Differences between online course and traditional course , Distance learning , e-learning , uzaktan eğitim, uzaktan eğitimle geleneksel eğitim arasındaki farklar [ARAŞTIRMA , research, thesis, tez ]

 

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I.           Vision and Planning

         A.               Technical Differences

                       1.                 Instructional Design Process

                       2.                 Team Devolopment

        B.                Methodical Differences

                       1.                 Methods of Teaching

                       2.                 Methods of Assessment

II.                Implementation

        A.               Accesing Differences

                      1.                 Access to student population

        B.                Content

                     1.                 Content and Activity

 

 

       After the industrial revolution, technology has been developped rapidly and it took a big place in our life in business,social and education. Computers became too small,their costs decreased and they became portable machines. Everybody could afford to buy a computer  and they removed a lot of cause of complaint by using computer in their home easily. After the discovery of internet, everybody who use internet in their computer,came together in a small screen and distances disappeared and we came to do everything without stand up our places.Computer and Internet, especially, brought a facilitiy in education system nicely.Actually, it was a revolution for the next generations. Schools had online courses, e-learning or distance learning departments in their structures and they shaped their system according to this new technological system which brings all students in front of a screen easily but we can see differences between online course and traditional course.It is, therefore, the claim of this paper that there are two main differences between online course and traditional course, which are vision and planning and implementation.

       The first main difference between online course and traditional course is vision and planning.Firstly, online course and traditional course are different from their technics.The instructional design process is the process which teachers should utilize in the planning and preparation of instructional activities which will be shown during the course (Reigeluth, 1999).Although many of the steps of the instrucitional design process is the same in traditional or online course, “planning for instruction at a distance is a multi-faceted process” (Simonson, 2000). Unlike traditional design where lectures and content may be prepared the night before class, or the day of class, online instruction should be designed thoroughly. In addition, online course and traditional course are different in team devolopment. According to (Caroll-Barefield, Smith, Prince, & Campbell, 2005) “Transitioning from a traditional to online program is not cut-and-dry. It requires the cooperation of a team of educators, administrators, and designers”Even though the team process can be approached in various manners, (Levy, 2003)describes this process as an unbundling of responsibilities with experts taking responsibility for specific parts of the course design”.This development approach divides the work load into smaller pieces and allows for optimal development because each component is developed by a person with expertise in that area.Instructors remain the primary content leaders (Boettcher & Conrad, 1999)  of design teams and should work closely with the instructional designer to fashion activities that promote a student-centered enviroment. The instructional designer also acts as the Project manager, but focuses on “matching the learning goals and objectivies with the characteristics and lifestyles of students and with the constraints of the delivery enviroment” (Boettcher & Conrad, 1999). Other team members could consist of a reference specialist and technical support personel. These positions are essential in the online development process, but also play a particularly important role in the development of traditional courses also.

       Secondly, online course and traditional course are different from their methods.Whether teaching in the face-to-face environment or the online courseroom, instructors should give careful consideration to the epistemological principles that will provide the underlying foundation for their teaching (Gold, 2001). While each of the major foundations of education, behaviorism, cognitivism, or constructivism could be utilized in both environments (Liu, 2004), instructors should give careful consideration with respect to how instruction will be delivered in the online area. Learning theories are constantly evolving which suggests that no one theory is acceptable for all learning situations. Liu (2004) concludes that “behaviorist strategies can be used to teach facts (what); cognitive strategiest to teach the principles and processes (how); and constructivist strategies to teach the real-life and personal applications and contextual learning” (p. 1346). Newby-Fraser (2002) extends this by stating that “the strategies and techniques staff use in their FTF teaching remain vry relevant. ‘Good teaching, is good teaching’” (p. 1986). Nonetheless, “Teaching on the web is an art that can – and should – be informed by empirical research and sound pedagogical principles” (Wolfe, 2001). In addition to this,Whether teaching in the face-to-face enviroment or online, assessment is an essential aspect of the teaching learning process. (Verneil & Berge, 2000) support this and extend it by stating that “course subject matter assessment will be totally determined by the subject matter, teaching style, and the educational philosophy” (p. 18). There are many assessments that will work in both settings such as the following: essays, reflections, collaborative projects, individual projects, or discussion content. However, when traditional paper and pencil assessments are used in the online setting, issues of validity are often raised due to the fact that the examinations may not be proctored (Yang & Cornelious, 2005) To adress this concern, instructors should utilize authentic forms of assessment. (Mueller, 2002) describes authentic assessment as “a form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills”. (Yang & Cornelious, 2005) also supporn this by suggesting that “ a variety of performance assessments should be established by instructors for quality online instruction. These assessments should be aligned with course objectives and subject aims, and should enhance students’ vocational and disciplinary skills” (p. 10). Nonetheless, paper and pencil type exams that are prevalent in the traditional classroom, such as multiple-choice, true or false, or matching may still be valuable from a student perspective online; students can take the exams onlien to see if they are mastering the basic content and receive immediate feedback through the assessment tool.

