The Online Learner—Not Your Traditional Student
Dr. Deb Gearhart
LT741: Introduction to Distance Education
Becky Earll
April 10, 2006
Something is missing in many of today’s classrooms—the students! In part due to the continuous advances in technology, educators have come to recognize the benefits that different technologies can offer to the world of education. For example, more and more classes are being taught at a distance which, among other benefits, allows flexibility to students with personal time restraints. One delivery method of distance education—the online class—is increasing in number. In the last ten years or so, more than a third of colleges in the United States were offering courses on the Internet (Chernish et al., 2005).
Online classes are now a part of mainstream education (Chernish et al., 2005). Because of this, distance education has been studied again and again to determine which differences exist between the online classroom and the traditional classroom (Thiele, 2003). Many studies approach the topic from an instructional standpoint and evaluate the effectiveness of the online instruction in comparison to the traditional instruction. There is much research that supports distance education as being as capable of producing learning outcomes as traditional education (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005). While the learning outcomes are similar, online and traditional learners differ in their approach to learning. Online students must first learn to adapt to their new “classroom” and overcome new barriers not found in the traditional classroom in order to have a positive learning experience.
Online learning is met with new barriers (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005). While students in a traditional classroom have the comfort of sitting in a room with their instructor—available to them at anytime—online students can get more of an isolated feeling away from their instructor and classmates. Communication is quickly recognized for its great value and importance in succeeding in an online classroom (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005). However, this communication does not resemble that of a classroom. Online students must learn to rely on such tools as e-mail, discussion boards, chat rooms, and so forth. Learning no longer relies on direct instruction or speaking with others in collaboration. “Speaking” online means to read and write to one another; “collaborating” online means to work together at a distance by conversing and problem solving through written discussion.
Communication between instructor and students in an online course will most likely determine how well the students learn, and also how they evaluate their experience in the end (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005). Because the instructor is not present to give direct instruction, students rely on the materials presented to them and how well the instructors have planned their online course. According to Klesius et al. (1997), “Students perceive distance education instruction as effective when it is produced with careful planning that enables unique and varied activities paced in short time periods.” Instructors, therefore, need to design online classes that present only the necessary information that will allow their students to take from with ease and build their own knowledge off of.
The instructional design must be well-thought out as well. By using a variety of instructional tools, as in a traditional classroom, students will more likely engage themselves in learning the material (Chernish et al., 2005). Furthermore, online instructors should understand how their students can sometimes be in a state of bewilderment over their own progress in a distance course and feedback should be given. Feedback is not only a good way to communicate how well a student is progressing in a class, but it is also an opportunity for instructors to make their students feel more comfortable in the class. Simply by personalizing a private e-mail to an online student, this can make the student feel more at ease about his or her learning endeavors.
Communication among students also takes on a new role in an online course. Whereas a traditional classroom may have some collaboration, an online class relies heavily on it. In their research, Oritz-Rodriguez et al. (2005) found that “success in distance education is tied to the type of communication and interaction that takes place between an instructor and learners.” Furthermore, online students must learn how to take ownership of their own learning and learn to feel comfortable communicating with those students around them to help construct new ideas (Watkins, 2004). Discussion boards and chat rooms are utilized for students to “talk” about the subject at hand, answer each other’s questions, respond to each other’s thoughts, and problem solve with one another. The online student must be able to learn in a student-centered environment (Chernish et al., 2005).
Considering online students have more control over their learning, their responsibilities seem more challenging than those of traditional learners (Iverson et al, 2005). Being away from a physical classroom setting, students must know how to take ownership for their own learning and, according to Iverson et al., be able to evaluate their own progress. In other words, there are no other people around to make sure work is completed and deadlines are met. Meeting requirements is the responsibility of a traditional learner as well; however, there are fewer “helpful reminders” in an online class of what is expected of everyone (Curless, 2004). An instructor in a traditional classroom often goes over major assignments, for example, and traditional students will often talk about these with one another or ask questions; their requirements are fresh on their minds. In a distance course, on the other hand, students may forget about what is expected of them if it is not discussed. These students must understand that it is their new responsibility to completely familiarize themselves with a course’s syllabus, assignments, and deadlines (Watkins, 2004).
