The alarm clock rang. I got up and opened the curtains. It was raining heavily. “I don’t want to go to school.” I said to myself. Terrible weather in the morning has been frustrating for me since I was in primary school. If you share the feeling with me, you may see online education as a way out.
As the development of technology and digital media, teaching and learning are not limited in the substantial classroom. Individuals with internet access can take courses online. Many institutions have been providing online courses to students or the general public. Most of those courses are lecture-like. They are formal and well-organized. Yet, online learning happens also under informal settings. Learners are driven by their interests to snatch information they want online. I have been learning online both formally and informally and found myself comfortable with the innovative mode of study.
I took a history class when I was in undergraduate school. I was required to watch the recorded lectures every week. To participate, I needed to make discussion posts and comment on those of my classmates. There was no exam but two analytical papers. Since the lectures were recorded videos, there was no synchronous interaction between the professor and the students. I think this might be problematic. Without synchronous lectures, the students were not able to ask questions and get answers from the professor on the spot. We were also unable to share thoughts immediately to inspire each other. On the other hand, the professor could not know if we followed and if we were involved. However, this kind of online course had advantages. As long as we submitted assignments by deadlines, we could take the course at our own pace. I usually spent weekends on this online course so that I could focus on my other offline classes on weekdays.
Outside the classroom, I also study online informally. I use YouTube frequently to assist my academic study. When I am confused about some concepts in the textbook, I would search on YouTube. There are many YouTube channels providing academic support and sharing useful resources. YouTube videos make them visual. As a visual learner, I always obtain great understanding from them.
Not only academic resources, the online community serves people to learn with various purposes. I used to watch American TV series, such as Friends and Big Bang Theory, to improve my English skills. And it turned out to be very helpful! I also like watching TED talks online to get to know new technologies and inspiring ideas. I have learned a lot from the speakers’ experiences and insights.
Online learning does not have to be formal. It can happen spontaneously under informal settings.The benefit of online learning is far more than the superiority that I can take classes at home when the weather out there is awful, it places me in a unbounded classroom where I can dive into my interests and curiosity to get to know a bigger world.
April's Blog 