Online Courses Gaining Popularity Worldwide

Online Courses Gaining Popularity Worldwide

With increased technology becoming available in the past decade online courses have become increasingly popular since students essentially have the entire course right in front of their faces. According to a new analysis released by the U.S. Department of Education students who took all or part of their instruction online performed better than students taking the same courses through face to face instruction. However, those who took “blended” courses, or courses that combined elements of online learning and face to face instruction had the best results of all. This study may be a significant finding considering that many Universities around the country reported that blended instruction is one of the fastest growing types of enrollment. However, many people believe that no matter what statistics show, the intangibles of attending lectures and watching a professor teach you the material is much more effective. Below is a video of a Teacher's assistant Ron Leeds here at the University Of Maryland discussing online courses and what his views on them are. Ron agrees with the thinking that the accessible technology today makes online courses much easier and equally effective as face to face interaction. 

Online Courses give College Students more time

Technology's main purpose began with the invention of tools to allow for simpler, easier, and more efficient ways to develop more products in the workplace and on the farm. In terms of classes, technology has made it easier to grade exams, to assign work overnight to be assigned on the internet etc. However, realistically there is enough technology available to make entire courses be taught online equally as effectively if not more effectively than regular face to face courses. Experts find that if the class is online than students are less likely to get off task during the class since they are using the computer to take the course, as opposed to the computer being an object that can help distract them from the professor teaching in the front of the room. The U.S. Department Of Education agrees, stating  that Many of the past studies completed on this topic found that there was not much difference between online learning and face to face instruction. Surprisingly, this study attributes the success of the online courses not to technology, but to time. “Studies in which learners in the online condition spent more time on task than students in the face to face condition found a greater benefit in learning.” Students are less likely to go off task on an online course because they are using their computers to take the course. In face to face courses, computers are the main source of distraction.       



                                Increased Technology Continues To Benefit Online Courses

According to a new study conducted by the SRI Department Of Education “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”
This report compared research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008 with most of the data coming from college students but still some of the data coming from K-12 students. The study concluded that on average, students who conducted there work with either a blend of online activity or a complete online course ranked in the 59th percentile. Meanwhile, students who performed in a traditional classroom ranked lower and closer to the 50th percentile. That may not sound like a major difference, but over the course of a twelve year study the number is certainly meaningful. According to Barba Means, the study's lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International, “The study’s major significance lies in demonstrating that online learning today is not just better than nothing — it actually tends to be better than conventional instruction." According to Barbra, this does not necessarily mean that we will start to say goodbye to traditional classrooms. More likely we will continue to see an uptick in online courses registrations as universities around the country. Since college students live extremely busy lives and are often crammed with work, the online aspect of the course allows students to do their work on their own time and have all day to get the work done. With a traditional course students must first attend the lecture and then do the work for the course later in the day when they finish with all of their work. This is why the study concluded that the biggest benefit about online courses is that it saves students vital time. Below is an interview with a random  student who gave me his opinions on online courses here at Maryland. 

http://audioboo.fm/boos/1358969-online-courses

Recent technology has seriously helped out make online courses increasingly helpful. Previously, online courses were barely more than electronic versions of the traditional corresponding courses. With the addition of web-based video, instant messaging, and and collaboration tools online courses have become even more beneficial than a regular course. With studies showing that these courses will help your grades and your time management skills, there is no reason for students to shy away from taking courses that include online work. Overall, there is no reason to believe that online courses can't be more effective or equally effective as traditional courses and with continuing advances in technology the expectation is that the number of students who sign up for online courses will continue to increase within the next decade. 

                                                                                               

Video Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vednDgCTe-M&feature=youtu.be

Video interview with TA from Communications course.

How effective are online courses?

According to a new analysis released by the U.S. Department of Education students who took all or part of their instruction online performed better than students taking the same courses through face to face instruction. However, those who took “blended” courses, or courses that combined elements of online learning and face to face instruction had the best results of all. This study may be a significant finding considering that many Universities around the country reported that blended instruction is one of the fastest growing types of enrollment. In the past there have been many other studies and analysis of online courses but only a small number of them came up with useful results. They had to do many things like comparing the online teaching experience to face to face situations, measure students learning curves and provide adequate information to calculate the differences between the two types of courses. Many of the past studies completed on this topic found that there was not much difference between online learning and face to face instruction. Surprisingly, this study attributes the success of the online courses not to technology, but to time. “Studies in which learners in the online condition spent more time on task than students in the face to face condition found a greater benefit in learning.” Students are less likely to go off task on an online course because they are using their computers to take the course. In face to face courses, computers are the main source of distraction.

1)   Do you find that online courses make it less likely for students to get off task and be distracted by the technology surrounding them?

2)   With online courses gaining popularity in recent years, do you think its plausible for most courses to be at least a blend of online and face to face interaction within the next few years at Universities around the country? 

http://audioboo.fm/boos/1330845

Media and Awareness

How does one persuade?

