Online learning in higher education
Online learning, or virtual classes offered over the internet, is contrasted with traditional courses taken in a brick-and-mortar school building.
The CPB mission was "to encourage the growth and development of public radio and television broadcasting, including the use of such media for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes" (as cited in,[1] p. 27).
Online learning emerged in 1982 when the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in La Jolla, California opened its School of Management and Strategic Studies.
[2] Starting in 1985, Connected Education offered the first totally online master's degree in media studies, through The New School in New York City, also via computer conferencing.
In 1993 with the debut of the first Internet web browser, created by the University of Illinois, online learning began to flourish.
The program, developed by Dr. William Lynch, originally delivered course content in association with Jones Intercable's Mind Extension University (ME/U).
He assembled a set of web-based tools and HTML pages that allowed asynchronous communication among students and faculty, the delivery of lectures, drop boxes for assignments, and other features that have since become the core toolkit for course management systems.
[14] In 2020, the global coronavirus pandemic prompted many universities to hastily transition to online learning in lieu of holding classes in person.
[15][16][17][18] With the change to remote education being for many institutions rather abrupt, universities developed a wide range of different standards for online provision.
[19] Given the improvements in delivery methods, online learning environments provide a greater degree of flexibility than traditional classroom settings.
[20][21] Online platforms can also offer more diverse representations of student populations as learners prepare for working in the twenty-first century.
[27] On the other hand, one of the main limitations of this delivery method is the greater potential for a learner to feel removed from the learning environment.
[20][24] Synchronous learning takes place through digital platforms where the learners are utilizing the online media at the same time.
[20] If platforms such as web conferencing or video chat are used, learners are able to hear the tone of voice used by others which may allow for greater understanding of content.
[23] However the synchronous environment, with real-time responses, can allow for students or instructors to provide clarity to what was said, or alleviate any possible misconceptions.
[20] Along these lines and applying the two dimensions of "time distance" and "number of participants", German marketing professor Andreas Kaplan has proposed a classification scheme that places online distance courses into four distinct groups:[28] Most online learning occurs through a college's or university's learning management system (LMS).
Most institutions utilize LMSs by external vendors (77%), Blackboard currently dominates the LMS environment with an adoption rate of 31.9%, followed by Moodle at 19.1%, and Canvas at 15.3%.
5[38]) Connectivism places knowledge in "diversity of opinions" (p. 5) and that learning is aided through creating and nurturing connections of "fields, ideas, and concepts".
[24] With the potential for learners to feel disconnected from peers within the course, the instructor will need to work to create spaces and encounters which promote socialization.
[24] Video and audio components enhance connection and communication with peers, as this supports learners to expand on their responses and engage in discussions.
