Online learning

Abstract

The education system tends to be changing, and it has created a new path to acquiring education and students are taking advantage of it. Online learning is becoming a new paradigm of modern education. The brick and mortar classroom has started losing its monopoly as a place of learning. The Internet tends to make online learning possible, and most educators and researchers are showing interest in online learning to improve and enhance the learning outcomes of students. It is necessary that the researchers and the educators should consider the impact of online learning on the satisfaction of students. In this study, it will focus on examining the perception of students with regards to online learning. The research method that will be applied to conduct the study is surveying with a systematic random sampling method as the technique for identifying the study participants.

Introduction

The internet has made significant changes in almost every aspect of our lives that range from the global economy, professional networks, personal networks, and learning. Through the internet, it has made the online learning to be possible. Online learning is considered as a form of distance learning that has become a large part of the education system (Moore et al. 2011). Education tends to be a key aspect of sustainable development and technology is enabling the faculty members and the students to learn and teach online. Today, there is a broad range of learning methods that exist such as blended learning, distance learning, and e-learning that use information and communication technology. The use of internet provides a lot of benefits to students and mostly those in rural areas who enjoy the benefit of attending classes as distance learners. The growth of online learning is being driven by the need for and the potential of offering education in less costly ways, effective learning, increase access to information, and greater flexibility (Moore et al. 2011).

According to Sun et al. (2006), online learning offers a lot of advantages that include liberating the interaction between the teacher and the learner or the learner and learner from the limitations of space and time through the synchronous and asynchronous learning network model. Online learning does provide students with the opportunity of accessing courses at their convenience and pace. With online learning, students are usually able to interact anytime with different institutional materials through the internet.

It is also possible for the students to communicate with classmates and teachers individually and in group discussions with the use of video conferencing, instant messages, and message board. According to Liaw (2008), the online learning environment does create high-level communicative environments that tend to allow the learners to share information and also determine how to retrieve the useful information. The learning activities in online learning also offer the instructors and learners a chance of sharing their experience and knowledge (Liaw, 2008). As the use of online learning is becoming more widespread in the education system, it is becoming increasingly essential to examine what students perceive about this learning style. Thus, this study aims to present an understanding of how students perceive online learning.

Research questions

In conducting the study, the study will be guided by the research question

1.      How do students perceive online learning based on their learning experience?

Literature review

The growth of online learning has increased the competition among learning institutions. According to Song et al. (2004), online learning students tend to be attracted by the flexibility and the convenience of the online courses. Online learning offers flexibility as it is easier to work in collaborative groups in the case of online courses without having to rearrange the schedule of everyone. The choices in relation to the learning experience are also a positive aspect of online courses. Song et al. (2004) purpose that the ability of freely selecting and choosing from the list of diverse learning experience does enable students to find the approach that fits well with their way of learning. Convenience is also an aspect of online learning which is identified as a positive experience. During the online learning, students are able to participate in the discussions at a time that is most convenient for them. Song et al. (2004), states that, students do have the chance of accessing the course materials from their computers and at the place most convenient for them. In support of these findings, Liaw (2008) supported that online learning offers convenience because students can read and respond to comments in the online discussion during the times that are convenient to them such as late evening and early morning.

 According to Liaw (2008) he identified some of the benefits of online learning. The benefits associated with online learning include the ability of participants accessing the learning material at any time and any place, group collaboration, and asynchronous interaction. Online education is also considered to help in increasing the enrollment or the time in schools as the programs do reach the underserved regions for students who are not able to attend the traditional schools. Hurt (2008) conducted a study to examine the benefits and the disadvantages of online teaching and learning. Those students in the online environment are claimed to show greater improvement than the traditional school counterparts in researching, learning independently, critical thinking, time management, decision-making, creative thinking, and problem solving. According to Hurt (2008), the online program does offer the advantage of keeping discussions alive and staying connected with students. With online learning, students are forced to write better and more, read more, and learn more on their own. The online assignments and discussion threads tend to provide the students with the chance of reflecting on the material and revisiting it more.

