputs. Yet, this is not the end of the world. The academic institutions and the governments could provide the interested students with the required gadgets on a subsidized basis. Besides, the interested students could also use the computer infrastructure available at public libraries and cyber cafes to avail online courses. The other problem with online learning is that it requires the students, teachers and facilitators to have the requite levels of computer literacy to be able to conduct the courses and to benefit from the (Burge & Haughey, 2005). A student or a teacher who is not computer literate is simply a misfit in an online learning environment and cannot contribute to or benefit from online learning and teaching. Though online learning and teaching do have their plus points, yet, this no way means that everything about online learning is really good and positive. For instance, online education requires the students to exercise much self discipline and self judgment. When it comes to self discipline, not all individuals do have the capacity to dedicate themselves to an endeavor on a voluntary basis (Chris, 2012). There are people who actually need the physical presence of mentors and teachers to keep them focused and dedicated. Hence, online learning may fail to bring in that sense of urgency and sincerity into academic learning, without which no student can go a long way (Chris, 2012). In the absence of the guiding presence of a teacher and the pressure exerted by the institutional norms and deadlines, online learning is valid only for those students who have the requite levels of maturity and the ability for self discipline (Chris, 2012). The flexibility facilitated by online learning which is often extolled to be a boon may actually turn against a student if one is not able to manage and direct one’s academic aspirations. In order to benefit from online learning it is a must for the student to be committed, organized, prompt and discerning (Chris, 2012). Considering that flaw of the online learning and teaching, it could readily be concluded that online learning is an option that is ill suited to the young students and will tend to be more effective in higher education where students are more mature and disciplined. Thereby, in case of the young students, the conventional class room teaching is more suitable where they can learn and develop skills under the mature presence of the teachers and academic administrators. Young students happen to need dependence on a teacher to achieve their academic goals. It is a fact that not all subjects could be taught through online programs. There are many subjects that require a firsthand experience and the presence of a qualified instructor or a teacher to assure skill enhancement and the accrual of the targeted knowledge. If attempt is made to impart instruction in these subjects through online programs, it could not only betray the purpose of education but could also severely compromise the quality of education (Fallows & Bhanot, 2005, p. 32). Thereby online learning is only suitable for subjects that could be taught through distance education. The other big thing is the extent of conviction and trust a teacher or a facilitator has in the suitability of online methods of teaching and learning. There are many teachers and instructors that believe that for the education to be imparted it is a must to assure a direct face to face interaction between the teachers and the students. Thereby, in a case where a teacher lacks trust in the appropriateness and suitability of online methods of learning and teaching, one could not expect an online program to be a success (Fallows & Bhanot, 2005). Thereby, the online learning and teaching is to a large extent also dependent on the mindset of the people teaching and learning through such courses. Hence, any hesitation or doubt on the part of the people engaged in online learning and teaching could jeopardize the effectiveness of any online program (Fallows & Bhanot, 2005). Besides, there is no dearth of people who see online learning as a way of making easy money and not as a way of extending education. In case of conventional courses, much resources and efforts are required to set up an academic institution. However, in case of the online learning, any charlatan could start a program with minimal resources. The biggest flaw in the online learning and teaching is that it takes a very narrow view of education. As per the online learning, education is merely about the extension of theoretical knowledge. In a realistic context education happens to be a very broad based endeavor that has multiple dimensions. Every academic program tends to have an undeniable social dimension attached to it and ignoring this aspect of knowledge amounts to taking a very limited view of education (Perraton & Lentell, 2003, p. 162). In the conventional or regular educational set ups, the students also get a chance to socially interact with their class fellows and teachers. This not only refines the social skills of the students but also makes them capable of moving about in the real life. Online learning and teaching not only deny these social interactions, but also extend to the students a highly limited view of education. Online learning and teaching has a negligible social dimension attached to it. It goes without saying that online learning and teaching have valid pros and cons associated with them. The thing that needs to be understood is that one cannot turn the clock back. Technology is bound to influence the way people conduct their affairs and online learning and teaching have brought in a new possibility in the sphere of education. Though, online learning and teaching have their limitations, yet they can do much good to the society. It would be wrong to say that online learning is devoid of flaws. Yet, it is also a fact that online learning and teaching have made education accessible to those students who do not fit into the conventional modes of education. Besides, many of the flaws and misapprehensions associated with online learning and teaching will be mitigated as the new technologies will come into existence and the cost of technology will dip down. Thereby, online learning is a positive development that should further be explored by the policy makers and educators. References Aragon, S.R. (2007). Facilitating Learning in Online Environments. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. Burge, E.J., & Haughey, M. (2005). Using Learning Technologies. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Chris, S. (2012). Learning Online at the K-12 Level: A Parent/guardian Perspective. International Journal of Instructional Media, 39(4), 297-299. Fallows, S., & Bhanot, R. (2005). Quality Issues in ICT-Based Higher Education. New York: Routledge. Lynch, M.M. (2008). Learning Online. New York: RoutledgeFalmer. McPherson, M., & Nunes, M.B. (2004). Developing Innovation in Online Learning. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Perraton, H., & Lentell, H. (2003). Policy for Open and Distance Learning. New York: RoutledgeFalmer. Piskurich, G.M. (2006). Getting the Most from Online Learning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Shank, P., & Sitze, A. (2004). Making Sense of Online Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Read More