Online Learning

There are debates nowadays over online learning versus traditional learning. The article titled “Why Online Education Works”. It targets on the positive aspects of online college classes. The article states that online learning changes how universities teach which in turn there are significant advantages to it.

The author, Alex Tabarrok describes the advantages of online education as leverage, which includes that the college student possesses the opportunity to be taught by the finest instructors, teachers can easily access more students, it can be time-saving, and it gives the student flexibility as well as more individualized teaching. I selected this subject because I understand the importance of online education and I as well think it is a great alternative to attending class.

Many students nowadays are not the conventional learner and have to work and don’t possess the time to commit in a classroom because of the type of employment I do. Needing to work a full-time job without having a regular schedule can make it tough to make it to school in time, this really is a primary reason it does work best for me.

There is a lot to consider when deciding which course type, online or conventional will work best for you so you must be sure you are taking into account all sides, weighing out the advantages and drawbacks. The discussion Alex Tabarrok is establishing in the article is that online learning is significantly increasing the productivity and quality of educating.

The argument relies on the author’s analysis regarding how there has been little change to educational institutions that had been in a position to maintain their existence and how online education can possibly reach more students. He provides examples of the drawbacks to late night classes and how fatigue generally sets in after 9:30 pm. He also offers the argument of learners not being able to retain as much when they take a night course or their instructor being as sharp as they need to be due to the fatigue.

The quality of knowledge being given or what the student is retaining will decrease due to being exhausted. The student will never be giving their best and they will not be getting the best from their instructor either (Tabarrok, 2012). Alex Tabarrok claims that the learners can be taught by the best instructors online and teachers may teach students from worldwide.

To support this claim he uses the example of how his 15-minute TED talk video was among his best 15 minutes of teaching and was viewed over 700,000 times. That is similar to 175,000 student hours. Though TED talks are not regarded as a course that can count toward a degree, these are totally free and we can learn from them.

He compares teaching today to a stage play, and online education is more similar to a movie. The reasons used to back up the claim of quality in the instructor is because, for a movie, the actors are better compared to the typical stage actor. Movie actors are better than the average stage actor for the reason that you have more time to prepare to be sure it is your best work. This is one-way online education leverages the power of the best instructors (Tabarrok, 2012).

This is often regarded as biased since he is making the assumption that an online teacher is superior to a classroom teacher. Comparing a classroom teacher to a stage actor and an online instructor to a movie star is not a good explanation.

An objection referred to with online education is the fact the classroom experience provides a greater opportunity for individualized learning, Alex Tabarrok see’s it as the exact opposite.His argument is because online learning may be much more customized because you are not sitting in a classroom with 100 different students, it is more one on one along with you and the teacher.

You will have the chance to ask questions and interact with the professor along with other individuals through electronic mail and discussion posts. His analysis demonstrated that at Virginia Tech, classes of 100-plus are not uncommon. It can be difficult for anyone in the classroom to have a chance to ask questions due to if every student has a question to ask, you will not have any time for the lesson.

An example provided is in a class of 50, in the event that each learner got a question, there would be no time for a lecture. Questions could be asked at any time and do not interfere with a session. Also, professors who teach online courses are placed to a greater slandered due to the possibility of review.

Which means that errors made by the teacher through online learning are easily caught through the classroom, the likelihood is no one is going to catch it. For instance, in the event that a student asks an instructor a question in the classroom, the teacher may answer incorrectly and it would most likely never be caught however this is not the case with online courses in which everything the instructor communicates is documented.

He additionally points out that when in a classroom and 20% of the class requires something repeated, 80% of the students that got it are experiencing to hear it over again while the online students are actually in power over what they need to listen to the second time (Tabarrok, 2012).The most significant benefit of online learning is the flexibility. You can focus on your assignments when it is most convenient for you given that online programs offer 24/7 accessibility to the lesson’s materials.

