IT IS NOT AS EFFECTIVE.

I took two online classes: World Geography and Spanish. I don't know where Greece is, and cannot count to 40 in Spanish, much less make multiple sentences. It is ridiculous the amount of information one can miss from online learning. After completing the online classes, with A+s might I add, I have had much more trouble than I should have with anything that had to do with Spanish or World Geography. Posted By: Anonymous
If the only aim is to obtain a piece of paper, or learn facts, there is surely no difference. I would not call that education, however.

Online instructors often do not have the credentials or experience of faculty who are hired to teach inperson. In online courses and schools, there are often there are very few to no opportunities to work on applied activities with experts (e.g. research). In my experience, online courses allow individuals to almost entirely ignore conflicting perspectives. In-person learning, requiring both oral discussion or debate and writing, will always require more diversity in problem solving and perspective-taking skills than an online course that requires only writing. However, I believe exposure to conflicting perspectives is one of the most important aspects to education; it promotes adaptive, critical-thinking and openmindedness. The lesser one is encouraged to be open-minded, the more they'll struggle to learn how to see problems and issues from new perspectives, and provide novel solutions. Education is not only about regurgitation of facts, it's about learning to think critically and creatively. In-person courses are superior at that, even though I think also that in-person courses are weaker at promoting this than they should be. Posted By: Anonymous
Effective in what sense? Creating a society socially and educationally dependent on the internet?

In my opinion that would be setting future generations up for failure. Yes, the most common and basic argument "learning in a comfortable environment away from distraction etc etc etc..." has its valid points, however does not in any way promote the growth and bettering of society and the community. Allowing another (whether it be a child or an adult) to work only under their proposed circumstances is cutting them off to a confined limit and negating any potential. In reality, there will always be distractions. Telling people that it is ok to work under their potential, stunts the growth of intellectual aspiration. People will never understand what they are capable of if they adhere to working inside their comfort

zones. Which is why working in the comforts and assurance of online education is not as effective as being proactive in the real world. Posted By: Ninaa Challenge to a Debate
What values do students derive online?

Online teaching is great as a supplemental tool. However, as long organizations still value face to face communication skills like presentations etc then the online classroom cannot be compared to the traditional one. An online classroom is not a great teaching tool for most of society because it hardly mirrors the reality of the workplace. Posted By: SamChiko Challenge to a Debate
No, part of school is interacting with others and developing social skills, and online education does not provide that in a comparable fashion.

Online education is a great option for many, and it allows people who otherwise would not be able to attend a brick and mortar institution an opportunity to take classes and receive degrees. It also tends to be a more cost-effective option for pursuing higher education. While this is an acceptable alternative, it is not as effective, nor is it as comprehensive an education, than what you would receive through traditional on-campus, in-person schooling. Part of attending school is about developing social skills and learning norms and traditions of our culture, not to mention, learning from the differences of the other students that you will encounter in school. This is greatly lessened in online education and will result in a less socially developed population, if this method overtakes traditional schools. One major part of being successful in life is socialization. While the book learning from online education might technically be almost comparable to traditional schooling, that is all that comes close. The absence of in-person student interaction and student-to-teacher interaction makes the difference between the types of schooling quite significant. Posted By: RapidGarret59
I disagree with online education being as beneficial as traditional schooling.

Online education may be helpful to people in certain situations but it is not as effective as on-campus learning. On campus learning has many benefits that can not be gained online. Teacher-student interaction as well as student-student interaction plays an important part in the learning process. Learning online can cause students to be detached and may hinder the learning process. Posted By: EducatedAlfonso
From experience as a student, no.

I have taken both online courses and real-life ones, unlike most people on this thread. There is so much potential for distraction and cheating (open a new browser window...). I am at a top university in the US and never cheat, but I still feel as though I can understand the desire to. One is too distracted, and in a classroom setting you're forced to stay (rather than get up, as you can easily do with a computer and no supervision) and work and participate. Posted By: Anonymous
No, because there are more distractions and temptations when getting an online education.

