Online Learning in Higher Education

The use of technology has undoubtedly changed how the transmission of information is done in higher education in both positive and negative terms. On the one hand, technology has been helpful as students in higher education can now learn online. On the other hand, technology has served as a distraction to the students during lecture times. In this regard, the use of technology has influenced higher education positively and negatively depending on how the students are using it. We think about education as going for a lecture in a particular campus. Today, however, virtual learning is the order of the day.

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The use of internet has helped students receive higher education from all over the world. In this regard, online education, which has been made possible by technology, has decreased the cost of education. More importantly, learning has been made easier as it is done by the students in the comfort of their homes. However, technology has brought about its own disadvantages. Specifically, the use of laptops during class hours has been a distraction to the understanding of students. Additionally, the habit of using computers in university can be spilt over into the workplaces.

Online learning has been instrumental in increasing the number of students pursuing different courses. This is because of the convenience of online learning as students can learn in different parts of the world. According to Friedman, enrolments are from the united states, Russia, India and brazil (279). The number of students that one lecturer teaches physically is only 400. However, this number has more than doubled via online learning.

Technology has reduced the cost of learning over the years. In this regard, access to education has been made simpler. This is illustrated by the differences in fees paid by students who are physically present at school and those who learn online. According to the online teaching platform, courser.org, charges are under $100 for the full completion of a course. However, in the view of Friedman, tuition at the real-life Stanford is over $40,000 a year (279).

The comfort that has been brought out by education to learners is immense. In this regard, online learning does not require the physical presence of the learner. As such, one can learn from anywhere as long as there is internet connection. According to Friedman (280), this has led to increase in the number of enrolments in different courses. Indeed, this increase has been aided by technology, which is the one that has enabled the online learning.

Apart from the positives of technology, it has also been a nuisance in lecture halls. In this regard, the use of laptops by students during class hours has become a major diversion of students from the lectures. According to Snyder, instead of listening to the lecturer, the students, for their part, are looking intently at their laptop screens (275). This should not be the case, as they should be concentrating on the words of the lecturer.

Apart from laptops serving as distraction in classroom, they can also be influential in the workplace. In this regard, when students have been used to looking at their laptops all the time, they might transfer the same behavior in the workplace. This will make the American economy lesser competitive compared to other competitors. According to Snyder, after university, students who could not concentrate in the classroom will become workers who cannot concentrate in the workplace (276). Goes ahead to state the resultant effect of this; the American economy will never out-compete others because we have most easily distracted workforce (276).

Works Cited

Friedman, Thomas. "Come the revolution." The New York Times 15 (2012). Pp.278-281

Snyder, Timothy Why Laptops in Class Are Distracting Americas Future Workforce Christian Science Monitor 1007 (2010). Pp.274-277