In their essay “FACE-TO-FACE COURSES ARE SUPERIOR TO ONLINE COURSES”,  Tifanny and Andy Bourelle discuss the misconceptions among educators and students that online courses are much easier and less educational than the traditional face-to-face classroom.  They argue against the misinterpretation that online courses are only offered for monetary value and that it only benefits the school. They bring up the oppurtunties that online courses offer such as diversity, a more open environment and more interaction through writing. This might suggest that no matter type of course its the instructor that affects the learning.

“Photo of Child Sitting by the Table While Looking at the Imac” by Julia M Cameron

A volume from the academic journal titled Journal of Online Learning & Teaching mentions a survey made for students in online course and their perception of a caring instructor. All the points mentioned can be both percieved in a face-to-face  and an online setting. “Express belief that students will successful in the online setting(437)”, this was one of the points made by the students in the survey, which further demonstrate the effect an instructor can have on a course.  

“Woman having a job interview” by Tima Miroshnichenko

In her US News article “Americans Doubt the Rigor and Quality of Online Education”, Allie Bidwell talks about how even a majority of Americans believe that “online education are equal to or better than traditional education.” surveys show that some people believe that a traditional degree is more accepted for most employers. Another survey was made where partcipants were asked to rank the types of course (4-year, 2-year, and online courses). A majority of participants said that online courses are only fair in terms of quality. This might hint at the fact that most people pay more attention to the instructor rather than the course type when choosing classes. Bidwell also brings up Jeff Davidson, a manager of the free education iniative at Saylor Foundation, who believes that types of courses are on par with eachother and both have an equal amount of pros and cons. 

With perpectives from different standpoint I have come to the conclusion that an instructor is what makes a course. Everyone involved in education needs to realize that online course can provide the same experience as face-to-face. We need to  start making more efforts and  open up more oppurtunities for all kinds of people. With all technological advances we’ve made we should be using this advantage to create a more interactive environment between the student and instructor. This way we can remove the stigma of online learning and progress further into the future of education.  ‍

Works Sited:

Bourelle, Tiffany and Bourelle, Andy. “Face-to-Face Courses are Superior to Online Courses ”, Bad Ideas About Writing. Cheryl E. Ball, Drew M. Loewe. (pg. 351-355).

Bidwell, Allie. “Americans Doubt the Rigor and Quality of Online Education”, U.S. News, Oct. 15, 2013, https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/10/15/americans-doubt-the-rigor-and-quality-of-online-education

“The Importance of Student-Instructor Connections in Graduate Level Online Courses,” Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, MERLOT. Vol. 10, No. 3, December 2014