Friday, February 19, 2010

Online Education

Thoughts on Chapter 13, by Paul Levinson.

Just like the traditional forms of communication, communication in cyberspace through discussion forums and other synchronous texts offers increased sense of unity and community among those who participate. I think that the environment in cyberspace and the communication that support such environment encourages and support the furtherance of problem-solving and analytical skills among individuals. Because cyberspace is flexible and accessible anywhere, anytime, there is a strong interaction among participants of diverse backgrounds. Online education, which is hosted by cyberspace, can be a more student-focused form of education delivery. This is because online communication has the capability to complement and enhance activities that cannot be done during face-to-face activities; establishes a collaborative learning environment where professionals and students create a community that would make it much easier to forward suggestion and ask questions, which translates to efficient feedback and provide the learner the opportunities to practice their critical and creative thinking, and develop their written communication skills. Not only do these advantages apply to the education system but also in many societal aspects such as the government and economy. I think that the presence of cyberspace provides a great deal of benefits in various aspects of the society and is one of the testimonies of humans’ achievement.

2 comments:

  1. Mai,

    I agree with you on this topic. However, I would want to bring up Neil Postman's comments from the video we watched in class.

    I also think that since specific differences apply to each method of instruction, perhaps, what we need to make sense of all is nothing else than labels.

    Coming up with categories which would "accurately" reflect what aspect of education is explored would put an end to the debate over in-class versus online education.

    Margaret M. Roidi

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  2. I do agree with Postman that the ideal is a teacher and student in direct, face-to-face dialogue. But teaching conditions have mostly been far from ideal in many different ways. But I am more of a traditionalist myself, this class notwithstanding.

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