I read your article on IT training. Which studies are you
referring when you state that "students who interact with their teachers
and other students tend to retain more than those who don't."?
My experience and education have taught me that adults learn by doing.
Whether they acquire knowledge alone or in an open forum means nothing
unless it can be readily applied in a real-world situation.
I
would agree that communicating face-to-face is the preferred method for
many, but that can be attributed to habit. Online learning can transfer
knowledge successfully if the student can apply the learning
immediately. Not only is it cost-effective, but the student also can
learn asynchronously due to scheduling issues and simple work-life
complications.
Many companies today have extensive online
learning repositories where workers can improve their skills whenever
and wherever. My opinion and research lead me to believe that online
learning will be a widely used tool in the future regardless of personal
preference.
Thank for writing about such a thought-provoking
issue.
Claire Beguin-Bennett, MA
BearingPoint Inc.
Atlanta
claire.bennett@bearingpoint.com
Get
to Class
I just wanted to respond to your "Class Warfare" article and say how much I enjoyed
it. As an educator myself who teaches in both of those formats, I am
familiar with these pros and cons. And as a student who has taken
classes in both of these formats, I have seen things from the
perspective of both teacher and student.
However, there are
some key points the article failed to mention that I feel potential
students should definitely take into consideration.
# 1: If you
are considering getting any sort of degree or certification, especially
IT-related, you just can't beat classroom-based learning! With it,
there's absolutely no doubt whatsoever that you were actually guided and
instructed by a teacher, and have been evaluated on your performance
along the way.
IT is one of those fields where hands-on
experience tends to matter most, and with 100 percent online training,
you just can't get that. So classroom-based learning would without a
doubt be the best way to go.
# 2: If you are looking for an
introduction or overview of something, rather than a degree or
certification, then online training might work equally as well as
classroom-based. While classroom-based training still carries more
clout and creditability, in this particular case, online training can
give you a well-organized introduction into things like terminology and
facts, history, job titles and responsibilities.
# 3: You can
blend classroom-based and online learning by taking what's blended or
hybrid training. When it comes to IT, instruction is generally done
online, while labs and possibly exams are done in a real classroom.
This way, you can get the best of both worlds. As far as creditability
goes, hybrid training ranks in between classroom-based and online.
# 4: Visual aides and handouts are more effectively used in
classroom-based learning because we can control exactly when, how, and
how often they are used.
Prof. Ron Auerbach. MBA
Kent,
Wash.
ron2ontrack@hotmail.com
On the
Contrary
Roland van Liewcites research showing that both completion rates and
retention of material in online classes pale in comparison with normal
classes.
Research with quite different conclusions has been done
in community colleges, showing completion rates and retention of
material in online classes on a par with normal classes. Something's
not right here!
Yes, college students face a different
situation from employees in a firm. IT trainees are studying as part of
their job, whereas college students are generally studying in order to
get a job later. Yes, IT trainees are studying technology subjects,
whereas college students might be studying almost anything.
Nevertheless, such differences hardly seem adequate to explain such
counterposed results. True, IT trainees do not have a teacher hovering
over them threatening their chances of improving their GPA, but they do
have a boss. Does the boss generally check if the employee has completed
the training, and if so, are there any consequences for the employee? I
think yes.
Does Mr. Van Liew have an explanation? I wish I
did.
David Winet
University of California-Berkeley
dwinet@transbay.net
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