The Benefits of Online Learning

 

There is a very light dusting of powdered sugar on my keyboard rest from the doughnut I just finished and my desk is covered by an assortment of sticky notes, folded papers, snacks, and candles.  One screen is open to my schoolwork (multiple tabs showing the required readings, an additional window for searching more resources if needed, and a Word Document to double check any errors) and my other screen is playing a movie on mute.  I’m in pajamas under a heated blanket while a soft rain comes down outside, and occasionally my 2-year old German Shepherd, Callista, will rise from her perch on the couch, stretch, and walk over to me for free scritches and belly rubs.  This—all of this—is what online learning looks like to me.  It is where I am right now, in this moment.  Warm and content, in my safe place, finding a great balance between my free time and my pursuit of new learning.

As a full-time teacher, I average 50 hours or more a week (during peak grading seasons it is more like 70 hours per week) of time either at work, preparing for work, or taking care of work-related tasks.  This leaves very little time, as my therapist often reminds me, for everything else I need to take care of.  My home, my health, and self-care tasks are on that list, but I’ve also never let go of my passion for learning…I’ve just had to try and fit it in.  Sometimes that meant carrying a teaching methods book with me and highlighting key passages, sometimes it meant finding a sub so I could attend a conference about math strategies (I’m a math teacher), and sometimes it means finding just the right type of college course.  Online learning offers that advantage; there is no way I’d be able to commute to and attend regular in-person classes at this point in my life.  I’d probably have to wait until retirement for that kind of time!

As a student, online learning is almost all advantages.  I do remember taking an online Physics course during my undergraduate years, though, where I struggled mightily and always seemed to be looking for support, mostly due to my own habit of doing homework at midnight on weekends.  The disadvantages to online learning are much easier to identify when looking at it from an instructor’s perspective, because when I taught online learning, I really had difficulty embracing it.  I felt distanced and unconnected from my students and had trouble identifying their needs and how to support them. 

Online learning could be most useful to meet the needs of my own learners in the same way that it meets my needs—by being a flexible option.  Most adults still view high school life as very traditional—kids go to school, maybe play some sports, and are home by dinner with plenty of time for homework so they can go to bed and start it all again the next day.  The reality is very different and makes one wonder how/why we could ever put this much pressure on them.  A study conducted by Shannon M. Suldo, Elizabeth Shaunessy, Amanda Thalji, Jessica Michalowski and Emily Shaffer found that high school students experience stress from seven different sources: “managing academic requirements, parent-child relations, adolescent transitions/events, peer relations, problems with family, participation in extra-curricular activities, and academic struggles” (Suldo et al, 2009, p. 942).  High school students frequently have obligations before school begins (such as team practice or dropping siblings off at school).  Then they attend five, six, or seven classes in a row (some of which may be Honors, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, or Dual Enrollment level), closely followed by a requirement to be at team practice, theater rehearsal, or a club meeting, if they aren’t leaving directly to go to work.  Students who have jobs typically work beneath bosses that have little to no consideration for their age and student status and will schedule them as often as possible.  As an example, during my own senior year I had all honors/DE courses and my boss would schedule me to work the graveyard shift.  I haven’t even mentioned homework, chores, and sleep.  My point here is—high school students need flexible options for learning just as much as adults do.  They are overwhelmed and pushed to their limit by our expectations.

I think that the role of online learning can best be implemented to improve learning outcomes by keeping this student lifestyle in mind.  If traditional public school were restructured in a way that provided students with the freedom to design a schedule that fits them best, we could see higher investment in learning than we do now.  I envision it this way:  The student is required to choose two daily in-person courses and one weekly on-campus study hall session.  The other courses can be in-person or online.  This will allow them to select a start time (when to wake up/arrive on campus) and an end time (when to transition to working online/leave campus) that are the best fit for their busy schedule.  The required study hall session will allow him/her time to consult with a counselor, tutor, or instructor as needed to support coursework.  This can also benefit public school teachers because they will have the option to teach only in-person students, only online students, or a mix of both (or maybe even choose a later start time or earlier end time).  With fewer students on campus at any given time, it can also reduce many behavior concerns and overhead costs like security and maintenance.

Thus far, I’ve referred to distance learning exclusively as “online learning” to avoid confusion.  I’d like to now address some variations in online learning.  Strictly speaking, “online learning” could refer to any learning that is done through the internet or with internet resources (that would make up about half of what I do in my classroom in person, though).  I’d divide it into two particular categories: “online-only” and “hybrid” (often called blended) learning.  “Online-only” learning would be a course or curriculum that is available without any requirement for the student to meet the instructor in person.  It might require synchronous attendance, or it might be offered fully asynchronously.  Conversely, “hybrid” learning does require some level of in-person interaction at some point during the course.

Looking to the future, I hope to see many more courses like the ones I’ve seen in this Learning Design Technologies (LDT) program.  Courses that are flexible and asynchronous, but also very-well planned, structured with needed resources integrated, and instructed by a team that is well-versed in all technology that will be implemented.  I look forward to the new types of technology on the horizon that could become core parts of online learning as well.  Taking a course where the student interacts with material in virtual reality, for example, paints an amazing picture of the possibilities the future holds.

References

Suldo, Shannon M., et al. “Sources of Stress for Students in High School College Preparatory and General Education Programs: Group Differences and Associations with Adjustment.” Adolescence, vol. 44, no. 176, 2009, pp. 925–48.