With an online education, it's even easier to cheat or let somebody else do your work for you, as the teacher could not physically see you. In addition, the teacher does not have any control when you are listening to music, playing games or talking on the phone while reading or listening to an online lecture. Posted By: FeIBuddy
Online education may never be as effective

Students who wish to learn something may have much to gain through the internet, but only using online education can be a deterrence. Students need teachers telling them what to do in real-time. They need people to demonstrate what to do, they need fellow students to interact with in person. School is a way for people to get out to experience the world, and being shut in a tight space in front of your computer all the time means you never have that true bond with your professor and fellow classmates than you had before. Posted By: Anonymous

The reason I disagree is that the people who got education online never meet the professor or work in laboratories.

I had experience in on-campus-schooling as well as online education. I found lots of difficulties in clearing doubts about subject and if you want to clarify or notify something about subject its quite difficult. In oncampus schooling you will be in direct contact with professors, libraries, laboratories and also you will also have lots of people who can clear your doubts. In online education, I think these things aren't possible. So, I support on-campus education. Posted By: geeniebooxp
Online education is not as effective as traditional schooling.

Learning a subject online, rather than in a classroom, is a poor method. Reading material alone, without the chance to ask questions and hear different interpretations of the material, will yield a shallow understanding of the subject. Students need the human interaction part of classroom learning. They need an expert, live and in person, to instruct them on their subject. Also, with online classes there is often a delay in the time a question is asked (usually via email) and the response given. This interrupts the flow of learning and takes more time. Posted By: CI4Give
I do not think that online schooling is as effective as on-campus learning.

As an educator, I feel that there is no equivalent to the kinetic learning that happens live in the classroom. My students learn both from me and from each other. I think that allowing my students to see me as a real person, complete with my tendency to stammer and wave my arms when I get excited about a discussion, makes them more excited and interested in learning from me. Online discussions can never have the same feeling of connection as one has when you talk to another person in class, and in my mind, that connection is a central part of learning. Posted By: Shim2free
I believe that on-campus schooling is the only effective way to learn new things.

Education is more than reading books and doing problem sets. It's about enjoying the classroom experience, the questions and the debates. Posted By: Pyr0Bar
No, online education is not as effective as face-to-face education because it lacks accountability as well as a community of discourse.

There are two enormous problems with online education. The first is accountability. There is no way of ascertaining that the student is actually submitting their own work, and there is no way of making accountability personalized or customized. Second, face-to-face classrooms are a community of discourse, particularly in upper level courses. This community is lacking or deficient online. Posted By: baltute
Nope! online education is not to be trusted

Reading is only a tool. So are videos, and so is the internet. As the great scientist Dr. Richard Feynman of cal tech observed "to educate is to explore." Education is a multi-faceted affair! Education begs for perspective, mentorship, coaching. It involves nuances rarely gleaned just from pages of a text and answering some clich questions. Education is about observing and exchanges and passion!. Education needs context. Yes, Google makes searches more efficient! True. And many technical fields can make a greater use of the internet (how to do this, that or the other). However, beyond mostly a technical vocational platform for adults already practicing in certain fields online education is a non starter. And certainly not suited for high school and college age students as a sole source of furthering ones education. I am specially afraid of the hordes of youth who are using this method to complete things that are an art and a science i.e. driver education etc. And many such courses with a need for an eyeball to eyeball heartfelt discourse.

Yes, online higher education is as effective as traditional.

I graduated high school and college under the traditional mode of education. I am not a shy person; in fact, I am an extrovert. However, all I could remember doing was listening to boring lectures and got nothing out of those professors or teachers standing or sitting their butts in front of the classrooms. All of my learning came when I got home with my textbooks opened while doing the homework exercises on my own. Those professors time would be better used for grading and critique assignments and papers. However, I do feel that online education and degrees should only be offered at the higher education level beyond K-12. By the way, I am pursuing an online master's degree. It requires a lot of work and writing skills. In addition, you have to be disciplined and self-motivated to succeed online. Posted By: hounkang Challenge to a Debate
Yes I think online education is much better than classroom learning.

