Running

Head: ONLINE LEARNING

Online Learning Holli A. Herrera Azusa Pacific University

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Online Education Online learning is defined as learning that takes place partially or entirely over the Internet (Means, 2010). As a student of online learning for the first time in this program, I was surprised at my personal results in this type of learning environment. Online learning was a choice for me based on convenience. The opportunity to complete college courses that worked with my schedule and lifestyle was the determining factor. Online learning also appeals to not only secondary education, but also primary education. Many school districts have also moved to online courses to expand what they can offer to students. Online learning has been added as an aim to close achievement gaps, improve student achievement, increase graduation rates, and expand availability of high-quality teachers to all students regardless of distance and location (Dawley, 2010). The opportunities that online learning can provide students has greatly increased. Classes that might not otherwise have been offered can be provided online. Online programs can allow the student that regularly moves and opportunity for stability regardless of location (Dawley, 2009). Many students who fail in traditional classroom setting can benefit from the online learning environment. Students have different learning styles and online learning can provide many modalities to meet a diverse group of learners. Research is now showing the benefits of online learning.

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Benefits

In my personal experience, I can say that online learning has been a pleasant surprise. I have become part of a close community of learners that supports each other like no traditional classroom ever has for me. I know my peers better than I have in face-to-face classes. In addition to peers, I communicate more with my professors more than I ever have. For the first time, I feel that my teachers really know me and are there for me when I need it. I am a visual and kinesthetic learner. Through online learning I have been able to retain more information and get involved in my learning more than ever before. I am a proactive learner in this environment, as it requires me to do so. In traditional classroom environments it was easy for me not be involved in the learning. I would tend to tune out quickly when instructors or teachers would talk and lecture. Online learning puts me in the drivers seat and therefore I am in control of what I learn, but at the same time cant just sail through unconsciously. This outcome came to a big surprise for me. I never thought that I would soar in regards to what I am learning in an online program. I thought it would be easy and work with my family lifestyle. It is the complete opposite. Online learning is rigorous, yet purposeful. It is very time- consuming, yet not a waste of time. It is enjoyable and I feel like a group rather than an individual. The best part is that I am not an isolated case. A recent report on online education from the Department of Education concluded on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction (Lohr, 2009).

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Not only is my personal experience evidence of the benefits of online learning, but also many others are experiencing the same results. The reasons for the increased performance include increased learning time, innovative curriculum and pedagogy, opportunities for collaboration and reflection, and learner control over interactions and media (Dawley, 2010). These characteristics are important for the success of online learning. There have been courses that do not include opportunities for collaboration and reflection therefore affecting student results. When each component is put in place, student achievement is greater for online learning compared to traditional classroom instruction. In this program I have also noticed the difference in my learning based on the structure and pedagogy of the courses. I have seen how a course that is not well organized with the curriculum has had a negative effect on my learning. The lack of Internet interactions to guide my learning along with little collaboration opportunity and reflection really made for a lack of learning on my part. It also affected my motivation in the course. Online learning enables more learning by doing, which many students find more engaging and useful (Lohr, 2009). Online learning is typically student- directed, independent learning or interactive and collaborative in nature (2010). It is learning through discovery and interaction. People have several means in which to retain information. We can retain information by seeing, hearing, saying, and doing. As each level is integrated, greater retention is acquired. The most impacting on our learning is the doing. As a result the overall findings of a meta-analysis study by the Department of Education showed that classes with online learning

