“Hello Class, Welcome
to your online Nutrition course. Your assignment schedule, syllabus and contact
information for your professor and TA’s have all been posted on the Blackboard
website. Good luck and have an amazing semester.”
This is what an online course seems like to me. l would
prefer for my professor to look me in the eyes and shake my hand or at least
know what my face looks like. Granted, some of us are not forced to take these
online courses but for those who have to it should not feel as if they are not left
alone with no help. Although, this does make the
student more responsible for their own actions and pushes them to keep up with their work it does there are still some downfalls within it as a whole.
I have come with a theory about the way Virtual education works. I have come the conclusion that it is not as effective as learning inside a classroom. The reasons being that virtual education is done majority all on the computer you do not see your professor unless you request to do so. With that being said, when the students are learning the material they do not have access to their professor to ask him/her certain questions they have at the moment. Questions at the moment really helps the student understand the material because they are interpreting it in a way for them to grasp the concept.
Imagine reading through a chapter and as we read we find ourselves confused about what we read, we would have to write our questions down on a sticky note and make an appointment to see our professor to clear up the confusion. That seems like a very draining process. I’m use to seeing my professor at least a minimum of two times a week so I can just ask him in person and move along. Also, another reason why virtual education is not as effective as the traditional learning style is because I have noticed that when professor are giving lectures they use examples that are around us. For instance, my speech professor uses Florida State football as the primary bases of his examples. He knows that we are all Florida State students, we love our football team and then it is very relate able across the board. By our professor using this as an example throughout his lecture, it keeps us interested and makes us look at the information we are receiving in a different way.
This academic article titled Increasing Creativity in Virtual Learning Space for Developing Creative Cities pointed out a good point about virtual education as far as the virtual teacher goes. It states that "Teachers in smart schools not required being an expert in the field of information technology, but they should be aware of the school system and use its facilities well. A good teacher must know that resources are where, when students have questions, they can guide them well."
I strongly disagree with the requirements to be a virtual education teacher because when students can not understand what the text book is saying to them they will want to seek out extra help from the virtual education teacher. If the teacher is lost just as well as the student then why is she/he the professor to begin with. Yes, it is very important for the virtual education teacher to know how to function the course management site but at the same time she needs to be familiar with the material as well.
Textbooks and even online books no matter if it is customized for the school will not make us remember information and make it stick to memory. Virtual education relies heavily on textbooks or e-books for that matter and even when students are being taught in the traditional learning environment they do not really read their textbooks, just being honest. So what makes the student want to start reading the textbook thoroughly now that they are enrolled in an online course? I really believe that the professor plays a big role in the way that a student is being taught.
A textbook cannot make a student pay attention to the
textbook as he/she is starting to fall asleep or divert their attention to a
text message.
To conclude, virtual education may teach students a few
things in the course but nothing will really stick with them for years and years
to come because the students are just memorizing the information for their
on-line quiz or an assignment. Once they are done with the on-line quiz or
assignment the information that they stored in their brain is now forgotten
about. So, if anything virtual education teaches students how to function their
short term memory skills.
References:
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