Online Schooling

Saba Mahdavi, Pharm.D., Carroll Hospital PGY1 Pharmacy Resident

Online schooling and online courses are controversial educational topics of twenty-first century. As the name implies, online schools provide virtual classes instead of traditional live classroom settings. Technology plays an important role in our lives and it has become an essential mean of teaching in the past decade. For example, instructors continue to use PowerPoint presentations, educational videos, and pre-recorded lectures. A study was done on 64 students enrolled in criminology classes at Carnegie University.¹ These students were randomly enrolled in either the online course or traditional (live) course. This study found that there was no significant difference between exam scores and student evaluations.¹

Traditional versus Online Course

When talking about online schooling there are many advantages and disadvantages to consider. Students must have well-developed time-management skills and be able to balance work, family/friends, and school to be successful in online courses.¹ An important factor contributing to the success of online classes is students’ characteristics. For example, age, marital status, maturity, and learning styles can impact the outcome.²  Finally, to understand which classroom setting is more effective, we need to look at students’ learning outcomes in each setting.

Online School: Not for Everyone

One of the advantages of online courses is that students are able to manage their time and schedule. They can spend as much time as they need to complete a course work without worrying about slowing down other students. In addition, online courses typically cost less than traditional class settings.³ Also, textbooks may also be provided online, making it even easier and more cost-effective to have access to the course material. Student would not need to spend time and money for transportation as well. Although these are all potential advantages of online courses, they can also be disadvantages for some - students who need re-enforcement and encouragement from the instructor would benefit from being in a traditional classroom. Students might have “fixed” mindsets, especially earlier on in their educations, making it more difficult to use online classes.

Lack of student-teacher interaction can affect students’ outcomes. For some students it might be easier and more effective to ask questions while the instructor is explaining the material in a live setting. While it’s always possible to email the instructor when taking an online course, this can delay the learning process, since the student needs to wait for the instructor’s response. It is also more difficult for instructors to perform an audience analysis in an online course, since instructor does not meet the students face-to-face. In traditional settings, instructors have the opportunity to tailor course material and change their teaching techniques based on more immediate feedback from students in order to improve their learning outcomes.

Traditional School: Not for Everyone

Some students find it helpful to sit in a classroom where they are expected to learn a certain subject at a certain time.¹ Some students will benefit from live classroom settings where they have peers to interact with in the learning environment. Online schools/courses usually require students to communicate with each other through discussion boards or other modalities and students do not have the opportunity to meet each other in person.³

Online courses and assignments can be done anytime. If the student needs to spend more time completing them or has a day job then he/she can start anytime of the day and finish at his/her pace. Some students may lack self-confidence or be too intimidated to participate in discussions or other activities in the face-to-face classroom, and this may detract from their learning experience.

My Experience

Throughout my education I attended different class settings; traditional classrooms, online courses, blended learning, and practical and laboratory classes. Some of the online classes I took were easy to follow and I had reading assignments and discussion boards to participate in. On the other hand, I struggled through other online courses. For example, I took Calculus II online, which was challenging since I didn’t have live classes with a teacher explaining the material. Another example is Medical Ethics online course that I took and I didn’t feel the need of live sessions. I think it all depends on the course and how hands-on the material is.

For instance, patient care ability labs in pharmacy school needs a live environment. These labs usually involve demonstrations provided by the instructors. Also, students benefit from instructors’ feedback when they do the assigned activities. But there are classes that can be presented online, for instance patient communications would be suitable online course since all the assignments and teachings can be done in a virtual environment.

References:

¹ Stack, Steven. (2015) Learning Outcomes in an Online vs Traditional Course, 9(1), accessed online on September 16, 2017, (http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1491&context=ij-sotl).

² Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., Jones, K. (2010). Evaluation of evidence based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. Washington: U.S. Department of Education.

³ Shachar, M., Neumann, Y. (2003) Differences between traditional and distance education academic performances: A meta-analysis approach. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Education, 4(2), accessed online on September 16, 2017, (http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/153/234).