When I sign up for classes, I must admit, I'm not really thinking about how my potential courses may better me as a human. Rather, I'm mostly considering, "Do I really need this course for my major and is this course going to make my life a living hell? I think this is how most students think about their classes. Their main priority is creating a schedule that will be stimulating yet manageable and will help them fulfill the requirements for graduation.
When we step back and look at what a college education really means, the point of going to college is to gain knowledge and improve yourself as a human. Next time you sign up for classes, consider that your college education is supposed to be shaping you into a capable, working adult who is ready for the workforce. You may also consider that online classes could be the way to shape you into who you want to be. UW-Madison Professor and online course advocate wrote an article describing five main research-backed ways in which internet based courses improve students overall. I think it's important that students be aware of the benefits of online classes because when choosing a schedule, we have the choice of many classes, all of which have the potential to change our lives and change who we are as people. Based on Gernsbacher's article, if you're a student, I definitely encourage you to consider online classes for these reasons.
1. "Internet-Based Education Can Lead to Better Mastery"
Gernsbacher's article cited a research article that demonstrated that learning which is spread across many days promotes mastery of course content. I completely agree with this point. When I was a freshman, I took an economics courses that only met twice a week for an hour and a half. Many students simply went to lecture and studied their notes a few nights before the exam, and I almost did this as well. However, I was advised by a former student of the class to work on the material every day, so that's what I did. I ended up with an A in the class.
Imagine if this course was available online. I could watch parts of the lecture every day rather than going back to the material from one large lecture every day. The online course would allow me to compartmentalize my learning into simple topics rather than covering one large topic at a very fast pace. Doesn't the online version of the course seem easier to manage?
I think that distributed learning may be a much better option for many courses, and when students have the option to take online courses, remember that spreading out your learning over many days can help you master the material.
2. "Internet-Based Education Can Optimize Performance"
Is there a certain time of the day that you work best? For me that time lands from about 10:00 a.m. to about 2:00 p.m. I'm not sure why, but this is when my body and mind want to be productive. However, this coming semester, I'm taking a course that begins every Monday and Wednesday at 7:45 a.m., and I know that my mind and body will not be in their optimal-learning mode.
Because everyone has a different optimal time of the day, I may be in a class with some people who do indeed learn best at 7:45 in the morning. Maybe even our professor feels that they teach best at 7:45 a.m. If this class where instead taught online, every single student could choose to watch the lecture or complete the course material during their optimal time of the day. This is another beauty of online courses, and it can really help students to take in what they're learning because they can do it at a time that works for them.
3. "Internet-Based Education Can Deepen Memory"
Psychological research has demonstrated that when we process information deeply, we actually remember the information more than we would if we simply read it. The course Psych: 532: Psychological Effects of the Internet is an online course, and it asks students to engage deeply with the material, applying it to their own lives via discussion posts. Students also have to chat about the material via online group chats.
4. "Internet-Based Higher Education Can Promote Critical Thinking"
The internet forces students to think critically because it is a place that forces students to find the information that they're looking for. When I took an online class for nursing school, I had to look up information regarding claims about the discussion post. We had to base our discussion posts on at least two sources from outside of the course materials. This made for a challenging search, but I certainly improved my critical thinking skills while looking for academically based writing about the topics we covered.
5. "Internet-Based Higher Education Can Enhance Writing Skills"
I have been involved in internet-based courses throughout the entirety of my sophomore year. Because all of these courses included discussion posts, I had to write about topics nearly every day. While in high school, our English teacher told us that if we wanted to become better writers, we should take time to journal or write something every day. However, without an actual assignment attributed to this recommendation, few students actually heeded his advice. Similarly, this course recommends that by working every day, we can become better at the skill.
Through frequent discussion post assignments, I have become a much better writer over the course of my sophomore year. As the article touched on, because I had to write for my peers and instructors, I wanted my writing to be interesting and easy to read. Therefore, many of my discussion posts have included personal stories or outside sources from interesting articles online.
Overall, I think online courses are a wonderful way to learn. Without them, I never would have been able to take both psychology and sociology while still in high school. Taking these classes from a technical school allowed me to increase the number of credits that I brought with me to college and helped me to get ahead in completing my nursing school pre-requisite courses.
I am an advocate for online learning because it benefits students in so many ways. If you haven't yet, consider taking an online course.