Irrespective of the benefits identified with online learning, there has been an indication that most students who take online learning do not finish them, which indicates that there is something wrong with the online learning program. The dissatisfaction of students with online learning is based on disadvantages include the absence of learning atmosphere, lack of a firm framework for encouraging students to learn, online learning minimizes the level of contract, and the learning process tend to be less efficient. Hurt (2008) identify isolation as being a disadvantage of online learning. With online learning, it is possible for students to feel isolated and separated due to lack of face-to-face contact. The researcher also claimed that there is the disadvantage associated with limitation that dial-up internet access in rural areas. The dial up connections for students in the rural areas can prohibit students from using additional technology (Hurt, 2008).

Thompson & Ku (2005), states that, online learning is not the most effective choice in all the situations. Some students tend to feel isolated and also parents show concerns regarding the social development of students and those students who have language difficulties can experience challenges in the text-heavy online environment. According to Maier & Paechter (2010) the virtual students tend to show less improvement than traditional students in speaking and listening skills. Students tend to prefer online learning as it offers opportunities for self-regulated learning. The acquisition of self regulated learning is well supported in online learning because the learners can be able to process information according with their individual preferences at any place and time. It is also possible for learners to select and then examine the material from a pool of information. Maier & Paechter (2010) states that students tend to prefer online learning because of it provides the possibility of exercising and also applying knowledge and applying meta-cognitive self regulation strategies like monitoring the learning progress of an individual.

According to Diaz & Entonado (2009), there is a need for considerable progress so as to enable the society to take full advantage of online learning. Diaz & Entonado (2009) conducted a study to highlight the possible strengths and risks that can help improve the role of teachers in the traditional face to face and online instructions. The researchers used various thematic blocks from training program with teachers who taught two groups of students one from the online class and the other from the face-to-face course. From the study, the researchers found that the only difference that may exist between the two was the consequences of the teacher involvement and commitment of institution in programming the learning process.

Diaz & Entonado (2009) found that the structure and the design of theoretical content of e-training program are more satisfactory and efficacious than that of the face-to-face program. That is because in the face-to-face program, the instructors must have previous mental structure of the content that they develop in the course for the theoretical explanation. The activities that are used in online learner tend to be satisfactory that the traditional one. When compared to face-to-face learning, the explanation of concept tends to take priority over practice of activities. Hence, the online learners need to cope with the large amount of practical content that can cause some of these learners to give up. Diaz & Entonado (2009) concluded that there was no significant difference between the teacher’s functions in the two modes, but any difference that may exist is because of the teacher involvement in the programming of the learning process.

There are multiple studies conducted to examine the experiences of students in the online courses. Vonderwell (2003) conducted a study to explore the asynchronous communication perspectives and the experiences of students the in online course. The findings of the study offer an explanation of strategies, factors, and barriers that must be taken and also suggest how to overcome barriers when using asynchronous communication tool for learning. The perspectives and the experiences of students have the ability of determining the effectiveness of online learning. According to Vonderwell (2003), the social interaction among students does play a vital part in the learning process and impacts the learning outcomes. Learning usually occurs through collaboration, cooperation and negotiation and offers the learners the chance of negotiating, discussing, arguing, and reflecting on then existing knowledge and beliefs. With the asynchronous communication, it tends to have limitations that do minimize the aspects of communication and obstruct student learning (Vonderwell 2003). The lack of the low level of social cues and emotions like body language can influence the learning and interaction of students. In the examination of online learning, Vonderwell (2003) found that some students preferred online learning because it offered the opportunity of being anonymous that allows them to ask questions to instructors.  Students in online learning tend to indicate that there is a delay that does influence interaction and learning in the asynchronous communication. Thus, it is essential for instructors to offer prompt response and feedback to the questions asked by students.

Song et al. (2004) purpose that learning in the online environment may be rewarding and has rich experience for the instructors and the learners and mostly when the tool used is effectively utilized. The online courses may be successful if developed for the instruction and conducted the same and yield the same results as the direct instruction. The results of the study by Song et al. (2004) showed that the students agreed that the learner motivation, course design, comfortableness, and time management with the online technologies do impact the success of the learning experience. Time constraints, technical problems, and the lack of sense of community tend to be challenges associated with online learning.

