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Example research essay topic: Issues In Web Based Education - 2,192 words

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Issues in Web-Based Education Issues in Web-Based Education Management of the learning process includes tasks such as time tabling, tracking attendance, recording progress, calculating grades, and identifying the learning needs of students. Many educators already use tools such as spreadsheets, databases, and specialized software to perform these tasks. The Web offers an environment that can integrate these separate tools behind a consistent interface and make the whole process of class management more efficient (Inglis, Ling, Joosten, 1999, p. 8). The fact that several books exist about building a Web-based classroom indicates the growing need and desire for it. Most educators aim to use a teaching approach that is effective, efficient, and enjoyable. However, many existing approaches suffer from problems that can adversely influence these goals.

New approaches, Web-based and not, offer characteristics that make it possible to more easily facilitate these ideas (Herring, 1999, 12). Although courses offered over the Internet benefit students and teachers alike, disadvantages exit as well. Both the education and training sectors face an increase in the number of people needing and wanting to undertake further education. In many cases, the inclining demand on education exceeds the funding allocated to education (Darbyshire, 2000, p. 201).

One driving force behind the surge in demand for education is the increasing rate of change in work environments brought about by technology and the recognition that most workers will require some form of retraining throughout the course of their working lives. Increasing demand can result in larger class sizes, higher student-to-staff ratios, and a decrease in the interaction between students and staff. Growing class sizes also put a strain on physical resources. Most university students are familiar with overcrowded lecture halls that force people to sit in the aisles. At some institutions, the inability of physical classrooms to handle the increased class sizes has led to repeat lectures (Bastiaens & Martens, 2000, p. 29).

Among the increasing population of learners is a significant population of mature students who are studying part-time while working and supporting a family. These students must be able to study whenever and wherever possible; otherwise, further education is not possible. The growing importance of this scenario is evidenced by the increasing interest in distance education methods in which traditional face-to-face communication is not used (Miller & Miller, 2000, p. 162). For most learners today, education represents a considerable investment in time and money, and like most consumers, students are now demanding a service equivalent to the cost. Lawsuits have been filed by students unhappy with the value of education received. As a result, many students want more feedback, more attention, and more resources to help (Margolis, 2000, p. 20).

The amount of new knowledge generated in the last thirty years is greater than that created during the rest of human history, and new knowledge is being produced at an alarming rate. Along with the rapid growth in knowledge comes the requirement for people to become increasingly specialized in a particular field. Consequently, people may need to be retrained more frequently and receive more advanced training in specific areas. Thus the education facilities available to these people must maintain contact with current knowledge and be able to change (Inglis, Ling, Joosten, 1999, p. 2).

The belief of many educators that the Web offers a method to address some of these problems comes in part from the Webs particular characteristics. In a Web-based classroom, the relative geographic locations of the students and the teacher need not significantly change the quality of the learning experience. Students can study from wherever they happen to be with whatever educational institution best suits their needs. This means that learning is no longer restricted to the physical buildings of the learning institution and consequently the problems of overcrowding start to disappear. Education can proceed without major reorganization of students lives (Herring, 1999, p. 62). Geographic independence also means that information stored in a Web-based classroom can be changed at any time.

There is no longer any delay in distributing material to students; as soon as it is on the Web, students can retrieve it. Information can be corrected, or new and pertinent information can be added. Information can be changed in response to students requirements or comments, or a change in the material being taught (McCormack & Jones, 1998, p. 20). The combination of the Webs information distribution possibilities, and asynchronous communication in conjunction with appropriate instruction can free the learning experience from the bounds of time. There is no longer any need for a teacher and 500 students to synchronize their schedules and meet in the same place at the same time.

When participation in the learning experience occurs at a time convenient to both the students and the educator, there are a range of advantages (Rea, White, Mc Haney, Sanchez, 2000, p 150). There is no longer any reason for a student or an educator to miss a class. Students no longer must compete with other students for the professors limited time, and both student and teacher have the time to formulate answers and responses without the pressure of having to provide and immediate reply (Darbyshire, 2000, p. 214). Many existing applications of computers in education such as computer-managed learning, computer-based training, and CD-ROMs are specific to a particular computer platform like Windows or Macintosh. The platform-independent nature of the Internet almost totally removes this problem. However, it still exists if someone plans to used advanced features of the Web that may not be available on all the platforms the students may be using.

For example, the Shockwave multimedia system cannot be used on computers running UNIX. The majority of the software needed to access the systems described in this book is available free and can be used on any computer regardless of make or operating systems (Herring, 1999, p. 25). Many people find learning how to use computers difficult; as a result, they are often reluctant to use them at all. Any use of computers in education should aim to minimize the necessity to learn new skills. Where new skills are required, the instructor should attempt to ensure that those new skills are useful in other arenas. The popularity of the Web means that many students entering a Web-based classroom for the first time may already know how to use the Internet.

If they do not, the relative simplicity of the tools used to access the Web keeps the effort involved to a minimum. The popularity of the Internet also means that once a student or teacher knows how to use the Web, that knowledge can be of use in other facets of life apart from education (French, 1999, p. 23). The Web allows students to talk to each other, individually or as a group, and to send questions or hold conversations, oral or electronic, with their educator. Indeed, it is commonly reported that people will talk more via e-mail or a chat program than in a face-to-face situation (McCormack & Jones, 2000, p. 21).

