Throughout this M.Sc. in E-learning, some of my relatives and friends have asked me if it wasn't too hard to study online. Although there are downsides, I believe there are strong advantages in doing that, some of which are exemplified by The Social Mind, the last but one chapter in Gee's book (Gee 2003)

General findings about students' engagement in online versus face-to-face learning show that:

"distance learners generally scored higher on the student engagement and outcomes measures than their campus-based counterparts. For example, distance learners reported experiencing higher levels of academic challenge (on a scale measuring the amount of reading, writing, and higher-order thinking activities students engaged in and the amount of time spent studying) and reflective thinking (a component of deep learning that asks students how often they critically examined their own views, considered the views of others, and adapted their thinking on a topic). They also reported that they gained more in terms of practical competence (e.g., career skills, interpersonal skills, and technological proficiency) and in personal and social development (e.g., developing values and ethics, understanding people from diverse backgrounds, and self-understanding), and they were generally more satisfied with their educational experiences"

 Chen et al (2008)

Making mistakes

When I play Word of Warcraft and other games, I learn a lot by making mistakes. This is also inherent to learning through exploration. When I get killed, I can always find my corpse back and continue to play.

The problem with face-to-face learning is that learners are more afraid of making mistakes, mostly because of the social and immediate nature of this traditional mode. Not that online learning doesn't involve risks (learners are, most of the time, not anonymous) but the distance “filters” people's reactions in such a way that when someone makes a mistake, they won't feel or hear others' laughs or immediate reactions (unless a synchronous voice medium is used for example).

Often, teachers themselves make humiliating remarks about students' attempts at solving a particular problem which can harm their self-esteem and prevent them from trying and learning at later times.

In relation to that, on the Course Design module and in response to the sort of power relationships between learners described by Reynolds and Trehan (2000), Eneas suggested that participative assessment could be conducted using Second Life.

A learning network

In fact, online learning forces students to focus on learning. This is the distinction that Rovai et al 2006 make between social community and learning community. Even though the social element is crucial (particularly at the beginning), the learning aspect of the community gradually takes over (Salmon 2000).

What makes this possible is that the structure of the web itself reflects the link between the various nodes of the community: online resources and people. Learners can customize their learning experiences better and in a much more timely way than when they are attending a face-to-face lecture or a tutorial. Indeed, when students take exams online, teachers can't expect them to rely solely on their own knowledge.

This change from the traditional to the online medium may be seen as an opportunity for rethinking traditional education and transforming it into one that is more suited to today's demands.

References:

Chen, P., R. Gonyea, and G. Kuh. (2008). Learning at a distance: Engaged or not?. Innovate 4(3)
Retrieved: 8 April 2009. http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=438

Gee, J. P. (2003). The social mind. In What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York, Palgrave Macmillan

Reynolds, M. and Trehan, K. (2000). Assessment: a critical perspective. Studies in Higher Education 25(3): 267-278.

Rovai, Alfred P., Mervyn J. Wightinga & Robert Lucking (2006). The Classroom and School community Inventory: Development, refinement, and validation of a self-report measure for educational research, The Internet in Higher Education 7, 263–280.

Salmon, G (2002). The five-stage framework and e-tivities. In E-tivities: the key to active online learning. (London, Kogan Page): 10-36.