The lack of immediacy in responding to the online context is a major weakness with this system of learning. Recent studies show similar results such as a study by Vonderwell (2003) that indicates the disadvantage of online course being the delay in feedback from the instructor. The lack of a sense of community is also a weakness with the online learning experience. Vonderwell (2003) indicates that for the online learning participants, they lacked connection with the instructor and mostly the one-on-one relationship. One participant claimed that he felt he knew little about the instructor, but not the same way he would if he was in the class.

There are several factors that influence the experience of online learning users including educational level, age, employment status, and culture. Thompson & Ku (2005) conducted a study to explore the experiences of Chinese graduate students and their attitude towards online learning. The study included seven participants taking online courses in the US. The participants claimed that the online learning was an exciting experience and some features most liked about online learning included easy record keeping, resource sharing, and convenience. However, the researchers found that the lack of cultural exchange was a key concern with online learning. The cultural differences in online learning tend to be a major issue when it comes to online learning.

According to Thompson & Ku (2005), in the online environment, the primary mode of communication depends on written English. Thus, it is very difficult for the international students to communicate properly with the native English speakers. The online learning environment tends to be a challenge for the international students where there are different cultures. Because of the cultural challenges when it comes to online learning, not all participants examined by Thompson & Ku (2005) showed that they enjoyed completely learning online. The results indicate that students enjoyed the combination of face-to-face and online learning. According to the researchers, the blended approach of learning is better as it facilitate engagement and connection between the students and many other aspects of the learning experience.

In the study by Thompson & Ku (2005) they found that the Chinese students did put a lot of effort in online courses that the traditional courses because they were supposed to do more writing and reading tasks in the online environment. Despite being required to spend time searching for unfamiliar words the in dictionary, online learning was considered as beneficial because it enabled the student to learn and also comprehend the information better. Major & Blackmon (2012) conducted a study to investigate the student’s experience in the online learning environment. Those students who normally use their time well are likely to perform and learn better than students who do not have excellent time management skills. Maier & Paechter (2010) claims that then self-regulated learners understand how to manage time because they know the deadlines and how long it is going to take to complete an assignment. Thus, they do prioritize on the learning tasks and evaluate the difficult from easy tasks through identifying the time needed to complete the tasks. The ability of managing time does influence the experiences of students in online learning.

Major & Blackmon (2012) found that the online courses do allow the students to get involved in their learning; hence, students tend to feel responsible of their course outcomes. The students who feel a sense of responsibility does demonstrate a positive experience with online learning (Major & Blackmon 2012). The accessibility of the instructor is a factor that influences the experiences of students in the learning environment. From the study by Major & Blackmon (2012), it is clear that students usually take online courses due to several reasons and these factors do influence their experience. So as to ensure success in online learning, students need to make sure that they have to balance family and work, manage time, and make personal commitment. The instructors are also supposed to establish the presence during the absence of physical co presence, work to establish a sense of community, and build relationship with students (Major & Blackmon 2012).

Studies indicate that the students who take online learning have a higher rate of dropping out as compared to their counterparts in the traditional classes. Levy (2007) conducted a study to examine the student dropouts and persistence in the e-learning courses. The findings show that the satisfaction of learners with online learning a primary indicator of the decision by students to drop out from online courses. The students who drop out of the online courses indicated that they have low satisfaction with the e-learning than those students who successful completed the e-learning courses. The satisfaction of students with online learning is a key factor in measuring the effectiveness of online learning. Kerr et al. (2006) stated that some students prefer the traditional class learning environment because of the faculty-student interaction. In the traditional environment, the professor tend to provide the clear goals and objectives for the individual and group assignments, make sure assignments are completed, and also provide encouragement and support to students who may otherwise drop out. Thus, the satisfaction level of students with e-learning course highly correlates with issues such as the instructor discourse facilitation, instructional design and organization, and the instructor direct interaction (Levy, 2007).

The factors that contribute to the satisfaction of students can help in determining the drivers the of effective online learning environment. () identify the student satisfaction from online learning as a major factor that influence the decision of the student to either drop out or complete the course. In the effort of determining the causes of drop out for online students, (Levy, 2007) found that the students are more likely of dropping the online learning courses if they have a low college status and if they are in early term of their studies. Thus, the less experienced students are more likely of dropping out of online courses than the experience students. Kanuka & Anderson (2007) claims that the positive attitude of students may positive impact the experience of students with online learning. The technical support, timely interaction between students and interaction, and the student-student interaction is vital to the satisfaction of learners with the online learning.