Often times, this causes the student to become more demanding online than in person. Most students expect professors to respond to e-mails almost immediately (Rea, White, Mc Haney, Sanchez, 2000, p. 137). The Web-based classroom is not a solution to every problem you may face with your class, nor is it the only solution. Like any medium, it has a number of limitations that must be considered when deciding whether or not to build a Web-based classroom (McCormack & Jones, 2000, p. 22).

Possibly the most noticeable problem with using a Web-based classroom is with providing access to the Web and computers to enable that access for both students and educators. In many places around the world, students and educators are struggling to gain access to electricity let alone computers and the Internet. In these areas, the problem of technology access is a difficult and time-consuming task, often beyond the ability of individual educators to address (Inglis, Ling, Joosten, 1999, p. 14). On the other hand, in most developed countries, the spread of the Internet means that it is increasingly unlikely that students and educators will not have some form of access to computers and computer networks.

Whether students have access to the Web and what type of access they have is an important consideration in the design of the Web-based classroom (French, 1999, p. 15). The greatest benefits of Web-based classrooms occur through a teaching approach that most effectively uses the characteristics of technology to increase the quality of the learning experience. The trend in Web-based classrooms is away from the student as a passive recipient of knowledge toward the student involved in the learning process as an active, self-motivational participant. Online courses assume that students are self-motivated and capable of learning and studying alone, which is not always true, specifically when a student first enrolls in college (Darbyshire, 2000, p. 198). Both instructors and students with experience only of traditional teaching methods may have problems adapting to a new approach. The changes brought on by the adoption of a Web-based classroom do not stop with the educator and the student.

A Web-based classroom requires infrastructure, support, and administrative procedures that are quite different than those of a traditional classroom. Especially if the move to Web-based classrooms is widespread within an institution, the resource allocation and administrative procedures of and institution must change (Rea, White, Mc Haney, Sanchez, 2000, p. 152). The issues of copyright, privacy, security and authentication are all important to consider in any classroom, not just a Web-based classroom. Solutions to these problems are still a long way away for both Web-based and traditional classrooms. Current copyright laws are inconsistent and are still struggling with the demands of traditional media such as print, painting, and music, so it is difficult to apply them to the dynamic world of the Internet (Throne, 2000, p. 249). The question of how a professor really knows a student who submitted an assignment actually wrote it is still causing problems in the traditional classroom.

The problem always existed in one form or another, but the Internet and the Web focus attention on it because access to already existing information can make cheating easier (McCormack, 1998, p. 24). Also, if a student completes a test, quiz, or homework assignment online, the professor has no method of determining the identity of who actually submitted it. After reading this paper, someone should now have some sort of understanding of what a Web-based classroom entails, along with the benefits and disadvantages to consider. With the increased demand for education, methods to accommodate the growing diversity of students must be created. The option of taking a Web-based course helps to accomplish this.

Some advantages of an online course include geographic, temporal, and platform independence, useful interface, and increased communication. The problems with a Web-based classroom involve access to resources, adapting to new methods, no uniform quality, as well as copyright and authentication. It is advantageous to occasionally complete an online course to help accommodate ones schedule. However, with all of the drawbacks, it is not advisable to rely entirely on Web-based courses to satisfy all college degree requirements. Approximate Word count = 1904 Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced) Bibliography REFERENCES Bastiaens, T. J. , & Martens, R.

L. (2000). Conditions for Web-based learning with real events. In B. Abbey (Ed. ), Instructional and cognitive impacts of Web-based education (pp. 1 - 31). Hershey, PA & London: Idea Group Publishing. Darbyshire, P. (2000).

Distributed Web-based assignment management. In A. Aggarwal (Ed. ), Web-Based learning and teaching technologies: opportunities and challenges (pp. 198 - 215). Hershey, PA & London: Idea Group Publishing. French, D. (1999).

Preparing for Internet-based learning. In D. French, C. Hale, C. Johnson, & G. Farr (Ed. ), Internet-Based Learning: An introduction and framework for higher education and business (pp. 9 - 24).

Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC. Herring, J. E. (1999). Exploiting the Internet as an information resource in schools. London: Library Association Publishing.

Inglis, A. , Ling, P. , & Joosten, V. (1999). Delivering digitally: Managing the transition to the knowledge media. London: Korean Page. Margolis, M. (2000).

Using the Internet for teaching and research: A political evaluation. In R. A. Cole (Ed. ), Issues in Web-based pedagogy: A critical primer (pp. 9 - 22). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

McCormack, C. , & Jones, D. (1998). Building a Web-based education system. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Miller, S. M. , Miller, K. L. (2000).

Theoretical and practical considerations in the design of Web-based education. In B. Abbey (Ed. ), Instructional and cognitive impacts of Web-based education (pp. 156 - 77). Hershey, PA & London: Idea Group Publishing. Rea, A. , White, D. , Mc Haney, R. , Sanchez, C. (2000). Pedagogical methodology in virtual courses.

In A. Aggarwal (Ed. ), Web-Based learning and teaching technologies: opportunities and challenges (pp. 135 - 54). Hershey, PA & London: Idea Group Publishing. Throne, D. W. (2000). Copyright and Web-based education: What all faculty should know.

In R. A. Cole (Ed. ), Issues in Web-based pedagogy: A critical primer (pp. 247 - 60). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.


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Research essay sample on Issues In Web Based Education

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