Demands of the Virtual Classroom :: Teaching Education

Demands of the Virtual ClassroomPreparing online courses is not easy. In a ingest by the NEA, 53% of participating instructors admitted that courses online take more time to deck discover and deliver. Much of that time is devoted to weekly e-mail contact, a labor that 83% stated is part of their regimen. R bely is additional remuneration granted to compensate for the heavier workload. (Newsgroup Message 6/23/00)The additional effort on the part of the instructors does not necessarily facilitate the process for the students. Successful participants mustiness be disciplined, able to work on their own, can deal with uncertainty, and are not easily distracted. (PCC)(Kleiner) In addition, students must be prepared to put up setup difficulties, hardware malfunctions, and net income traffic (Neal) in addition to the consequence of the acquisition of the required engineering.The question of whether the return of the student and instructor efforts is worthy remains unanswered. To da te little empirical evidence exists that proves that electronic technology improves learning. David Noble, a technology historian from York University in Toronto, avers that identity formation is a process that can only occur face-to-face. (Neal) In fact, research has shown that the loving interaction in traditional residential programs contributes to the intellectual and ethical emergence of undergraduates. For the simple dissemination of information where knowledge is passed hydraulically from instructor to student, Internet instruction seems to be an unsuitable methodology. (Neal) Such theories seem to prove out in a retention rate that varies anywhere from 20% to 97%.(Kleiner)Considering the CostsWith such doubtable results emanating from greater effort on the part of twain student and teacher, the question arises about why Internet classes are graceful so popular. The push seems to come from a joint effort on the part of software developers, legislators, and college adminis trators who are eager to be known for their scientific strides. The resulting trends are demanding that many schools jump on the bandwagon to cater to the non-traditional students. The University of Phoenix has an readjustment of 68,000 students from 15 states, more than Princeton and Duke combined. That figure is expected to triple by the form 2002 and includes only students who are at least 23-years-old and employed.(Marcus, A Scholastic currency Mine) Peter Drucker has predicted that such trends will result in the end of the university deep down 30 years. (Neal). On the opposing side, however, the National Center for educational Statistics has predicted that the investment may not produce the results that Peter Drucker forecasted.