The Preparation of a Workforce:
Socialization of Students in Traditional vs. Online Learning Environments
The Preparation of a Workforce: Socialization of Students in Traditional versus Online Learning Environments
Chrystal Herron
EN-102 August 5, 2012
Chrystal Herron EN-102 5 August 2012
The Preparation of a Workforce: Socialization of Students in Traditional versus Online Learning Environments
If it were 1998, a student’s options for acquiring a Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university typically would be limited to attendance at a traditional brick and mortar institution. This allowed for direct face-to-face interaction with similar like-minded students and faculty. The thought of an option which allowed students to not sit in class was and continues to be controversial. “Online education has become a hot topic recently, with more and more institutions wanting to expand offerings. And that makes studies of the quality of online education important -- and controversial.” (Wojciechowska) The debates weigh in on both pros and cons to online learning. One of the many subtopics of this debate is the lack of social skill development and interactions found in online learning environments. I feel that due to the limited opportunities for face-to-face interactions between an instructor and their students, distance education has brought many new challenges to the teaching and learning process. Wang and Newlin (137-143) point out that little is known about the characteristics of students in distance education courses. As a result, effective curriculum design is hindered by the lack of understanding of the characteristics, attitudes, and needs of the students in these courses (Wang and Newlin, 140). The lack of understanding of the needs of online learning will inevitably impact cognition, but other areas, such as social skill development. I do believe that due to economic issues not issues of physical
Chrystal Herron
EN-102 August 5, 2012
Chrystal Herron EN-102 5 August 2012
The Preparation of a Workforce: Socialization of Students in Traditional versus Online Learning Environments
If it were 1998, a student’s options for acquiring a Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university typically would be limited to attendance at a traditional brick and mortar institution. This allowed for direct face-to-face interaction with similar like-minded students and faculty. The thought of an option which allowed students to not sit in class was and continues to be controversial. “Online education has become a hot topic recently, with more and more institutions wanting to expand offerings. And that makes studies of the quality of online education important -- and controversial.” (Wojciechowska) The debates weigh in on both pros and cons to online learning. One of the many subtopics of this debate is the lack of social skill development and interactions found in online learning environments. I feel that due to the limited opportunities for face-to-face interactions between an instructor and their students, distance education has brought many new challenges to the teaching and learning process. Wang and Newlin (137-143) point out that little is known about the characteristics of students in distance education courses. As a result, effective curriculum design is hindered by the lack of understanding of the characteristics, attitudes, and needs of the students in these courses (Wang and Newlin, 140). The lack of understanding of the needs of online learning will inevitably impact cognition, but other areas, such as social skill development. I do believe that due to economic issues not issues of physical
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