RESEARCH PAPER TEMPLATE

North American University

Education Department
M.Ed. in EDLE & CUIN 2022
EDUC 5324: INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO EDUCATION

Name: Samreen Qureshi Date: 06/21/23

Topic Selected:

What does the research say about the advantages and disadvantages of
distance education?

1. LITERATURE REVIEW: (250 Words)

What does the literature/research say about this issue/topic? By using NAU
Library or Online Search engines, conduct a literature review.
 You need to include 5 different sources (book, journal article, web article
etc.) in your review. Try to use current sources as much as possible.
 You need to summarize and synthesize your sources by discussing a
common theme or issue.
 You don't need to critique your sources
 You don't need to evaluate your sources (if the sources are trustworthy,
weather the author has a bias or not)
 You need to provide background information such as history and
definitions

Literature Review:
Over the year it’s been a rise in debate of the advantages and disadvantages of distance
education. There are several sources that suggest that distance education offers a flexible
environment for students to learn without any limitations of space or time. Distance learning is
eco-friendly where everything is submitted electronically, you save travelling time, and cost as
well. It also emphasizes the role of new technology which allows students to use multiple
learning tools, even though students with disabilities can easily take full advantage of the
online learning tools. It stresses about the time management skills which allows students to set
a study schedule to manage their attendance and other responsibilities; however, keeping a
track of the deadlines is a great challenge. According to research, that teaching is considered
more important than learning and, in the case of distance learning, students had to teach
themselves instead of learning on their own (Kunitson, Polda, & Sisask, 2023).It has also been
suggested that schools should prepare students for any emergency situation in need of moving
from in-person to online learning.

The study highlighted that distance learning offers a digital learning environment which has
kept people isolated and due to lack of dialogue and communication it indicates the reason for
mental health issues which increases nervousness, stress and anxiety. Since not everyone can
fully master complex technology, learners face technical issues such as inadequate internet
access, and device failure issues. This stresses the need of gaining knowledge on handling
 technical issues which is the high demand to fulfill the need of distance learning. On the other
hand it stresses for teachers to create lessons which fulfill the needs of the students with
different learning styles which can increase student engagement. However from the students’
point of view the research has suggested that, for students of technical fields of study,
distance education seems to be less useful than for students of natural science and humanities
(Illarionova, et al., 2021)
One of the eBook suggests good practices in distance education which highlighted the need
of developing effective communication skills and engaging students in interactive learning
opportunities in which they are able to collaborate with other students as well as frequent
interaction between student-faculty. The book offers the value of collaboration and teamwork
in distance education along with the more emphasis on providing instant feedback to
students. The author claims that “they rightly expect that the feedback will have a helpful
attitude or tone and will provide them appropriate reassurance about their abilities.”
(Mehrotra, Hollister, MCGahey, 2001, p.39)
It also suggests that educators must provide information on how to gather information, and
provide them a guideline on how to keep updated with new technology. One of the articles
characterizes the role of music education development in distance learning which questions
the need for enhanced technology tools for students in the current era. The study suggested
that not every artist has capability to teach and same with experienced teachers are not
capable of mastering a vocal career. According to a research, the main task of the teacher is to
teach the student to appeal to the vocal apparatus as an exponent of meaning (Breslavets et
al., 2023)
Technologies in distance learning require a variety of creative lessons, training, workshops, and
visiting performances to fully train the staff.
2. REFLECTION: (250 Words)
 What is your personal opinion on this issue? Do you agree with the research? If you
agree or disagree, please explain why?
 Provide examples/experiences regarding this issue from school perspective or If you
are not working in a school, from your profession. Be specific with your examples.
You can mention software/hardware names, specific methods that you plan to use,
etc.
 How would you implement this research in your career? (At least 1 paragraph)

Reflection:
In my opinion there are more advantages than disadvantages of distance learning. In today’s
world it is more convenient in terms of saving time especially if you are doing your job at the
same time. Distance learning allows saving both travelling time and cost and by staying home, or
in any other place you can still be in attendance and by creating a proper study schedule one can
achieve their academic goals. According to the research, the latest technology and educational
tools, particularly online resources, bring students closer to science and desired jobs, and allow
them to learn at their own pace (Fonariuk et al., 2023)
I agree with the research as it reflects on both advantages and disadvantages of distance learning.
Being a distance learner I feel the same as I can work according to my own pace in my
comfortable environment however, it is also true that it is really hard to keep myself on track in
terms of meeting the deadlines and keeping myself updated with the technology in terms of use of
devices and issues related to internet connections. Since I like socialization and being a visual
learner/ kinesthetic learner I miss being in class and by not doing so it takes so much of my time
to just read and understand.
I remember at the time of COVID 19 Pandemic I was told by my school to conduct one online
after school club named “Name that Book ''; my biggest challenge was how I can make this one
hour club more interactive. Firstly, I planned this as each week we do different things so students
won’t get bored, secondly I tried to involve random students to participate during the club to
create curiosity. The software I am planning to use is Todoist which helps educators to prioritize
your tasks and keep upcoming tasks in focus. Nowadays, there is so much distraction we have
and using such software can help us stay on task.
I can implement this research in my career by making my lesson plan more interactive, by
providing opportunities to work in group projects, and discussions. While planning a lesson it is
essential to set goals which fulfill the needs of all the students with different learning styles. By
providing ongoing feedback with distance learners we can help reduce the stress and anxiety in
students so they can achieve their academic goals. That is something which I have gained from
this research. From this research I have also gained that as educators first we need to be fully
updated with all the advanced technology and more training on how we can implement in
teaching to achieve the learning goals is essential.

3. REFERENCES:
 Cite at least 5 References in APA.
 You may use http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-journal for citing
your sources in APA style.

References

BRESLAVETS, H., SHPAK, H., KHOMENKO, A., BAKALO, L., OSYPENKO, V., &

DZIUBA, O. (2023). Distance Vocal Training in the Postmodern Period. Romanian

Journal for Multidimensional Education / Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie

Multidimensionala, 15(2), 440–455. https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/15.2/743

Chandra Mehrotra, C. David Hollister, & Lawrence McGahey. (2001). Distance

Learning : Principles for Effective Design, Delivery, and Evaluation. SAGE

Publications, Inc.

FONARIUK, O., MALYKHIN, A., MURZINA, O., SHERMAN, M.,

KANIBOLOTSKA, O., & TYNNYI, V. (2023). Expanded Reality: Just a Trend

of our Time or do We Need Technology? Romanian Journal for Multidimensional

Education / Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 15(1), 58–82.

https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/15.1/686

Illarionova, L. P., Karzhanova, N. V., Ishmuradova, A. M., Nazarenko, S. V., Korzhuev,

A. V., & Ryazanova, E. L. (2021). Student Attitude to Distance Education: Pros and

Cons. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 16(3), 1319–1327.

Teidla-Kunitsõn, G., Põlda, H., & Sisask, M. (2023). Construction of Learning during the

Inevitable Distance Learning Period: A Critical Perspective of the Experiences of

Young People in Estonia. Sustainability (2071-1050), 15(1), 494.

https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010494