Sydney’s Research Project

Sydney Davis

ENGL 1102

Professor Rebecca Weaver

4-27-21

Research paper on Will virtual learning takeover in person classes?

Over years computers and other electronics have improved and increased in today’s world in many aspects. People don’t use electronics anymore for just leisure they are starting to use it even more for business, school and much more! The world as of today depends on electronics more than anything! For example, during this Covid pandemic society has relied on electronics to get through everything especially when it comes to school for students. It helped students and teachers to be able to still learn and teach while doing social distancing. With change it can be a pro and a con, but will Virtual learning outcome be a pro or con?

Virtual learning has increased comfortability and convenience in classrooms now. Imagine the students that are too shy to ask a question in front of the class , now they won’t have to because one they can easily message their professor about any questions that they have or even because their classmates aren’t in the same space as them so it isn’t all eyes on them. A major benefit is that Nikki Eye pointed out that “students can be logged in from anywhere in the world.” (Eye, 1) Students can log on their phones to check grades and assignments at one easy touch! With every benefit it’s always a downfall somewhere around, because with convenience it can also become complicated also.  What if a student has bad Wi-Fi or in a dead zone and there is an assignment due, what does the student do then? Most of the time it’s either a late grade which takes point away from the assignment or even just plain out a fail. Then again that’s where comfortability comes in place, where students can ask their professor for more time because of their situation with Wi-Fi. It’s easier for students to ask questions through email then face to face, less intimidating.

What we also must take in consideration is that with comfortability it takes away from teachers and students socializing with one another. How do you build up a relation with your classmate when it’s time to do a group project or how do you build a relationship with your teacher when you need more time on a project? Well Ashley Brooks pointed put a good point that “It’s not ideal for a student to sit alone with their computer throughout their entire degree program” (Brooks. 1) Because there are no interactions of no sort it makes the student discouraged. Brooks also makes a point to make online class better is to “I recommend making an extra effort to get to know your digital classmates. You could organize a group video hangout and do icebreakers or facilitate a conversation.”” (Brooks, 1) Is it different yes, but it can make virtual learning ten times better. But then again you have camera phones that do video calls which can build relation, but does it take away from the relationship part that you should have in class settings? It’s a fifty percent that video relations can ease some students into being interactive and then it can also hurt a students social interaction also.

If higher education was fully virtual learning it would take away the experience of college life on campus. It would be cheaper in some aspect, but it would break the tradition that most students look forward to when graduating college. Without having a social life in school, it can possibly hurt the student’s academics which “social isolation shows up as a main reason for students to withdraw from their studies.” (Eye, Page 1). Academics are a big part of school, but students look for a social interaction also, it makes school fun for students but without that it’s just boring! Imagine teachers trying to make class assignments fun through virtual learning and then imagine teachers doing a fun assignment in person class, it’s a major difference and every class needs that social interaction.

A big consideration that we must take in consideration is students with learning disabilities. It’s already an obstacle for those students to learn in class, so to put them on virtual could be very hard. In a study students were asked how their attention level was while doing virtual learning and most said “they were distractible and had difficulty focusing on what they were doing” (N. Hollins, A. R. Foley,612) Imagine students that have ADHD who have trouble staying focus and now they are forced to do virtual learning which is low support for them. For professors it can be hard because how do they get the attentions of their students who need it the most through virtual? In some aspect’s students will get distracted by just a color or too much words on a computer screen, which it can make pretty hard for a student to focus. Virtually it would be a failure for any student to strive.

It’s not impossible for complete virtual learning, but it can be if all students from aspects aren’t accommodated. When thinking virtual learning you must take a lot of things into consideration like, finances, learning disabilities, dead zones, and social interactions. It is a long way to go before learning will ever be fully virtual. 

 

Annotated Bibliography

 

Wang, Y., & Decker, J. (2014). Can virtual schools thrive in the real world? TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 58(6), 57–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-014-0804-z

Hollins, Nancy, and Alan Foley. “The Experiences of Students with Learning Disabilities in a Higher Education Virtual Campus.” Educational Technology Research & Development, vol. 61, no. 4, Aug. 2013, pp. 607–624. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11423-013-9302-9.

eye, nikki. “Online Learning in the Time of COVID-19: What Are the Pros and Cons?” Scholarship America, 4 Aug. 2020, scholarshipamerica.org/blog/online-learning-in-the-time-of-covid-19-pros-and-cons/.

Brooks, A. (2019, January 14). Breaking down the pros and cons of online classes. Retrieved April 27, 2021, from https://www.rasmussen.edu/student-experience/college-life/pros-and-cons-online-classes/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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