On-Line+Learning+Voice+Over

On-Line Learning: Is it the Future?


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My only experience with on-line classes has been through Azusa Pacific University (APU). Being a non-traditional student and having the obligation of two different jobs to go to, I found that the flexibility APU offers in terms of on-line learning was a perfect fit for a student like me. Aside from the economic and time saving advantages that on-line learning offers both the student and the university, this relatively new way of teaching and learning, I would say, is most successful when the student is self-determined and motivated to learn and collaborate with his or her fellow students. Out of the three on-line courses I have taken here at APU, two were challenging and intriguing at the same time and one was simply not engaging at all. First of all, the two on-line courses I learned a lot from were taught by an instructor that was very dedicated to making sure everyone knew exactly what was expected of them in terms of academic papers and field work assignments. Instructions were always clear, grading rubrics were available, and examples were often offered throughout the course. In addition, class participation was determined by the type of response each student gave several times a week pertaining to a specific set of questions posed by the instructor relating to articles, text book chapters, and/or videos as it pertained to special education. Also, I found that the notion of having my work displayed for the entire class to read on a weekly basis made me feel more accountable for my words and thoughts, thus, pushing me to further develop my ideas. Gary S. Stager writes in “The Possibilities of Online Learning” “[w]hen work is public, peers learn from it and support reciprocal growth. Everyone is a teacher and learner all of the time”. I really appreciated the timely manner in which the instructor graded assignments because it helped determined what direction I needed to take for the next assignment. Although I never once met any of my peers, or instructor for that matter, I truly felt a sense of collaboration and community within the confines of this on-line course(s). In contrast, the other on-line class that I did not get much satisfaction from was almost the complete opposite of my first experience. In other words, assignment directions were often erroneous and many times articles that needed to be read and responded to by a certain day of the week were either not available or were simply not the right one. I understand that there is always a possibility for mistakes, but what made this course extremely frustrating was the fact that the instructor either did not respond to much needed clarification, or the response came way too late. I found myself playing the guessing game for much of the nine week course. I believe that on-line learning is the way a lot of teaching/learning will be done in the near future. In order to create successful outcomes, the teacher needs to be fully committed in building a realistic and easy to follow website in which self-motivated and self-determined students can collaborate with each other.