Learning in an Online Environment

Learning in an online environment

There are some obvious that are differences between in an online class and a face-to-face class. The learner is now responsible for constructing his or her own learning and the teacher becomes more of a facilitator. In this situation, the teacher provides guidance to students completing assignments, but the student must take responsibility for learning the material. Another, factor is communication between the instructor and students is just as crucial in an online class as it is in a face-to-face class. In one class, one of my students expressed surprise that I participated in discussions.

Dewey’s (1938) theory of experience describes a classroom where the children construct their own learning from their experiences and the teacher is a member of the group. The student constructs knowledge from experience while the teacher provides realistic learning opportunities for the student (Driscoll, 2005). These roles work well in an online class. Communication shortens the transactional distance; that is the communication and psychological distance between teachers and students who are physically separated (Kang & Gyorke, 2008). Lack of communication has the opposite effect.

References

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience & Education. New York: Macillan Publishing Company.

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Kang, H., & Gyorke, A. (2008). Rethinking distance learning activities: a comparison of transactional distance theory and activity theory. Open Learning, 203-214.