While studies show that there an is increase in drop-out rate for online course students, Thirunarayanan & Perez-Prado (2002) state that the students taking online courses demonstrate more achievement than the classroom-based counterparts. Thirunarayanan & Perez-Prado (2002) aimed to compare the student’s achievement of students taught ESOL in the classroom setting and online setting. The researchers claimed that the students enrolled in online courses demonstrated some slight difference in achievement when compared to the classroom based courses. The results indicate that the online learning is as effective as the traditional strategies and there are no major differences with regards to the academic performance between online courses and the classroom based courses. Online learning is an effective teaching strategy and it providing experiences that are flexible, open, and distributed; thus, offering the opportunity for interactive, engaging, and efficient instruction.

Kerr et al. (2006) wanted to examine the student characteristics for online learning. The characteristics identified that predict success for online students include independent learning, writing and reading skills, computer literacy, and motivation. The learning style of a learner can help predict the pattern of the learner’s participation in the online courses. Independent learning includes the ability to manage time, set goals, and balance multiple tasks. Kerr et al. (2006) purport that the independent learning tend to positively associate with the internet efficacy and that students with high scores of independent learning have higher course grades than low independent learners. The computing experience is considered a strong predictor of the attitude towards and the use of internet and computers.

In the study by Kerr et al. (2006), the student with higher computer skills indicate high internet self-efficacy and students increased their computer skill through instructions that needed accessing and completing assignments online. As students acquire computer skills, they tend to perform well in the online course provided they haven other qualities such as writing and reading proficiency, independent learning, and high self-esteem. According to Kerr et al. (2006), so as to be effective and successful in online learning, it is important to have excellent computer skills, high self-esteem, and independent learning and motivation as they are essential components that affect the experience of students in online learning environment. The student learning may be the direct result of their satisfaction. The positive attitude of students towards online learning may result to an increased motivation and enhance learning.

Research method

Research is considered as the method of steps that are used in collecting and analyzing information so as to increase the understanding of an issue or a topic. The study will use the qualitative research methodology in collecting and analyzing the data. The qualitative research method normally allow the researchers to get the inner experiences of participants, determine how meanings are formed, and discover variables. The qualitative research is normally done so as to understand the attitudes and experiences of people in a bound setting (Bianco & Carr-Chellman 2002). The aim of the paper is to understand how students perceive online learning; thus, the qualitative research method is the appropriate strategy for understanding this specific context.

According to Bianco & Carr-Chellman (2002), there tend to be a viable match between online learning environment and the qualitative perspective. The qualitative method normally needs an understanding of participants so as to develop understanding and meaning of the perspectives. Hence, it is important to understand the meaning that participants do attach to the issue that is being studied rather than the meaning that the research has regarding the issue.

In collecting data, survey research design will be used. The survey research does include any measurement procedures that involve asking questions to the participants. Survey is considered as the study of population through the observation of members. Most surveys normally use a sample of members in measuring the population characteristics. The survey research design tends to be a valuable tool in assessing the opinions of respondents. The advantage of using surveys as a method of data collection is that it is flexible as a questioning technique in the amount of questions asked, the in topic covered, and also in different ways of interaction with the study participants. The survey is also a preferred method of collecting data because of the ability of providing quick results and profiles. With the use of survey, it offers the advantage of asking targeted question, reducing sampling and non-sampling bias, and improving the quality and the accuracy of responses. In doing the survey, the face-to-face method will be conducted as it will enable the research to observe the reactions of the respondents. The face-to-face is appropriate as it allows the researcher to be selecting on whom to ask questions and also explain anything that the respondents might not understand.

The sampling method that will be used is purposive sampling. The purposive sampling is a technique where the researcher tends to rely on his own judgment when selecting the members of the population who will participate in the study. When using purposive sampling, it is possible to get a representative sample through the use of sound judgment that in turn helps to save money and time. The purposive sampling method will help in making judgment on selecting respondents who will be of help in answering the research questions and help achieve the objective of the study. With this sampling method, it will help select the students taking online learning and examine their perspectives regarding online learning.

Reference

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Carolyn Morgan is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in research paper writing services if you need a similar paper you can place your order from Top American Writing Services.