Time management is another responsibility of online students (Watkins, 2004). Again, students in any environment need to learn this skill, but especially online students who are suddenly given a more flexible schedule. The flexibility of distance courses are nice, in that students may work and/or take care of families while completing their education. However, according to Watkins, they must be careful not to get too relaxed and forget to meet deadlines. An easy way for students to get a handle on time management is to set a day and time each week (or so, depending on the class) to complete their work—just as if they were attending a regular class at a certain day and time.
Another barrier that online students must face is that they must make changes to their old, traditional learning strategies and study skills (Watkins, 2004). This is especially true of those students who are taking an online course for their first time. Morgan et al. (1998) found in their study about distance learning strategies that “any effort to impose a single learning strategy will be met with resistance to the degree that it conflicts with learners’ existing strategies with which they are satisfied.” In the classroom, students learn such skills as note-taking, following along, and interacting with their peers in one-on-one or group settings. Online students must develop learning skills on a trial and error basis and adapt their traditional ways of learning to fit their new environment (Morgan et al., 1998). “Following along” now means to keep up with the reading posted by both the instructor and the other students. Interactions rely almost completely on written conversation within discussion boards and chat rooms. Along with this writing comes a whole new set of study skills and guidelines not seen in the traditional classroom.
In their online discussions, students must take into consideration such things as tone, grammar, spelling, and non-verbal cues (emoticons, for example) in their writing, as all of these can lead to good or bad impressions on other people in the class (Watkins, 2004). Clearly, students and the instructor cannot see one another, and they certainly cannot see facial expressions and body language, so thought must be given to any writing posted in an online class. Watkins (2004) explains that careful writing could save others from getting offended or hurt feelings and make for a more positive experience for all. Readers, on the other hand, must learn to not read too much into their peers’ writing. As in a traditional setting, online students should also stick to proper writing techniques (indented paragraphs, for example) (Watkins, 2004). Though students need only be succinct in long discussion rather than lengthy, as the discussions themselves can get long and tedious. Finally, personalizing messages to others in an online class creates a better sense of community that students in regular classrooms are easily able to obtain.
Other good writing skills should be adapted for use in the chat room as well (Watkins, 2004). As this is a synchronous discussion, anything could happen and the conversation could go in any direction. For this reason, Watkins explains that it is wise to be prepared going into a chat session. Preparing questions and comments prior to the chat will keep students on topic—it can be easy to fall into too much socializing otherwise. Furthermore, creating a good study environment, free of distractions, helps the online learner to stay focused outside of the classroom.
The ability to keep such focus brings up another barrier that online students experience to a greater extent than their traditional counterparts: staying motivated (Curless, 2004). In fact, the drop-out rate in distance courses exceeds the number of drop-outs in similar traditional courses. This is in big part due to students’ lack of motivation away from a face-to-face class (Curless, 2004). It is understandable how an online student could lose motivation when he or she is isolated from the rest of the class and is surrounded by more tempting distractions (from friends to entertainment). Online classes allow the students to “go to class” at any day and time within certain limits (deadlines, for example) and as more distractions arise, motivation to attend to school work may decline. Students may simply avoid their responsibilities for an online class and eventually fall behind their peers causing them to drop-out.
Online students therefore need more motivational support from their instructors. First, instructors must grab learners’ attention. They should make them curious, appealing both to the senses and to the mind (Curless, 2004). By appealing to the senses, instructors ought to think about their online class’ interface and may choose to use visual tactics, like interesting graphics, layouts and possibly flash technology. As for their auditory senses, streaming audio or video may be used. All of these added features in a design could help to create curiosity if only for a moment. The more important motivation to gain is that of the learner’s conceptual curiosity (Curless, 2004).
