SwCA Episode 137: MYTH WARRIORS! - "Taking college courses online is easy!”

SITE: http://www.courtneyanderson.com/swca-episode-137-myth-warriors-series-taking-college-courses-online-is-easy.html

SHOW NOTES: In the MYTH WARRIORS™ series we are targeting ideas to begin to assess whether they are credible or not. The topic for this episode is, “Taking college courses online is easy!”

This is a myth. If you already have completed one or more college degrees, it is a myth yet you have a higher probability of success with this modality of college classes (as college classes are not easy whether online or on campus).

Is it “true” that many people are taking online college courses? Yes.

“According to Columbia University’s Community College Research Center, for example, about seven million students — about a third of all those enrolled in college — are enrolled in what the center describes as traditional online courses.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/opinion/the-trouble-with-online-college.html?_r=0)

If everyone is doing it (i.e., it is popular), it must be easy, right? Wrong.

“Students preferred direct instruction if they expected a course to be difficult, singling out math and science [...]. They also preferred a face-to-face setting when studying subjects they considered interesting or important, especially if the class was in their major. Many of the students said they learned more when the instructor is present.” (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/25/local/la-me-ln-study-online-20130425)

“[C]ourses delivered solely online may be fine for highly skilled, highly motivated people, but they are inappropriate for struggling students who make up a significant portion of college enrollment and who need close contact with instructors to succeed.[…]” (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/opinion/the-trouble-with-online-college.html?_r=0)