An online course is such that a student has total control of his subjects, can time the classes according to his schedule, complete assignments or sit for exams according to his convenience. Students are taught online by only highly experienced and extremely proficient faculty. Students raise their questions and get their problems solved immediately through chatbox or email. There is healthy discussion among batchmates in every server thus creating healthy work relationships and encourages peer group learning. Posted By: Anonymous
Yes, I think online education is as effective as traditional schooling, because we can only learn what we want to learn, whether it is online or at school.

I think online education is very effective, and as effective, if not more, than on-campus schooling. Online education allows the student to learn in a comfortable environment, and without the distractions of other students. We can only learn so much, so going to a classroom is not going to help our learning any more, just because we are in a room with a teacher. Posted By: FemaleTyron73
Yes, because online education is as good as the user makes it.

So long as the online program covers the subject well, it's all up to the user to get a good education out of it. Be it homeschooling or college courses, applying oneself, without the distractions of a class and the hassle of a commute, can actually be better. Posted By: MarsBIue
Online education is effective, and it can even help more students graduate high school.

Ordinarily, I would say I prefer on-campus schooling. However, I know of a school which has implemented an on-line program. There were several students who originally would have dropped out of high school. In the online class, they were not distracted by their friends, they were not caught up in school drama, and they were given a chance to succeed. Due to the success of this school, I believe online education is awesome! Posted By: DizzyCasey
There are not Frat boys in the class

I have attended traditional, face-to-face, classes and without fail there is at least one frat guy, athlete, or someone hungover who has no real desire to be in class. They typically make comments that are out of context, misguided, and poor attempts to relive high school "cool." This distraction robe people of their chance to voice their own opinion. Often times the students with the most insight to give on a subject are not comfortable sharing their thoughts with a group of people where snide comments may follow. In the online forum, everyone has an equal voice. They are allowed to compose their thoughts and arguments before submitting them to the discussion, which results in more substance being added to the discussion. Eliminating the in class distractions of people who do not want to be there encourages learning and discussion. The self discipline of online learning is more in-line with the real world and career related tasks. Most people do not have supervisors or mangers giving step by step instructions. People are required to be meet deadlines and be responsible for participating. If you are self motivated, and can manage your own time online learning is for you. So long as you have the ability to learn on your own. This option requires you to search for answers and rely on your own intelligence to find answers to questions. Some people excel in this format, others need people demonstrating and lecturing material in order to grasp the content. d It really boils down to what kind of learner you are. There is no replacing the social aspect of a university campus. Everyone should experience the free learning environment. But that does not mean it is the best way to get a degree.

Posted By: Anonymous

Online education is as effective as traditional schooling, because it is just teaching in a different way.

Online education is as effective as traditional schooling, because students have to meet a certain grade criteria in order to get credit for the classes. Online schooling just offers a different means to get an education, and is a great way to do it for people who have children, or are trying to work and get a degree at the same time. Posted By: eyeslikethat
Online education provides an excellent source for learning because each student can work at his or her own pace.

There are no distractions from other students and the lessons can be completed at a time that is convenient for the student. Online instructors are available to offer assistance if needed, so the student is not left to decipher the material on his own. The lessons provided online are consistent for all students which corrects for the problem of one student getting a better teacher than another, as often happens in traditional schooling. Also, the cost of an online education is much less than what a traditional school would charge, making it available to those who may otherwise not be able to receive an education. Posted By: TownWett
More effective and better oppertunities.

Online education is often more fast paced compared to on-campus schooling. Children don't have the luxury of zoning out, falling asleep, misbehaving, becoming distracted, etc. in an online environment. It's success is directly contributed to the amount of involvement necessary from the student. We are able to save money by hiring well-educated professionals to transcribe one specific lesson plan that will reach thousands of students nationwide. Charter schools are a great example of this. The students still attend a class like setting, but complete all lessons and objectives online while being supervised by a well-rounded educational professional who is skilled in most subjects. If we were able to continue the expansion of schools such as these, we would be able to school more children on an equal educational basis, hire less incompetent and poorly mannered teachers, and potentially create educational opportunities in otherwise underprivileged neighborhoods, societies, and cultures.