Authentic problems found online and questions that require first completing an assignment are two ways to keep students aroused in their inquiry. Students can motivate students here too as they ask one another questions and respond to others’ thoughts. Providing variety in assignments and assessments, as long as it is not overdone, can also help to motivate students to learn.
Other motivational factors that online instructors should consider for creating a positive experience are the following: make the learning relevant, build confidence, allow students personal control, and provide extrinsic rewards. In an online class, students respond well to seeing their own name—they feel a sense of belonging—and this rapport can help to make something more relevant to the individuals. Also, by using everyday examples and visuals, students may see the relevance in learning skills that will apply to their own needs.
To build confidence, online students need feedback from their instructors. According to Thiele (2003), “Prompt feedback and initiation of communication with learners are vital and must be considered part of the time commitment of online instructors.” The more communication, the better the experience will likely be for the individual learners. Online students differ from traditional students in that they do not always know their own progress and they are less likely to ask questions, especially if they are minor (Curless, 2004). Therefore, instructors should provide feedback on assessment and also include detailed objectives, grading criteria, and examples within their course pages. Also, social interaction can help to build confidence. A discussion thread could be set aside for this purpose, or the time at the beginning or end of a chat could be used to simply talk.
At times, an online learner can have more personal control than the traditional learner (Curless, 2004). He or she may be allowed to complete an online course in any order, and the student may decide when, where, and how much time they need to complete tasks within the course. All this could help build confidence and satisfaction—as could extrinsic rewards. Grades and completion of a course, of course, are found in both class designs. In an online setting, however, positive e-mail messages from the instructor to the student can build motivation. Once again, personalizing these messages will add to the satisfaction.
Yet another barrier unique to the online student has to do with the amount of support he or she is receiving. Morgan et al. state the following: “Distance learners, it seems are hungry for support, particularly in the early stages of their study pathways” (1998). Because these courses are student-centered and learners are at times left to figure things out on their own, added support is necessary. This is true of support from the instructor as well as support from the other students in the online class. In their research, Alan M. Schwitzer and Chris Lovell (1999) studied 79 online students from an urban university by surveying students’ perceptions of their experiences and by analyzing midterm and final grades. Schwitzer and Lovell concluded that students have more positive experience in an online class “when they perceived greater levels of support from peers, regardless of their self-cohesion. Further, as expected, interaction effects of goal instability and faculty support occurred and influenced some learners’ satisfaction with the overall quality of their experiences in distance classrooms” (Schwitzer & Lovell, 1999). While the support may not look the same, distance courses are no different from traditional classes in that they must respond to the range of student needs.
One way to offer support is to help comfort student fears of various technologies used in an online class. In their study, Muilenburg and Berge (2005) surveyed 1,056 online students from around the country to better understand what barriers the students themselves found to exist in distance education. In regards to the technology, Muilenburg and Berge found that “respondents with the highest level of comfort and confidence using online learning technologies perceived significantly fewer barriers for social interaction, administrative/instructor issues, learner motivation, and time and support for studies than the other three groups who were unsure of their skills or were not using online learning technologies” (2005). Likewise, Chernish et al. (2005) reported in their study that the comfort level with technology is important and noted that online students were sometimes intimidated to ask questions about the technology, thus making it a barrier. Learning to speak up in an online class is something different than that experienced in the regular classroom; the online student needs to let go of fears in order to have a positive learning experience.
With experience, online students can learn to rise above any new barriers not found in the traditional classroom. These barriers should not come as a turn-off either. According to Iverson et al. (2005), “Online learning can provide a more positive experience than classroom learning in terms of enjoyment, usefulness, and intent to transfer, even though learners perceive it as a more difficult endeavor.” Undoubtedly, the first online courses are more difficult than those thereafter. Just as with regular classes, though, students must learn how to adapt to their environment and find out how to get their needs met. Online students do differ from traditional students in their approaches to learning and challenges to overcome, but one thing stands the same—positive learning experiences can occur anywhere.
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