A number of individuals may do their best work in the morning while some might at night, this allows you to do your work in the course of the hours you will be most productive (Hickey, 2017).

It also helps if you are working full time and can’t conveniently make it to school.Although Alex Tabarrok has a credential as an author, co-author, chairperson, director of research and co-founder of the online educational platform Marginal Revolution University and Professor of Economics at George Mason University, his arguments do not possess a lot of credibilities and are biased.

For example, he uses the Ted Talk comparing it to teaching which is assuming that viewing the video is the equivalent of learning. He also fails to provide any specific counterarguments in his article to compare any other side. Although he gives numerous examples to back up his reasons he fails to present outside resources to back up each of his claims.

Without having outside sources, it is hard to understand if the information he is providing in his argument is reliable or not.My point of view of my alternative argument is the fact that online learning can work and does provide many advantages. My premise is that technology has a positive roll in student learning since it is convenient and you obtain faster feedback on online education.

I produce this claim as a result of the e-assessments which have been carried out and the results for online learning have been positive. This argument considers the effect of e-assessments. An e-assessment is referred to as the iterative procedures of developing what, how much and how well students are learning with regards to the education goals and projected results in an effort to inform designed formative feedback and support further learning (Baleni, A.G. pg2).

A number of weak points in this argument are that online education might not work for everyone and additional research needs to be done to conclude if it is in fact better.An opposing side of the argument that I notice is the fact there is an intense requirement for self-discipline and although technology can play a positive role there can be limitations also.

Alex Tabarrok doesn’t discuss either of them in his argument of how online education is better nevertheless I consent that this could be an issue. When it comes to self-discipline, the article mentions how meeting the deadlines for assignments and tests can be hard unless you possess time management techniques and organization skill sets to stay on top of your work.

With regards to the technological innovation, you must be sure that you always have accessibility to the internet considering that for any reason your system crashes or perhaps you don’t have accessibility to the web you will have a backup plan.personally, I think that as a result of online education works for me, I am can be biased.

The flexibility has afforded me the possibility to continue my learning while working full time. I don’t always catch on as fast as other individuals so I need more time to work on assignments and usually require additional clarification on precisely what is expected however I am still capable to get it done due to the overall flexibility. In a classroom, I don’t think I would feel at ease asking questions so it is less difficult online in which the communication between learners and the teacher is mainly one on one.

I want to be open-minded and examine all sides of the arguments and feel that online education will work but may not be for everybody.Basically, I feel that online learning is beneficial but you need to be very self-disciplined and make sure you stay in front of your work and be prepared for any kind of challenges you may encounter.

You have to create a connection with the professor and peers and stay engaged in the discussions. It will be helpful to be computer literate making sure you are utilizing all assets provided to you by the school.My initial opinions after reading Alex Tabarrok’s article was that he made many legitimate points. That was not until I conducted further research and allowed myself to step back, reevaluate and ask questions that I understood his article was way more one-sided and biased.

The questions I looked at to answer were, exactly what resources did he use, was his argument based upon facts and evidence or maybe opinions, furthermore, did he offer reasons why you should support his statements that were convincing. I had to ask myself how strong was his argument and can I find leads to refute it based on evidence. I had to put in writing a number of reasons exactly why I supported his side and then the reason why I would not examine whether an individual could argue that with me.

How certain was I of my argument? This assisted me to believe logically and provide you with my conclusion. I think everybody is a little biased but we have to make sure we are doing the proper research and holding an open mind. It truly is about the facts along with the proof to support the claim.

Keeping an open mind and trying to concentrate on the facts and proof will help everyone greatly in our daily lives. Often we jump to conclusions and allow our emotions get in the way. I have usually said doing the right thing is normally the toughest and trying to not be biased and act on emotions can be extremely difficult.

We are only human and will fall short every day, it is about striving our best to look at all sides and doing unto others as we want to be done unto us. Giving every person the benefit of the doubt.