A recent study conducted by Babson College and the Sloan Consortium has found that educators nationwide are confident about the future of online education.
Nearly 3,000 chief academic officers and college presidents, along with 1,000 public and private university representatives, participated in the study.
One-third of the respondents said they believe the quality of online education will soon surpass that of the traditional classroom setting. In addition, 57 percent said online classes were almost equivalent in quality to current interactive classes.
Despite such findings, faculty and administrators nationwide say online learning has both advantages and disadvantages.
James Chitwood, Director of the Milwaukee Campus of the University of
Phoenix, said that while the main benefit of online programs is flexibility in place, time and pace of learning, there are less obvious benefits as well.
“Online programs allow for quieter people to participate without the intimidation of the classroom setting,” Chitwood said. “When personalities are taken out of the picture, individuals are forced to communicate when they might not otherwise in a classroom setting.”
Chere Gibson, University of Wisconsin professor in the School of Human Ecology, agreed.
“Not everyone likes to sit in the back of Agriculture Hall and look at a small instructor,” Gibson said.
The flexibility offered by online classes also allows for a wider range of students to participate. The study found more than 1.6 million students took an online course last year. These students included single parents, those who have to fit school around a work schedule, or students with disabilities.
As Gibson pointed out, one disadvantage of online classes is the absence of face-to-face contact.
“Students always struggle with wanting to see each other. But students recognize that there are tradeoffs,” he added.
UW students’ feelings toward online classes are consistent with educators’ thoughts.
Senior Ryan Algino, who took Food Science 120 online, agreed that online education holds both pros and cons.
“I didn’t have to get up early for a class, and I didn’t have to walk through rain, snow, heat or cold to watch lectures on WebCT,” Algino said. “But it does get a little boring staring at a computer screen for an hour and there isn’t any interaction with professors,” he said, adding many people often put off watching the lectures until right before the exam.
Senior Mary Stevenson is currently taking Geology 333 online and is having much of the same experience as Algino.
“I can view lectures any time I want, but the disadvantage is that sometimes I forget to keep up with the class lectures,” Stevenson said.
The study also concluded that the chance of public and for-profit universities becoming completely virtual is not likely, although the Internet will remain an alternative tool.
Educators predict that in the future more universities will start to hybridize their courses, but some disciplines will never change substantially.
“I don’t think that schools like UW-Madison face any immediate threat to their existence from online courses,” professor of educational psychology David Shaffer said. “Students go to schools in the UW system not only to take courses, but to be connected with a network of people who will help them get started in their careers.”
