Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

Inglés Virtual 8 (1262)

Mariana Villalba A.

2020-03

Is Online Learning the Future? Advantages and Disadvantages.

On the last few years, the use of technology has been growing exponentially. We
use internet, electronic devices, and different platforms for a lot of things in our
lives. For example we check the latest news on our phone instead of a journal, we
can stay in touch with our long-distant friends video-calling them or we can search
the answers for general knowledge questions googling them, nowadays, you can get
new for ideas for dinner and learn how to make delicious meals on an online
cooking class or even get a professional degree, or learn new stuff on different
platforms and universities, including Ivy League schools.

With the use of technology increasing every day, is a matter of time, the day that
everything will turn out to be online, including education and learning. It is possible
for one, to be a successful and outstanding as an online student, it all depends on
you.
I totally support the idea, that one can be successful as an online student, but it all
depends on our responsibility, you can take any class online and not learn because
of lack of attention and discipline.

Some may think that is more difficult to learn online, because the platforms may be
designed for a “standard student”.
Is true that we are used to a teacher that explains you concepts repeatedly, but you
can learn easier with other platforms. If you struggle with a concept, the program
will instantly notice it and re-change the program for your learning rhythm because
of the use of machine learning.
As the technology entrepreneur Ilker Koksal explained in his Forbes column “The
Rise of Online Learning”: “Online learning enterprises have a massive amount of
user data which enables those platforms to use machine learning algorithms that can
enhance the learning patterns of people. Machine learning algorithms use pattern
recognition which can personalize the content for everyone. For example, when a
student repeatedly struggles with a concept at the course, and the platform can
adjust the e-learning content to provide more detailed information to help the
student. […] The instantaneous feedback loops inside the platforms which are
provided by other online students or the platform improve the learning curve.”i
And so, it may be even easier, for one as a student to understand concepts or to
learn new skills because platforms are programmed with machine learning
algorithms, that let us learn in our own way and rhythm, making easier to study.

At first, personally I thought that online learning would not give me the same results
as face-to-face instructions. After time passed by, I realized that my grades were
even better than before, but why is that?
A recent study made by Elaine Allen, Ph.D. Professor of Biostatistics and Jeff
Seaman, Ph.D. Director of Babson Survey Research Group have consistently found
most chief academic officers rate the learning outcomes for online education “as
good as or better” than those for face-to-face instruction, but a consistent minority
consider online to be inferior.
The 2012 results show some small improvements in the perception of the relative
quality of online instruction as compared to face-to face.
In the first report (2003), 57.2 % of academic leaders rated the learning outcomes in
online education as the same or superior to those in face-to-face. That number is
now 77.0 percent.
A minority (23.0%) of academic leaders continue to believe the learning outcomes
for online education are inferior to those of face-to-face instruction.
ii

Academic leaders at institutions with online offerings have a much more Fig.1
favorable opinion of the relative learning outcomes for online courses than
do those at institutions with no online offerings.

A consistent finding over the ten years of these reports is the strong positive relationship of
academic leaders at institutions with online offerings also holding a more favorable opinion
of the learning outcomes for online education.iii The results show a general positive
relationship between the use the learning technology and student engagement and learning
outcomes.

In conclusion the Internet holds tremendous potential for getting knowledge and learning
new skills. As author Gary James wrote “Extendibility, Accessibility, and Suitability:
Users can proceed through a training program at their own pace and at their own place.
They can also access at any time, receiving only as much as they need. In other words, “just
in time and just enough.”iv. Online learning is almost personalized because of the machine
learning algorithms that online-learning platforms use, and studies have also shown a
positive relationship between the use of learning technology and student engagement as
well as better academic grades and results. And so, we might conclude that online learning
is the future, everything is designed for students to achieve and learn new skills.
i
KOKSAL, I. (2020) Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ilkerkoksal/2020/05/02/the-rise-of-online-
learning/#611618c72f3c. 24/08/2020
ii
Taken from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED541571.pdf. 24/08/2020
iii
ALLEN, E. & SEAMAN, J. (2013). “Changing course: Ten years of tracking online education in the United States” Babson
Park, MA: Babson Survey Research Group. 24/08/2020. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED541571.pdf.
iv