# The Benefits Of Online Education



## samdani (Jul 22, 2013)

Here are some out line of benefits of online education..
1 Save Time 
2 Save Money
3 Get CEU and College Credit
4 Add Flexibility
5 Increase Accountability
6 Bring Education Theory to Life
7 Promote Transference of Learning to the Workplace
8 Create Excitement About Learning


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## Wheel (Jul 22, 2013)

samdani said:


> Here are some out line of benefits of online education..
> 1 Save Time
> 2 Save Money
> 3 Get CEU and College Credit
> ...



Welcome to EMT life! That's a good list, but not all of those are true all of the time nor are they all exclusive to online learning. What kind of connection to online programs do you have?


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## Mariemt (Jul 22, 2013)

samdani said:


> Here are some out line of benefits of online education..
> 1 Save Time
> 4 Add Flexibility



Fixed it


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## JobInnerView (Jul 29, 2013)

That's a good list!


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## ffemt8978 (Jul 29, 2013)

The biggest drawback to online education is that you can not ask the instructor a question, nor do you get to learn from another person's question.  You're stuck with what is presented.


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## polisciaggie (Jul 29, 2013)

ffemt8978 said:


> The biggest drawback to online education is that you can not ask the instructor a question, nor do you get to learn from another person's question.  You're stuck with what is presented.



Not quite true. In my online medic class if I had a question I could call or email the instructor, post questions on the class yahoo group page, or wait until one of the weekly chat sessions. 

We even had access to the Medical Directors of the program if we needed them.


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## PotatoMedic (Jul 29, 2013)

What program did you go through?


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## MrJones (Jul 29, 2013)

ffemt8978 said:


> The biggest drawback to online education is that you can not ask the instructor a question, nor do you get to learn from another person's question.  You're stuck with what is presented.



A properly structured and presented online education program provides for instructor-student and student-student interaction. Of course, not all programs are properly structured, and not all instructors are willing to take the time to use the tools that permit such interaction.


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## polisciaggie (Jul 29, 2013)

firewa1 said:


> what program did you go through?



percom


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## 46Young (Jul 29, 2013)

ffemt8978 said:


> The biggest drawback to online education is that you can not ask the instructor a question, nor do you get to learn from another person's question.  You're stuck with what is presented.



Not true, at least it hasn't been the case with the last six online courses I've taken for gen-eds for the  AAS in EMS. It's typical for the instructor to answer questions within 48 hours, or on Monday if you email over the weekend. Some professors will make themselves available once a week via phone in their office. There's also help available at the college during certain hours of the week, depending on the class. This has been my experience so far with Northern Virginia CC, and Lord Fairfax CC. It may be different with those shady institutions, like Phoenix, for example. Also, some courses have forum discussions, and other students' questions and answers are visible to everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3QvdXwSD4o


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## 46Young (Jul 29, 2013)

The only benefit that I can see for online education is the flexibility. It's wonderful for working professionals, and even more beneficial for people that do rotating shift work, where they're off different days every week, or get held over for forced OT, etc. 

The main drawbacks are that an online class typically has much, much more "busy work" than a traditional class, and you need to be able to teach yourself the material, while only getting a small amount of one-on-one assistance. Plan on spending 1.5 - 2 times the hours on each course that you would normally estimate for a regular class, in most cases. That's the tradeoff for the flexibility. 

Working full time, I'm maxed out at 6-7 credits/semester, tops.

Tip: make sure your class is asynchronous, and not synchronous, or else you will have to log in at certain times, regardless of your schedule.


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## ffemt8978 (Jul 29, 2013)

46Young said:


> Not true, at least it hasn't been the case with the last six online courses I've taken for gen-eds for the  AAS in EMS. It's typical for the instructor to answer questions within 48 hours, or on Monday if you email over the weekend. Some professors will make themselves available once a week via phone in their office. There's also help available at the college during certain hours of the week, depending on the class. This has been my experience so far with Northern Virginia CC, and Lord Fairfax CC. It may be different with those shady institutions, like Phoenix, for example. Also, some courses have forum discussions, and other students' questions and answers are visible to everyone.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3QvdXwSD4o


So do you get to see the questions and answers that other class members ask?


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## MMiz (Jul 29, 2013)

I've been both a student and instructor in online classes using Moodle and BlackBoard.  I've taken math, economics, geography, and writing courses online in college.

As a student I found that I most often would do more work for online courses than I would for regular courses.  In general I find that online courses have more assessments, group projects, and required interaction with peers.

My best academic memories from college are interacting with my professors and peers in person, and that just isn't as easy in an online course.  While there are discussion boards, chat rooms, and video conferencing capabilities that make collaboration easier, I found that I most often only contributed to these because I was required as part of the course.