Posted By: Anonymous

The online experience is teaching self discipline

Online learning teaches us that we can learn the same material on our own. Not only that, we tend to use that same information daily. The distractions are limited as well as the projects require us to really induldge in our work. When it comes to real life experiences, a majority of online schools require us to do externships to recieve that real life experience. It also saves us time because some of us are not able to drop everything, move into a dorm and spend 9 hours a day in a classroom setting without falling asleep. Posted By: Anonymous
I think online education is as effective as traditional on-campus schooling.

Depending on the way you learn online education can be even more beneficial than the traditional model. Online learning forces you to teach yourself subjects, which aides in comprehension and retention. However, some people need classroom atmospheres and learn best there. Ultimately it comes down to what is best for each student.. Posted By: LorenaH
Online Learning is Geared to Adults

Comparing online learning to traditional learning can be as effective as comparing apples to oranges. The reality is that the majority of people interested in online learning are adults who have real-life experiences in work and in families. These people benefit more strongly from the high level of responsibility, technological know-how, and intense writing needs of the online platform. Sports, teacher guidance, an face-to-face correspondance is not a necessary platform of learning that the adult learner needs. Most online learners already have experience in the field for which they are trying to garner a degree. Why should they leave their families at home, re-arrange their work schedules, and pay more in gasoline just to attend a traditional class? It's not necessary. Another fact about online learning, though, is that just as not all traditional schools are structured the same way, neither are online institutions. I've taken college courses in all formats, and must say, that conversing with a Spanish instructor who lived and worked in Spain seemed much more beneficial to my education than attending a classe on-campus.

High school students may not receive the same benefits of online learning, and that fact cannot be too highly disputed. These kids need a liason from highly-gaurded life toward self-sufficiency. For that function, they would most benefit from the old brick schools we think of when contemplating college. That's simply not as true for the adult, working population. Posted By: Anonymous
Yes, online education can be as effective as traditional on-campus schooling.

Each and every student is different. Their brains function is different ways, and sometimes their concentration cannot be kept by traditional facilitated school. If online education works best for certain students and offers an option to learn more effectively, then I think that it should be embraced. Posted By: Ch4ddMc
Online education is definitely as good as on-campus training if the individual student is disciplined and motivated to do the required work.

Online education is definitely as good as on-campus training if the individual student is disciplined and motivated to do the required work. When you go to school on-campus, the expense can be so great. So financially, it can be smart to do it online, again, if you are disciplined enough a person to do all of the work. Also, if you are a young person, the partying etc. that is expected on-campus will not be a distraction. Posted By: 5c4ryCar
Online education is a more efficient way to learn in some subject areas.

Depending on the grade level of the student, online learning can be a very efficient way to learn some subjects. Because the student is working independently, he/she can take more time studying something difficult, if necessary, or move ahead more quickly in areas that come easier. Online education can't replace everything that a real school can offer, such as music or drama classes, or the benefits of discussion with peers, but it can work well for some people. Posted By: N Schroeder 60
Online student

I am a well educated person who is as comfortable with virtual communication as speaking and listening. If you are not able to use a computer fluidly you may not prefer online learning. However, it is not going away and there are many advantages to it. I do not have to drive (that means cold, snow, gas, traffic and time.avoided). Also, if I am ill, don't want to shower, have to be home for a delivery, need to do laundry.you get the point. I can make much better use of my time. Lastly, the requirements in my graduate (online) classes are actually more demanding then the on campus classes I have taken. In this I am referring to the level of work quality expected, as well as the volume of work. I have taken many online classes. Given the advantages, and my increased productivity, online gets a big, big yes from me.