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Critics Battle Over Online Learning
A rousing debate has emerged about the effectiveness and quality of online learning, with some suggesting the Internet has the power to redefine the way we learn, teach and ultimately think.
30-Second Summary
Critics have been quick to dismiss online reading and study practices as offering a less than complete educational experience, providing quickly digestible snippets of information, rather than an entire picture.
Observers also suggest that faced with an abundance of information from so many different sources, Internet users, young and old, have more trouble concentrating on one subject for any amount of time.
However, proponents of Internet learning have suggested that reading online can provide a fuller experience thanks to the variety of different resources they can find on the same subject.
Further, they argue that the quick pace of life online has the potential to redefine not only what we learn, but also how we learn and think.
Such changes in style and strategies, they argue, would mean a dramatic shift away from what they see as outdated educational models as well as the tools necessary for assessing the performance of students.
Existing approaches to testing have revealed positive statistics for both sides of the argument, finding that although some students’ reading levels have suffered with increased Internet use, others thrived.
Still others have been seen to improve research and analytical skills, which many not be as readily measurable thanks to traditional testing methods.
Observers also suggest that faced with an abundance of information from so many different sources, Internet users, young and old, have more trouble concentrating on one subject for any amount of time.
However, proponents of Internet learning have suggested that reading online can provide a fuller experience thanks to the variety of different resources they can find on the same subject.
Further, they argue that the quick pace of life online has the potential to redefine not only what we learn, but also how we learn and think.
Such changes in style and strategies, they argue, would mean a dramatic shift away from what they see as outdated educational models as well as the tools necessary for assessing the performance of students.
Existing approaches to testing have revealed positive statistics for both sides of the argument, finding that although some students’ reading levels have suffered with increased Internet use, others thrived.
Still others have been seen to improve research and analytical skills, which many not be as readily measurable thanks to traditional testing methods.
Headline Links: ‘Literacy Debate’
The debate surrounding the effectiveness of reading online has led some to suggest national testing guidelines are in order. While some traditionalists insist that digital reading cannot compare to the written word, others have argued that reading online does not hinder a child from learning as much as redefine what learning is.
Source: The New York Times
The Atlantic’s Nicholas Carr took the assumption that the Internet is changing the way we learn by suggesting that the rapid-fire pace of learning online, especially in the case of Google, was actually making people stupid. Carr’s main source of annoyance—one he was admittedly guilty of himself—was that the speed at which we research and read online makes concentrating on a book or any long text, nearly impossible.
Source: The Atlantic
Bill Thompson responds to Nicolas Carr with the suggestion that technology changing the way we think is not as detrimental as the practice of only seeking out the information we agree or feel comfortable with. Thompson cites earlier arguments that since reading is a learned, not inherent, skill, there is no reason why new ways of learning should not replace older approaches as new technologies emerge.
Source: The BBC
Reactions: ‘Online Education: Moving Past the Debate’
Laura Halsch blogged earlier this year that the debate should no longer be about whether or not to use online resources in schools—a forgone conclusion in her opinion—but how everyone can work together to create constructive tools to better serve students needs in an increasingly digital, connected age.
Source: 360 Digital Influence
One demographic that has firmly accepted and adopted the idea of online learning has been homeschoolers. Always on the lookout for accessible and reliable resources for the home classroom, homeschool parents have increasingly turned to online services and simple Web search to supply resources and curriculum guidance.
Source: North American Council for Online Learning
Opinion & Analysis: Demise of the scientific method?
Chris Anderson of Wired magazine suggests that given the enormous amount of information available to any individual, the scientific method of problem solving has now been ruled obsolete for many subjects. Instead, Anderson argues that scholars should take a hint from the likes of Google, which offers little when it comes to telling you why a Web page is popular, except that the statistics say it is.
Source: Wired
Related Topic: Challenges of online learning
Students turning to Internet courses are finding that any reputation online learning has for being easier is unfounded. Indeed, they’re finding that taking classes online, a practice now offered by almost 70 percent of colleges nationwide, requires additional motivation and self-discipline.
Source: The Pitt News
Hardly a new debate, the focus of the discussion surrounding the effects of learning online has usually been on the social and entertainment uses of the Internet. The PBS series Frontline took a broader look at the effects of learning and life online with a program titled, “Growing Up Online.”
Source: Frontline PBS
Background: Milennials
Educators are increasingly finding that the evolution of online learning is more a matter of necessity when it comes to retaining the attention of a generation of students who spend more and more time online. Dubbed the “Milennials,” these students raised to be comfortable with a variety of technologies seem to be the driving force behind the changing landscape of education.
Source: findingDulcinea
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