Online Distance Learning Environments

The institutional or organizational structure of higher education is changing to emphasize academic accountability, competency outcomes, outsourcing, content standardizing, and adaptation to learner-consumer demands: “funding challenges are increasing with fewer resources to meet expanding lifelong-learning demands. Distance education is becoming more abundant, especially online, and location independent, increasing the need for effective course-management systems and teaching strategies that utilize technology. The higher education community is finding itself on the edge of a new era of online learning. Online learning has been promoted as being more cost effective and convenient than traditional educational environments as well as providing opportunities for more learners to continue their education.

Allowing students to participate regardless of geographic location, independent of time and place, online education has progressed to the point where students no longer need to be able to meet face-to-face in order to complete a degree program or a course. There are six specific advantages offered by online learning environments:

1. Convenience and flexibility are offered by “anytime, anyplace, anywhere.”

2. Accessibility means that students have access to courses and course materials “24 hours a day” (time independent), regardless of location (place-independent), making them far more convenient than the traditional educational experience.

3. Asynchronous learning allows students to reflect upon the materials and their responses before responding, unlike traditional classrooms.

4. Students can work at their own pace, which is especially important for nonnative speakers.

5. The ability of personal identities to remain concealed means that all students, regardless of race, sex, disability, or appearance are on equal ground.

6. With the option of multiple representations of a concept embedded in an online course, students can store and retrieve information more effectively. Richardson and Swan, at the same time, make it clear that (1) Web-based or online learning environments are not as effective as traditional learning environments because of the lack of face-to-face interactions or rapport, and that (2) students taking online courses feel disconnected from other classmates because of the lack of facial and vocal expressions and other features common to traditional classroom environments including direct communication and feedback.