Online Education vs. On-site
In reference to question 10 of the quiz for section 1. I believe that online education cannot be as effective as on-site for career education. It is an effective tool but the student needs to have access to the "tools of the trade" which are not always readily available.
John-Reed,
This is where good discussion forums come into play.
Shelly Crider
Hello John-Reed,
I´ve been onsite professor for a large number of years at a university in Madrid (Spain). Now, I am online professor at a genuine online Business School in Miami. In my experience, I would not dare to assure such a thing as "online education cannot be as effective as onsite for career education".
In some particular scenarios, online is even more effective and also with particular students.
I would like to know which are those "tools of the trade" you referred to.
Thank you
I'd have to agree with you, Javier. Quality career education is possible online. As with any online program, the planning and development of engaging, interactive, and viable course materials can be far more labor intensive to do well. A lot of ground career schools have curriculum maps that attend to accreditation reqs; however, they'll through an industry professional, not an truly, trained teacher, in the class room with a book and some industry knowledge, and what can sometimes occur is bad teaching and bad experience for students. Online requires a lot more development and thought, imo.
-jv
Jenifer,
Nice input. This thread has been insightful!
Shelly Crider
Thanks, Jenifer.
You´re absolutely right.
Javier
John-Reed,
I have been associated with on-site education for quite some time and only recently have I included an online portion which the students use as a "pre-requisite" for the course. With that limited experience, I am pleased with the results so far. By engaging with the students on class material before they arrive in the classroom has been beneficial. Student forum discussions on the course material has identified gaps in knowledge that I can address the first day on-site.
Peter,
Excellent post! Having the students prepared sets the stage for the regular classroom!
Shelly Crider
I agree as well. I believe that some courses can be taught online as well as some degrees but in a career school, such as the one where I teach with medical assisting classes, hands-on is necessary for lab classes. The clinical part of the program must be taught on campus so the instructor can make sure the student is passing competencies necessary to sit for MA certification exam. Administrative classes and general education classes are fine for the student to take online and save the student some driving time if they are the type of student that is disciplined enough to be able to take an online course.
Jacqueline,
I would think that a medical student would want to have hands on experience as well as other degrees like sound or audio technology and many others. Some schools will have students shadow businesses as part of their curriculum.
Shelly Crider
As an experienced Online and Face-to Face college professor in Biology, Anatomy and Physiology and several other science courses--it is my experience there are some differences in the hands-on interaction because students in a FTF course can get immediate feedback whereas Online students must wait to varying degrees to receive a reply to their questions. In science it is very difficult to simulate the interaction of practical labs, but technology will eventually catch up to FTF courses in practicality. In my opinion students do very well Online and for the most part make necessary compensations for the lack of interaction, with the guidance of the instructor.
Roland,
There is something to be said for learning patience in an online class.....another soft skill that is needed!
Shelly Crider
