2020 brought us challenges. It introduced the transition between on campus studying to virtual online learning, and for some created a new normal university experience. For those who were lucky enough to begin their studies on campus, I applaud you for the transition but I can understand how this transition would have disrupted your university experience. It is in this blog post where I hope to uncover the effects online learning has had on student university experience focusing on the benefits and overall positives of online learning.
To begin, let us recap what has occurred within the last year at UOW. First 2 weeks of March of 2020 we were all on-campus and getting used to the idea of coming on-campus to learn in a different environment, one many of us had not experienced yet. Then, week 3 hit, and university life as we had begun understanding was halted, adjusted and reimagined to be brought to us virtually.
Online learning has had and continues to prove many benefits. Personally it has allowed my first year of university to feel like a breeze. It kept me excited to see and hear voices and gave me the opportunity to learn all the while by staying in bed. Online learning allows us to get an education no matter our location. No more need for long trips or public transport, uni was online and at whichever location you wished to be at. As stated by the author of “Online Learning Revealing the Benefits and Challenges” (2015), Brittany Gilbert, “online learning allows for students to work at a time and a place that is compatible with their learning needs” emphasising how online learning assists with easing pressures “on issues such as parking, traffic and other problems that may arise when attending a traditional class environment (Thomson, 2010).
In a study conducted to determine how success is measured for online learning, it was identified that self-regulation and motivation were the 2 main factors which determined success (Matuga, 2009). Matuga also discovered in her study that self-regulation was directly linked with motivation, intrinsically or extrinsically to effectively determine a successful outcome during online learning.
It is my plan to continue to delve into this topic throughout the semester to uncover what makes online learning successful, all the while continuing to discover all the positive benefits of the online university experience.
References
Chaney E. G. (2001). Web-based instruction in a Rural High School: A Collaborative Inquiry
into Its Effectiveness and Desirability. NASSP Bulletin, 85(628), 20-35.
Matuga, J 2009, ‘Self-Regulation, Goal Orientation, and Academic Achievement of Secondary Students in Online University Courses’, Educational Technology & Society, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 1176–3647.
Olivia Lopez 