Can Virtual Classrooms Recreate a Traditional College Experience?

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Can Virtual Classrooms Recreate a Traditional College Experience?

The burgeoning online education picture is a practical option to a conventional college or university education for a number of reasons -- cost, convenience and efficiency. And for professors it gives a regular school room format.

Many online education sites say the goal is not to be a replacement for the classroom experience, but for offer an even more collaborative learning environment, while also making education convenient and accessible for everyone -- whether you're taking a couple school classes or learning for the it. In light of recent news about a partnership between a Cal state school and an online education site, it can possible that due to very high cost education, online learning could become the norm for school students.

But can a web based classroom teach you the social and collaborative skills that real-life, in-class experience impart?

Mashable just lately covered the best news that San Jose State College or university in California was putting into action three new online training for freshmen. Granted, it is a limited trial in partnership with online education platform Udacity, but it's the state's first partnership that could lead for an official online program in all California state institutions. Within a school system where four courses is a full course fill (12 credits), freshmen could take three of their four (or more) classes on the internet and, perhaps, lose away on the typical college or university experience.

Dr. Katherine Cohen, CEO and founder of IvyWise, spoke to Mashable for the article about SJSU's online classes and said MOOC (massive open up online courses) give students who may never have been able to consider school access to college or university classes. But, she allowed, "there's certainly something to be said for the college or university experience. College is where students build their social and professional sites, ones they will count after throughout the recovery of their lives. Pupils living on campus also tend to mature much more quickly, as they take on new tasks and maintain a new standard of independence. "

Upon the other hand, students without the budget for a typical college or university education, or students who no longer want to go into copious amounts of financial debt, working students or students with children might profit from taking school classes online.

Alison Johnston, CEO of InstaEDU, a web based training platform, tells Mashable the industry-wide dilemma for those in online education achievement people to complete the course.

She said there have been numerous studies about people not concluding MOOCs in particular. Nicholson says to overcome this hurdle, companies in this space will have to offer an internet experience to make web-based education have all the features of the real-life school education. On the side note: others have countered that MOOC dropout rates are high because the bar is low to the programs and many people sign-up, some with out a strong intent to even take those course. Also, the college-level homework weeds out a great deal of people.

"In real life, you have the teacher, the TA and fellow classmates, " the lady says. "I think if you're going to see companies come in and fill up this space. "

Can Virtual Classrooms Recreate a Traditional College Experience?

Sites like Coursera are the classroom and teacher; InstaEDU and other tutoring sites are the teacher's help (TA); and sites like Piazza and OpenStudy take action as virtual study teams, she explains.

Andrew Ng, the cofounder of Coursera, says they recognize that online college degrees is not a replacement for the true classroom experience, "which is incredibly valuable beyond knowledge sharing for reasons of social interaction, one-on-one learning plus more. "

He recognizes their service as an alternative to not having degree at all, which is a reality for most people due to their location, budget or job. And also as an improvement to on-campus learning that complements traditional classroom platforms. Still, the site tries to offer as many personal interactions among it is users as possible. Coursera has practically 2, 500 in-person meet-up groups; educators on the site are also known to sponsor these groups every once in awhile.

"For the most part, online-based education is equal [to a traditional school education]. Students can learn in either setting up, " Cathy Sandeen, vice president for education achievement and innovation at the American Council on Education (ACE), tells Mashable.

On the net courses are not heading to be the same as real life courses, Sandeen says. Yet most school students are not, in reality, how we picture the typical college or university student. Only 25% of university students are in their late teenagers to early twenties and entered school right after secondary school. The remander take part quite often in their lives, making online training convenient.

As well as the online school model mirrors today's work environment, she adds, with groups from surrounding the country or world coming along online.

MOOC classes is an in-person experience. Sandeen said she recently got a MOOC course with 30, 000 students from all over the world. There were enough students in the course that regional study groups were formed.

"It doesn't have to be an either/or, " she adds. "What we're seeing is of traditional institutions incorporating online classes. "

It seems classes online, particularly MOOC classes, have a high drop-out rate, however for students who appreciate the convenience and cost, online programs could open doors to a college or university education.

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