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(whether taught completely online or blended) on average produced stronger student learning outcomes than do classes with solely face-to-face instruction (Means, 2010). Online vs. Blended Online learning is expanding rapidly. There are different types of online learning to consider when evaluating its success. Collages have adapted courses that are solely online. This masters program is entirely online and no form of traditional face-to-face instruction takes place. There have been synchronous online meetings that have allowed for real-time discussion. It had been in my experience that the most valuable use of online meeting time is discussion of learning and reflection. The use of time to address questions and expand on previously reviewed topics has been beneficial to my learning. Meetings that are presented as lecture and teacher- centered instruction with little interaction, have not been valuable to my learning. Although there are some real-time interactions, they are still all online and therefore not identified as face-to-face instruction. Research has shown that online learning is just as effective compared to face-to-face instruction. Online learning does not have to entirely take place online at all times. Many institutions and districts are providing courses that use blended learning. Blended learning combines face-to-face, synchronous conversations, and asynchronous interactions. The combinations of the three have proved to be a valuable land successful learning structure. It has the potential to be far greater than any model of online learning thus far imagined, but only if the tools are used properly and if the

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balance of offline interaction and online learning are aligned (Walpert-Gawron, 2011). There are components essential to successful online learning classes, and the same goes for blended learning. Most importantly synchronous communication and face-to-face interaction are needed for blended learning. Assessments should be real-time as either face-to-face or online. Synchronous interactions should take place multiple times throughout the class. Differentiation of content delivery and discussion methods is important for learning. The class size should also be limited for the best possible learning experience. When using a combined online and face- to-face instruction, on average, stronger learning outcomes took place compared to face-to-face instruction alone (Means, 2010). Online Learning Growth When graduating college ten years ago, the thought of taking an online course was out of the question for me. I believed that I would not perform well in an online environment. The lack of interaction online would surely make it difficult for me to learn. I couldnt have been more wrong. Although online learning has been a process and has changed over the years, it has improved the learning for many. It will soon become the norm in available courses and required by districts. Not only are online courses growing, but school virtual schools are also becoming increasingly popular. Thirty states now have full-time online schools. In K-12 schools nearly 2,000,000 students were enrolled in online courses with 74% of them in high school. In addition 74% of school districts with distance education programs

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planned to expand online offerings over the next three years. Seven states including Michigan, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Virginia, and West Virginia require online learning for high school graduation (iNACOL, 2012). It is easy to see that online learning is growing and becoming a more accepted method of instruction. Experts say that blended learning is on of the fastest- growing areas of online course taking. The number of students using online courses increased by 47% from 2005-2006 school year to the 2007-2008 school year. Conclusion Online education can provide many benefits to the learner. It is an environment that has proven to be successful in many cases. The doors have been opened up in the opportunity to choose from various schools, programs, and locations. The ability to have access to courses 24 hours a day and 7 days a week allows the learner flexibility in their learning. This can result in more motivation for the student likeliness of success due to the student-centered teaching approach. In my opinion, the greatest advantage is the amount of collaboration that takes among learners. A close community is created not only resulting in life-long learning, but possible life- long friendships. This growing trend is quickly becoming the norm in education. It is time that educators embraced the new wave of learning that meets the needs of all learners, while allowing for more opportunities to become critical thinking problem solvers.

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References

Davis, M. (2010). School Factoring E-Courses Into the Daily Learning Mix: Educators say hybrid approach is taking off because it offers academic classes not otherwise available to many students. Education Week: e-learning. Retrieved from http://www.inacol.org/research/research.php Dawley, L. (2010). Research Roundup: Online Learning. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/stw-online-learning-research- roundup iNACOL. (2012). Facts About Online Learning: Key K-12 Online Learning Stats. Retrieved from http://www.inacol.org/research/reports.php Littlefield, J. (2012). What Does Research Say About Online Learning? Online Learning Statistics. Retrieved from http://distancelearn.about.com/od/distancelearning101/tp/Online- Learning-Statistics.htm Lohr, S. (2009). The New York Times: Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom. Retrieved from http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/study-finds-that-online- education-beats-the-classroom/ Means, B. (2010). U.S. Department of Education: Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practice in Online Learning (A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies).

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Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2011). Blended Learning: Combining Face-to-Face and Online Education. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blendedonline-learning-heather-wolpert- gawron?page=2