In today’s society, media has a very significant role in persuasion, whether it be in advertising or public relations. It’s not very difficult for business’s today to get their ideas across to the general public and make them aware of their products and services that they offer. Businesses need persuaders and PR experts to operate efficiently to keep a positive image of their business and attract consumers to buy their products and services that they offer. Credibility and trust are the key aspects involved in persuasion. And in media today, almost every advertisement you see works to establish credibility with the viewers. Advertising and exposure to products are not nearly enough for persuasion. Only when the business or company that is selling the product is very well known and has solid credibility is solely advertising and exposing a product enough for persuasion. However, when those two factors are not present, then that is where PR comes into play.  One of the first parts of media’s influence on persuasion today is the approach. A business or company must approach the way it persuades society with a very careful and particular method. The business to consumer relationship is key in persuasion. The approach to establishing good ties is almost as important as the ties themselves. Everyone from advertisers and politicians to our friends and colleagues seek to gain our support for their ideas, products, or services. In today's world, persuaders use increasingly sophisticated ways of exerting influence over the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of their audiences. There is an emphasis throughout on how persuasion has been changed by electronic media. Advertising is the easiest starting point: most ads are relatively simple in structure, easily available, and in their original format. Media literacy beginners are encouraged to learn the language of persuasion by examining ads. Keep in mind that many media messages, such as television commercials, use several techniques simultaneously. Persuasion through communication has changed with social media. In the past with traditional media we were persuaded through sending out a one way communication where we talked, they acted.  When we communicate, we are persuading. We are persuading them to listen, accept, comprehend and act. If they do not accept the message they act by either voicing their opinion or ignoring. When you have their attention, the stages of persuasion tend to emulate the stages of brand perception and acceptance. We will not buy from people we do not trust. We buy from people/a brand that we hear, listen, accept and trust when we have a need and feel that they are talking to us. For many groups today, the media is as essential as oxygen, without it they suffocate and fade away. Not only do they need the media to highlight their cause and influence decision makers, but more importantly they need it to build support for their actions and propagate their message. In other words, it is for advertising the cause and intimidating the competition. Because digital media is so significant and relevant in society today, persuasion through media is much easier than it used to be. People are so connected through the media that they have become to rely heavily on it, so persuasion is obtained a bit easier. Shopping online today is extremely popular, and people will purchase items online or over the phone that they have never seen in person before. This commitment takes trust in the product. All in all, media plays a very large role in persuasion. Society places a lot of trust in the media today, so companies and businesses must be on point with their attempts for persuasion.

Media only sometimes fulfils its essential duty to be truthful

Media have a strong public service mission to provide only factual, unbiased material to the public. At times this mission is clearly accomplished, while at other times it seems to be completely disregarded by the writer. If a reporter accomplishes the goal, the media will have little to no opinion incorporated. For example, in this article posted on The Huffington Post, only facts are given. The article merely consists of quotations and descriptions of what happened. 

On the other hand, in this ‘tweet’ made by CNN, the facts are not presented fairly:

CNN clearly doesn’t give the full story. Anyone who knows the background of this post would know that Israel did not decide to attack Gaza without being prompted, as this message may imply. CNN purposely chose only certain facts to tell and portrayed them to the public in such a way to make Israel look like the bad guy. But this is not the only example of CNN producing biased work. In this clip and in the ‘tweet,’ it is apparent that CNN clearly has motives other than fulfilling its strong public service mission to provide unbiased material to the public. 

Film and Television Preferred To Photography

Photography has declined drastically in recent years due to the emergence of film and television among other ways of sharing like Facebook and Twitter.
The ability for any person with a smart phone to become a photographer with the ability to share on the web, the need for professionals has declined. Film and television have become the optimal choice for artists to share there work, not the dying brand that is photography. In the New York Times article titled, "For Photographers, the Image of a Shrinking Path", it states how the new breed of amateur photographers are hurting those who's professional careers are photography. By taking little money for their pictures, they are lowering the bar for everyone else who tries to receive compensation for their work.

To embrace this new wave of amateur photographers, Getty Images has made a deal with the photo sharing site Flickr to have the ability to purchase photos for cheap.
This wave of underpaying photographers has led to the decline of the photography industry and has made it very difficult for people to make a living off of photography despite there skill set and educational experience. TV and film have become the medium used to express yourself and illustrate your artistic ability. The draw of seeing a bunch of photographs just isn't there anymore unless it is something truly phenomenal like a city sky line or a picture worth a thousand words like the Niagara falls.
Another key reason for the decline in photography is the decline in actual ad space for it to be used.
Magazines and newspapers everyday deal with the lacking sales figures from there product and have begun to cut back. There has been a decline of 41% in terms of physical ad space in magazines in the years 2000 to 2009. This declining landscape has led people to consider other professions than photography in order to compete in an in demand profession.
Certain types of photography however will continue to survive despite the changing landscape, the need for modeling photography and sports photography.
There will always be Victoria Secret catalogs, and there will always be ESPN the magazine that needs pictures of todays stars. Despite the material for print, there is still a decline in the actual pages that are in the magazines and newspapers. Professional photographers are part of the declining brand that is photography, there simply isn't a demand for still pictures as there used to be when there was no TV or internet or smartphones. Nearly every smartphone gives the owner the ability to take and edit photos and post them. The photos taken on smartphones have even begun to turn profits for the owner by selling to a bigger photo bank source such as Getty Images.
Photographies decline will only continue in the coming years due to the technologic boom that we have been experiencing.
More smartphone owners will be less inclined to pay for photography when they can take the pictures themselves. Photography will become a brand for the few expert's and will leave the rest of the profession in the dust.