I made it through one unit and am onto the second! This first assignment of unit 2 started off by reading professor Gernsbacher’s 2015 article, “Why Internet-Based Education?”. Following the reading, I had to identify the principle from the article that resonated most with me. Once I made this decision, I posted on the discussion board including which principle I chose, as well as why it resonated with me.
There was a lot of content I learned from the article about the advantages of internet-based education, and it was broken down into 5 essential principles.
The first principle was that it can lead to better mastery. Breaking this down, it is saying that internet courses give students the opportunity to experience distributed learning, rather than mass learning. Research has shown the benefits of distributed learning over massed learning for people of all ages. Internet courses give students more frequent interaction with the course material than in-person courses do.
The second principle was that internet-based education can optimize performance. The cognition of different human beings peaks at different times of the day, with college students excelling later than older people. So, early lectures do not allow for students to function their best, but in online courses, students can engage with the course whenever works best for them!
The third principle was that internet education can deepen memory. To not allow students to cheat online, assignments and exams must access deeper levels of processing. Good assessments should be able to judge mastery of the material. So, because it needs this deeper processing, this leads to better memory of the material.
The fourth principle was that it can promote critical thinking. Gathering information from all over the internet requires much more effort and critical thinking than reading from a textbook. Plus, the information is just as accurate.
The fifth principle was that it can enhance writing skills. This is of high importance since it is one of the top skills employers seek. Internet education relies on text-based communication. This often involves communication with the professor and class as a whole, which is not usually possible in an in-person class!
The principle that resonated most with me was the optimization of performance one. This resonated with me most because I function best later in the day, usually after the times I am in in-person lectures. Online courses give me the flexibility to work when it is best for me, which allows me to do my best work and feel confident about it!
Reflecting on this assignment, first I thought it was cool to read an article written fairly recently by my actual professor! But about the actual content, I think the principles that were given were super strong, and some unexpected before reading! Even though I had heard about a lot of the common themes in general, I had never really applied them to the topic of online-based education.
For example, in many different psychology courses at UW, I have learned about the importance of distributed learning, rather than massed learning. However, I didn’t really think about how online learning gives me a great opportunity for this, until reading the article! Additionally, I already knew that different people function better at different times of the day. But, I had never thought about how online classes allow you to work whenever you choose, which solves this problem!
Similarly, on issues of memory, critical thinking, and writing skills, I knew they are all very important skills to possess for future success. However, I didn’t realize how online learning could maximize them until I read the article!
Overall, I think reading this article combined information I already knew with information I did not know and applied it all to the topic of online learning, which I am not too familiar with. This was valuable to me because I have always thought that in-person courses would facilitate better learning. But now, I certainly question this notion and understand that each learning method has a lot of benefits of their own!
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