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Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-Based Learning

The Internet has ushered in dramatic new learning styles and techniques, but are these as effective as traditional teaching methods? Web-based learning can be extraordinarily useful, but educators must adapt their techniques to take advantage of the new medium.

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16K views2 pages

Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-Based Learning

The Internet has ushered in dramatic new learning styles and techniques, but are these as effective as traditional teaching methods? Web-based learning can be extraordinarily useful, but educators must adapt their techniques to take advantage of the new medium.

Uploaded by

James
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-based Learning

by Barbara Stennes, CSP

Advances in communication technology since the mid-1990s have made e-


learning (sometimes known as “virtual learning” or “distance education”) a
feasible educational option. The idea is that a teacher can reach students in
remote locations, which enables students to learn subjects to which they
wouldn’t otherwise have access.

Not everyone has embraced this development. Critics charge that it is cold and
impersonal, and although there are opportunities for classroom camaraderie
(through e-mail and electronic bulletin boards, for example), it doesn’t replicate
the experience of a real classroom. Historically, virtual learning has tended to be
a little dry, relying mainly on text and graphs to convey information. Advances
in computing power and communication networks are changing this, but
multimedia-learning experiences remain richer and easier in a traditional
classroom setting. What’s more, e-learning almost certainly requires more
student initiative than traditional classroom learning. Why? In a virtual
classroom, teachers are less likely to notice when students daydream or slack
off. It is probably this fact that leads to allegations that e-learning is less
effective than traditional classroom learning. Finally, web-based learning
requires relatively sophisticated technology and knowledge. This may be beyond
the scope of some individuals, though it probably isn’t an issue for a school or
organization of any size.

In other aspects, though, e-learning far surpasses its traditional counterpart. One
major advantage is that allows anyone, anywhere, to study anything. For
example, a small school in rural Oklahoma is unlikely to offer its students a
wide variety of language classes; the school is too small for the school district to
justify hiring teachers of, say, Russian or Arabic. In a traditional classroom
environment, students with an interest in those parts of the world would simply
be out of luck. Thanks to web-based learning, however, students have access to
relatively obscure subjects. There is, in fact, a huge library of courses and

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training offered around the globe. Web-based learning has made it possible to
study nearly any subject from nearly anywhere in the world.

A second major advantage is that some types of web-based learning allow


students to progress at their own pace. This is not true of virtual classrooms that
are conducted in real-time. However, many web-based learning packages are
offered in modules, which students work through individually, at their own pace.
Moreover, an electronic forum enables students to meet with teachers in one-on-
one sessions. The ability to work through the material at the student’s own pace
is a dramatic advantage over traditional teaching methods.

The upshot is that web-based learning cannot replace, and will probably never
replace, traditional learning. However, it is in some ways far superior, so
students who meet certain criteria will find it invaluable. In order to maximize
its effectiveness, educators must develop new teaching techniques designed to
overcome the limits of e-learning.

www.ResourcesUnlimited.com ‫ ׀‬515.278.1292 ‫ ׀‬[email protected]

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