Online courses are cost effective but detrimental to learning?

[shamin]

What are your thoughts on this article?

https://psmag.com/education/online-cours...5wGqqB743M

[MNomadic]

Well it doesn't take a genius to know that texting, playing videogames, and watching Netflix while doing school work won't be particularly beneficial.

I always thought of multitasking as doing multiple productive tasks simultaneously. For instance when I was working on studying for a test or a class that utilizes videos, I would watch videos while doing food prep or eating meals, or getting ready in the morning.

[davewill]

Yawn. We can't protect people from their own behavior. Besides, I think "brain damage" is laying things on a bit thick.

[bethanyneedsajob]

II’ve been working on Teex while blow drying my hair etc. things that I can do without thinking and keeping my eyes on the text. I’ve been trying to listen to the videos from OD while multitasking, but I found I am not retaining enough info to move on, unless I’m watching it directly (so I mindlessly watch it a few times and then sit down and focus and move on). I’d say everyone’s ability to multitask is different, considering I used to be able to have a professional phone conversation while typing business correspondence, perfectly fine. Then I hit my mid-30’s and feel like I’m constantly dragging myself off the pavement after getting run over by a semi truck. Now I have to try harder to focus.

I would like to add that maybe it’s not multitasking that’s the problem. Maybe their study used subjects that were already poor students to begin with. Anyone that doesn’t take their education seriously is going to be letting their mind wander or listening to music etc- perhaps the author should have done a study on good student character traits and how schools should be teaching them to teens. I have many times caught my teenager with YouTube tabs open and had to chew her out for caring what’s going on with celebrities (hello, how does any of that crap provide you with future rent money!). I suspect the Netflix watcher wasn’t motivated to get a degree, and was just skating through classes with the no child left behind mindset... or maybe they should mention his grades? Some severe ADHD brains seem to do best when occupied. 

Ugh. The instructor comment reminds me of the college algebra teacher I had. She couldn’t teach me and didn’t want to. I wept many times in class and there was zero relationship there to help me succeed. I would have been happier with an online class that I could replay several times if needed.

[Rustydroid]

I don't know in a traditional college setting there are also distractions sometimes. My Macroeconomics class that I'm taking at a local community college is the worse. People leave and come whenever they want.
There are two classmates that are specially bad. One of them this fat, older guy who is always saying huh huh yes ok whenever the teacher makes a statement. There is another Chinese girl who does the same. More of a surprised "ahhh ahhh ok ahhh owww" whenever the teacher says something. Its annoying as hell and distracting. I think I learn more at home watching the videos and reading.

[dfrecore]

I think a lot of times they compare the worst of one thing to the mythical best of another. So, a doofus watching a Netflix movie while watching a video of his course vs. a student in a classroom with an excellent teacher and no students bothering them. Yeah, show me where that exists please. There are TONS of distractions in school, including other students typing (drives me insane), talking, being on their phones, making noises, smelling bad, etc.

[sanantone]

This is why everyone should be required to take research methods and statistics, preferably in high school, but definitely in college. Anecdotes and whatever hypothetical situation anyone can think of will never be better than a sample size of 230,000 students.

They did not compare a doofus with an all-star student with an excellent teacher. They compared 230k students at Devry. They all went through the same admissions process; they all have the same low-quality teachers that Devry tends to hire. Whether in the classroom or online, Devry students are going to be dumber than your average college student at a traditional school. Still, performance was better in the in-person classes, and many of Devry's students take online and in-person classes.

The student watching Netflix was just an example of what was seen during the qualitative part of the research. Sometimes, researchers add a qualitative component to see if they can find a reason behind the quantitative results. Their quantitative findings simply tell them that there is a correlation between lower performance and online courses. This isn't new information. Several other studies have had similar results with traditional-age college students as subjects. However, the quantitative findings did not tell them why students perform worse in online courses, so they observed students' study habits.

There was also a survey of students at 452 different colleges, and the online students reported more multitasking. This isn't hard to believe. There's no professor there threatening to kick you out of class if you don't turn off your cell phone. And, if all you wanted to do was watch Netflix, then you would just skip class. Unless attendance is part of the grade, hardly anyone is going to walk, drive, bike, or take the bus all the way to class just so that they can watch Netflix.

If you're in your mid-twenties or older, you'll likely be fine in online classes because you have the maturity and fully-developed brain that helps you exercise self-control. If you're under 25, your brain is not fully-developed, and you're not equipped to make the best decisions. Study after study has shown that young college students tend to perform worse in online courses.

I had about 50 students in a class at a state university, and it really wasn't that noisy. Sometimes, side conversations would start, and all I had to do was ask the students to be quiet. Typing noise doesn't even compare to being fully-engaged in a movie or TV show or a text conversation. If people couldn't work around typing noises, no one would get anything done at their jobs.

[cookderosa]

What are your thoughts on this article?

https://psmag.com/education/online-cours...5wGqqB743M

Multitasking reports have been in the press a lot the past couple years. The consensus is that single-focus is better. (texting and driving anyone?)

I don't see us getting rid of technology (or cell phones in cars) anytime soon. But, that won't stop people from trying.... still, there is no such thing as going backward. Computer-based learning is pretty much here to stay. It WILL be interesting to see if universities that make bank on their online classes buckle and close their online divisions (in the name of quality education) or if they'll just finger wag at the students and tell them to focus better.

[sanantone]

This is sort of related. This study found that background music stints creativity, but background noises in a library don't. It has to do with changing stimulus vs. a constant stimulus.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full...2/acp.3532

[Rustydroid]

I will say that one area where online learning is lacking is the social aspect of going to school. I'm not talking about facebook or making friends but the face to face interaction with teachers and other students. Things like doing presentations are great at making you interact with people effectively.
In my Intro to Business Class the teacher offered extra credit for doing a short 2 minute presentation. Most students didn't do it and the few that did were terrible. There was one girl who was extremely shy and almost looked angry when the teacher told her to look up at the class while doing her presentation. Back in those days I was too shy and didn't know how to do one. Now after doing my Public Speaking course it would be a piece of cake.
I see this at my job too I have coworkers who are a bit shy and don't speak up or get their ideas across. Even my own managers I see some sort of anti social aspects.
After doing this class I've been able to put better emails together and get my ideas across. Even picked up a promotion after writing a nicely worded email to management and having a talk with them.