Online courses are ultimately for the convenience of the student, and a great source of income for academia, but I don't feel they provide as complete an education as a traditional classroom setting.


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## ffemt8978 (Jul 29, 2013)

That's kind of what I am getting at.  I am not convinced that online courses have effectively replaced the student/student or student/instructor interaction that can be found in traditional courses.

I know I often learned things from other people's questions and answers...sometimes more than I learned from the course itself.


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## Carlos Danger (Jul 29, 2013)

MMiz said:


> I've been both a student and instructor in online classes using Moodle and BlackBoard.  I've taken math, economics, geography, and writing courses online in college.
> 
> As a student I found that I most often would do more work for online courses than I would for regular courses.  In general I find that online courses have more assessments, group projects, and required interaction with peers.
> 
> ...



It comes down to personal preference. I don't think one is better than the other. It's a shame that so many still think that everyone should learn the same way. Of course some material is not conducive to being taught any way other than in person.

I am a self-directed learning style and I don't see interaction with the instructor and listening to questions from other students as a plus, I see it as an annoyance and a distraction. 

Tell me when the exam is, what will be on it, what the main text is, and give me a good outline or powerpoint that has all the main points I need to know, and I'll learn it. Be available if I have questions and that's about all I need.


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## Jambi (Jul 29, 2013)

ffemt8978 said:


> That's kind of what I am getting at.  I am not convinced that online courses have effectively replaced the student/student or student/instructor interaction that can be found in traditional courses.
> 
> I know I often learned things from other people's questions and answers...sometimes more than I learned from the course itself.



It hasn't, nor is it being replaced. The distance/asynchronous format is another way to deliver and drive the instructor/student interaction.


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## Jambi (Jul 29, 2013)

MMiz said:


> Online courses are ultimately for the convenience of the student, and a great source of income for academia, but I don't feel they provide as complete an education as a traditional classroom setting.



The data would suggest otherwise. My minor in instructional design and delivery spent a lot of time on these topic.  The important thing to remember about online courses is that effective and efficacious teaching methods are still leveraged.  It's also good to know that traditional lecture models so heavilly favored in instruction today are typically the least effective teaching method (though it does become more effective the more educated students are, no I can't find a link to support that list bit, but it was in one of my texts)

Here are a few links:

http://cguevara.commons.gc.cuny.edu/files/2009/09/learning-effectiveness.pdf


			
				xvii said:
			
		

> In recent experimental and quasi-experimental studies contrasting blends of online and face-toface instruction with conventional face-to-face classes, blended instruction has been more
> effective, providing a rationale for the effort required to design and implement blended
> approaches. When used by itself, online learning appears to be as effective as conventional
> classroom instruction, but not more so.



http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf


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## Jambi (Jul 29, 2013)

Hope none of that sounds adversarial. I just wanted to bring in some data.


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## 46Young (Jul 29, 2013)

ffemt8978 said:


> So do you get to see the questions and answers that other class members ask?



Yes, if they're posted on one of the forums. Not if it's by email, though. Good professors will make notification of a particular Q&A if it's helpful to others.


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## 46Young (Jul 29, 2013)

MMiz said:


> I've been both a student and instructor in online classes using Moodle and BlackBoard.  I've taken math, economics, geography, and writing courses online in college.
> 
> As a student I found that I most often would do more work for online courses than I would for regular courses.  In general I find that online courses have more assessments, group projects, and required interaction with peers.
> 
> ...



I don't feel that an online class is an incomplete education. Some courses are better to take in a traditional setting, whereas others are better suited for distance learning. For example, pharmacology, IT, Foreign Language, and mathematics can easily be self taught. Same for basic Psych, Soc, etc. 

It really depends on the student. Some people can (and would rather) teach themselves, rather than sit through lectures that basically regurgitate the book.


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## MrJones (Jul 29, 2013)

ffemt8978 said:


> So do you get to see the questions and answers that other class members ask?



Not asked of me, but yes - in my experience I was able to see the questions  that other class members asked and the answers provided by the instructor and other students (when appropriate).


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## 46Young (Jul 29, 2013)

Basically, I'd rather do the extra work to (mostly) teach myself with some instructor guidance, than have to physically be somewhere several times a week. Distance learning allows me to earn degrees without using leave, exchange of shifts, being failed out due to absences from forced OT on class days, loss of OT opportunities, loss of family time, etc. 

Lack of distance learning opportunities is why I originally did a 13 month paramedic tech program rather than a two year EMS AAS back in '04/'05. This is also why I chose to be a paramedic rather than a PA or RN.

The lack of distance learning opportunities is also why it's not practical to return to school for PA or RN.


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