Conclusion

Throughout my posts, I have come to the conclusion that virtual education has many benefits to it. Two major benefits are that it is improving student’s capacity for learning and is cost-beneficial. Through allowing more time for professors and students to conduct in research and to increase classroom participation, it has amplified student’s knowledge on the material. Also, online homework systems allow for students to receive feedback and it gives them helpful hints on how to work out the problems, which in return is improving students test scores. In my opinion, universities should keep implementing online tools and courses. There are improvements that still need to be made in virtual education, such as improving the efficiency of online programs. However, I predict that with the technology out there virtual education will only continue to improve. I also predict that there will be an increasing amount of universities who will put in place more virtual education programs and it will become apart of every students education.

Societal Factors Influencing Virtual Education

There have been societal factors that have increased the use of course management systems. I mentioned in an early posts about how the struggling economy has increased the use of online education because of its cheaper cost. Other factors that have increased the use of virtual education are “changing student demographics, increased competition, and declining governmental support” (Essary, 2014, p.1).  There has been an increase in older students enrolling in higher education. The nontraditional students such as those who are older than 24 and have to allocate their time between academics and a full-time job are increasingly taking more online classes because of the convenience of them.  A study found that “thirty-two percent of married students and twenty nine percent of students with one or more dependents are enrolled in at least one distance learning class, compared to eighteen percent of students without these characteristics” (Essary, 2014, p.3). This is because of the increased need for flexibility in taking classes for this demographic. There is also an increased competition of getting into schools, with enrollment having increased 37% between 2000 and 2010 (Essary, 2014, p.4). This has lead to a higher need for online classes. Overall, societal factors have been increasing the need for and use of course management systems.

Here is a chart that shows the increase in use of online classes at Athens State University. 

Essary, Michael L. "Key external factors influencing successful distance education programs." Academy of Educational Leadership Journal 18.3 (2014): 121+. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Online Homework Systems

Throughout my college career, more and more of my classes are assigning homework using online homework systems. This can have pros and cons to it. In my experience one of the cons are that it can take students longer to do the homework online than just doing it out on paper. This is seen mostly in my accounting classes where there are a lot of problems that we have to work out. This can take longer working them out on the computer than it does when I work them out on my own paper. However, research has shown that there are a lot of benefits to using online homework systems. For the ones worried that online homework could decrease students performance, this is actually the opposite. Research has shown that online homework is as effective, if not more effective than traditional paper homework. In a study using an online homework system called WebAssign for Calculus and Algebra, students performed higher on tests than those that did traditional paper and pencil homework (Burch, K.J., Kuo, Yu, 2010, p.2). This could be due to the fact that a lot of online homework systems will provide users with extensive hints and examples and also give instant feedback after they work out the problem. In a study using MyMathLab, which is a component of CourseCompass, “students could review and reattempt their homework assignments without penalty” and were given their “scores for every homework problem and were assured their answers were correct” (Burch, K.J., Kuo, Yu, 2010, p.5). This was an advantage over students who did traditional paper and pencil homework, for they were only given “correct solutions to the problems that were graded and were therefore unsure if some of their problem solving techniques were correct” (Burch, K.J., Kuo, Yu, 2010, p.5). This could be a reason why students who used programs online to do homework outperformed those who used traditional paper and pencil homework. Another study at the University of North Dakota found that calculus students using online homework systems improved their learning. This study found that students had a positive attitude for these online homework systems and that this “resulted in students completing more homework outside of class” (Burch, K.J., Kuo, Yu, 2010, p.3). All in all, it seems that the online homework systems seem to be a benefit to students. This relates back to my former posts of how online education is creating smarter and more knowledgeable students. The technological determinism theory is showing how using online homework systems gives students reassurance and helpful hints, therefore leading to higher test scores and performance.

I have attached a video of a tutorial and the benefits of an online homework system MathXL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALeZmVJHUIg

Burch, K. J., & Kuo, Y. (2010). TRADITIONAL VS. ONLINE HOMEWORK IN COLLEGE ALGEBRA. Mathematics and Computer Education, 44(1), 53-63. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/235939210?accountid=4840

Canada, P. (2011, June 20). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ALeZmVJHUIg

Pros of Online Education

With today’s struggling economy, and universities getting more and more expensive, more students have turned to taking courses online. According to the American Journal of Nursing, “online education is a way to meet a growing need for affordable bachelor of sciences in nursing degrees” (McCrobie, 2007, p.13). This doesn’t just apply to nursing majors though; online education can be more affordable for any majors. Online education can also help universities out by increasing “program capacity because it’s not limited by geography and to save money because they don’t have to pay for classrooms and can recruit qualified field instructors to work with university professors” (McCrobie, 2007, p.13). However, even though it might be cheaper for both students and universities, some worry that online courses might affect research and scholarly enterprise at universities or will cause a decline in the amount of quality of study (Sive, 2013, p.277). Sive believes this will not happen though. He states that online courses will “aid interdisciplinary work by enabling greater access to conceptual or technical tuition” (Sive, 2013, p.277). The technological determinism theory shows here how online education has increased student’s capacity for learning. It is opening up more doors by making it more affordable for students and by offering more resources for research and information. Sive also found that “the time in a faculty member’s schedule that is freed up through the use of online material is invested back into ‘flipped’ classrooms- students have already studied lecture material online, meaning that class time is used for discussion, hands-on activities, problem solving and research” (Sive, 2013, p.278). This is creating many opportunities for universities to teach more material and for students to learn more information. In my experience, many of my classes utilize online tools as well as teaching in class. They will give us extra notes, assignments, or lectures online for us to look at to further our knowledge on the material. This allows more time for classroom discussion and students being able to asks questions on material they do not understand. The one concern here is that students need to have the will power to use the resources online to help them in the class. If they do not take advantage of these resources it could cause them to really struggle in class because most teachers test based on material given both in class and online. Overall though, online education is paving the way to create smarter and more knowledgeable students.

McCrobie, B. (2007). Online Education. The American Journal of Nursing, 107(12), 13-13. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/stable/40384550?pq-origsite=summon&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Sive, H., & Sarma, S. (2013). Education: Online on-ramps. Nature, 499(7458), 277-278. doi:10.1038/499277a