http://www.deakin.edu.au/future-students/online-offcampus-studies/
Technology is continuing to increase and therefore it is within our best interests that we take advantage of this and use new media to further enrich our academic learning. This is why i believe that this online learning which Deakin university are using is definately a good thing. With online learning they are able to learn at their own pace and decide what they want to do when and where. A definate advantage is that it can be done anywhere, this means that if a problem occurs and a student has to leave university for a certain peiod of time then they are still able to complete the unit and recieve a grade.
Obviously many people work in different ways and many prefer having face to face seminars as they are able to ask questions, etc which will be answered straight away and students dont have to wait till their lecturer is online to write back to a query they may have. Many believe that it a very complex process (completeing units online) especially if they have never done it before. From my experience I admit in the first few weeks of starting this unit I found it very difficult to keep up and understand what needed to be done by when. But once you get used to it it is quite simple and easily fits into week. I think alot of people who may be against this type of learning havent actually given it enough of a chance (enough time) for them to get used to it and get the best out of such a learning experience.
Although we have to consider that I may say that this type of learning is ok once you get used to it but Deakin University do a whole unit over the internet therefore they have no lectures like we do (for this unit). This may make things more confusing as theyre not getting this face to face communication at all meaning that relationships between students and lecturers may be virtually none existant. This may make question asking or queries very difficult to come about if they dont have this relationship in order to communicate fully. Although having lecturers online may be a good thing as they wont have to spen all their lecture time writing down notes where they may miss vital information. Using Deakin University's way they can go back to the lecture materials whenever they want, therefore making sure they have all the information they need to complete the unit to the best of their ability.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Sarah,
I found your opening sentence interesting...just to play Devil's advocate here and present the converse argument....if the old way of learning has always worked....why change it?
Yes, I agree fully with your comments about the accessibility of learning with distance learning, and think this is a really positive point.
Have you considered the success of the Open University too?
All the best
Emma
Yes the open university is very successful and i have seen many people graduate using this "type" of university. I means that more mature students who have families are able to still educate themselves as its never too late for them to find and choose a career path, even after they have had children and no matter what age they are. They can fit this around family life as all they really need is a computer and the materials which they are sent. Then in the end they are qualified and can find a more productive and worth while job.
I do see your argument here about why should we change something that already works so well. This is true but I dont see any harm in bringing in new ways of learning to just add to this old way. No one is saying this old way needs to be disgarded only that it can also be used in conjunction with other, more up to date ways of learning. And as the success of the Open University shows, this can be a very rewarding thing.
Post a Comment