       The second main difference between online course and traditional course is implementation. Online course and traditional course are different from their accessing. Probably the biggest difference between face-to-face and online delivery methods is the population that can be included in each type of instruction. In order for students to participate in the face-to-face classroom, that is to actually be present, geographic limitations begin to present themselves. Students must reside in an area that they can physically drive, within reasonable time limits, to the actual campus for their classes. These classes are usually held on specific days and times which often present compications for non-traditional or graduate level students who often have outside responsibilities such as employement or families.In the online environment, classes can be held synchronously or asynchronously without the travel commitments that are necessary in the face-to-face approach  (Nelson, 2009). This removal of travel and the necessity to be at a physical location at a specific time opens the doors for many students who cannot participate in a traditional form to strive for advancement or higher degrees (Willis & Cifuentes, 2005). Not only does online learning improve the ability for students locally to participate, online courses open the calssroom to the entire world, or at least to anyone that has Access to an Internet connection. This global classroom allows for students from many countries, cultures, or races tos hare their thoughts and experiences while participating in the online classroom (Nelson, 2009). “ Web-based instruction (WBI) brings courses to individuals and groups who might not otherwise have Access to them” (Willis & Cifuentes, 2005). Geographic positions and situations are not important in online courses, you can access the information, which is kept in online platform, whenever and wherever you want but in face-to-face learning, your geographic position and stiuation should be well and there should not be any problem to go to school regularly.

       The last but not the least difference between online course and traditional course is content.It is important to reiterate that creating an online course does not simply mean uploading all traditional files to the course management system. However, instrucotrs may want to revise the materials that are used in their traditional courses by rewriting content in a conversational style.The content will also need to be very comprehensive because there will be no face-to-face discussion of the material; discussions usually take place in writing in the discussion forum section of the course. (Liu, 2004) supports this by stating that “ providing clear instruction is the top issue in course design” (p. 1349). However, this may be an optimal time to add new materials and resources to the course. “During the redesign of the course, it is a good idea to begin the search for digital and online resources as early as possible” (Boettcher & Conrad, 1999). These new resources may determine or influence the design of instructional activities; there fore, it is advisable to identify them as early as possible in this phase. Inıtially, most courses will require learners to read and research specific concepts fort he unit being covered; this activity is considered interaction between the learner and the content. If following a constructivist approach or designing based upon adult learning principles, a focus question or problem should be provided so that students have a guiding idea for their inquiry.In order to help the claim develop, instructors should provide posting dates or expectations ahead of time. Students should post to the forum early in the week; this allows others to read the post and respond back to the author, creating the online dialogue (Nelson, 2009). Additionally, to asist learners in focusing on key issues, instructors should develop rubrics (Caroll-Barefield, Smith, Prince, & Campbell, 2005) and upload them to the courseroom. These rubrics should identify the key objectives fort he discussion forum as well as the qualitative and tuantitative nature that will be used in the evaluation process (Nelson, 2009).Furthermore, instructors will need to consider how to manage the synchronous activity. Most content management systems provide chat tools that allow instructors to control who can type at any given time. If learners wish to speak, they are required to click on an icon of a hand to simulate that they are raising their hand (Nelson, 2009). If using this approach fort he first time, it is generally a good idea for instructors to practice with colleagues before attempting a live session with their students. Finally, collaborative activities can be very beneficial in the online courseroom. Some online programs design activities where students work together to research a specific course topic. (Nelson, 2009) supports it “ after the topic has been examined, the collaborative group constructs a paper that is then presented to the rest of the class. Instructors can extend this activity by having the group write a series of questions on the topic, post them to a discussion forum, and then moderate the postings to that forum”.

       In conclusion, online courses brought so many advantages to education system through the world but there are differences between this new system and the altruistic system. Their points of view to the education is different and their system which they are following is so different with each other in real time. Distance learning has abolished the traditional courses even in our education system in Turkey and many of the universties is changing their system according to this new system. Even, it should be supported by the government and corporations because supporting education system in a country brings richness and affluent society.

 

 References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (1999). Faculty guide for moving teaching and learning to the web. Mission Viejo.

Caroll-Barefield, A., Smith, S. P., Prince, L. H., & Campbell, C. A. (2005). Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration (8). 12 11, 2009 tarihinde http://westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring81/covington81.htm adresinden alındı

Gold, S. (2001). Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5. 12 11, 2009 tarihinde http://www.aln.org/publications/jaln/v5n1/v5n1_gold.asp adresinden alındı

Levy, S. (2003). Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 6. 12 11, 2009 tarihinde http://www.westga.edu.tr/~distance/ojdla/spring61/levy61.htm adresinden alındı

Liu, Y. (2004). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, 2004.

Mueller, J. (2002). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. 12 11, 2009 tarihinde http://jonathan.mueller.facult.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm adresinden alındı

Nelson, T. E. (2009). The Conversion of traditional course material to the online learning format.

Newbey-Fraser, J. (2002). Associaton for the Advancement of Computing in Education, 2002.

Reigeluth. (1999). What is instructional design theory and how is it changing? Mahwah.

Simonson. (2000). Teaching and learning at a distance. Upper Saddle River.

Verneil, M. d., & Berge, Z. L. (2000). Educational Technology. Upper Saddle River.

Willis, J. M., & Cifuentes, L. (2005). Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 13.

Wolfe, C. R. (2001). Learning and teaching on the world wide web. San Diego: Academic Press.

Yang, Y., & Cornelious, L. (2005). Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 8. 12 11, 2009 tarihinde http://www.westga.edu/%7Edistance/ojdla/spring81/yang/81.htm adresinden alındı

Etiketler:differences, distance learning, e-learning, face-to-face learning, online course, traditional course, traditional learning