E-Learning: How Do We Make E-Learning Work? Why Do We Make It Work?

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While there are many problems associated with online classes, there are ways to solve almost all of them. There are a few problems that students face when taking online classes, most of these problems stem from the fact that when students take an online class. They take the class mostly by themselves. This can cause students to lack the motivation and resources to complete the course successfully, and gain all the knowledge they can from the course. There are a few ways to fix these problems, one way for students to stay motivated through an online class is to set periodic goals for themselves, and if they can, a useful technique is to have an trust worthy adult, such as a parent or another teacher, help them by checking in on their progress. This is a good way to tackle a class that is basically an online textbook, and a few tests with only one due date at the end of the term. If students wait until the end of the term to complete all of their work, they can become overwhelmed and door poorly, and not learn all the material. Another way for students to stay motived in an online class by putting away a set time, a few hours a week, to work on their class. While they will not actually be in a classroom, this can act like being in a classroom, by having set aside time to do work for that class. This way they can stay on top of their work, and not have to cram at the end of the term.

Along with having solutions to problems online classes pose, there are also many advantages to online classes over classes in a traditional school setting. One advantage is that students get to take these classes on their own time. While this is also a problem, as I have previously discussed, because students can become unmotivated and easily distracted. This is also an advantage because students can take classes outside of the regular school day. This is necessary for many students because they may need an extra class, if they had failed it in a previous year in a classroom. Online classes are a good way to catch up on classes, and in credits, without falling behind, because you can add online classes to a full, regular school day, schedule. This is also an advantage for older students, who may need to work during the day, but still want to get an education. These students can work on their online classes around their work schedules, and don’t need to worry about missing work, or losing hours, because of classes.

There are also some problems posed to teachers of online classes, most of these problems revolve around teachers not being well prepared to teach online classes. There is a simple solution to these problems, and that is more training for our online class teachers. One way we can support training for our teachers is by using schools like, “The Virtual High School”. This school began in 1996 as an option for students, as opposed to traditional classes, 300 Schools are involved with the program, along with 5,600 students taking 200 different courses. This school is unique because of its creative, co-op model. In this model, teachers are asked to teach a course online, then up to 25 students from their school are allowed to take any class that is offered through the Virtual High School. Along with this innovative co-op model, “The Virtual High School” also offers intense Professional-Development programs. These programs teach their teachers everything they need to know about instructing and online course. From using the technology, to figuring out ways to keep online classes interactive and exciting. Some ways teachers have been accomplishing this, are by adding in class, or real world aspects to their online classes. Examples include, science labs, research papers, and having students complete community service projects that tie into their learning. Teachers are coming up with more and more creative ways to keep students engaged with online classes and E-Learning.

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There are also many advantages for teachers and school districts to offer online classes as an option for their students. For many smaller school districts, online classes are a great way to offer students the Advanced Placement, and diverse classes they are craving. If only a handful of students are interested in an AP statistics class, it is much more economically feasible for those students to take this class online, then to pay an instructor to teach an entire class with only a few students.

Ten Advantages to Taking Online Classes

http://oedb.org/library/distance-vs-local/10-advantages-to-taking-online-classes

Pros and Cons to Online Education

http://www.elearners.com/guide/faq-glossary/elearning-faq/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-online-education/