In addition, assignments, reading, postings, etc are done on a fairly strict guideline and even being a week behind can cause a massive pile up. Some kids couldn't handle it and dropped out. If a student is not disciplined, then on-line classes will be a disaster.
To be honest, if a parent has to be on hand and at the kids elbow to get the work done, or to monitor what is going on, the parent has done a very poor job and the on-line is inappropriate. On the other hand, it's a great way to be portable with education - kids can use their laptops and just pretty much learn anywhere
Cheating is a big problem with OL classes. You simply never know who is submitting answers or completing the virtual exams.
I teach online for a college, as well as having live (traditional face-to-face) classes.
My OL class retention rates are MUCH LOWER than my traditional FTF class enrollments. That is because the OL students are required to come to campus in person, with an ID, to complete the Midterm & the Final. So, to prevent cheating, it is more of a “hybrid” class than 100% online.
Many of my OL students later admit that they thought an OL class would be “much easier,” because there is no time wasted traveling to campus, finding parking, sitting in class, etc. Plus — they can study asynchronously, meaning at their own pace & on their own schedule.
The reality is that many OL college students are working adults, with WAAAAY too much on their plates to begin with. They mistakenly think they can “fit” one more activity onto their busy plates, — a “fun & easy” online class, in addition to a full time job, kids, other classes, and other personal responsibilities.
They fail to realize that OL classes involve many hours of study a week, just as any regular class does.
In the end, the proof of the pudding is unfortunately in the eating: when my FTF midterm is given, the effect of all of their weeks of putting off the work that would have been successfully completed were they forced (required) to attend live class meetings (due to the social pressure and imposed-rigor of a regularized class schedule) is sadly revealed.
Perhaps the solution is to allow OL classes, but with a universal exit exam such as the SAT, taken in person at proctored testing centers, after completing virtual classes.
This would be a “check” on the online process, assuring that those completing the classes were 1) actually enrolled, 2) learned the material and 3) were the ones actually completing the assignments & tests, rather than having a parent, brother or sister, or paid graduate student do the work.
I always worry when OL faculty exclaim, “my enrollment is 80 students!” While mine is 20 students. I always ask, “Do you give any tests in-person? Is your class 100% virtual?” When they say it is “100% online,” I ask, “How do you know all of these students are the ones actually taking the tests, etc.?” They always respond with something ENTIRELY lame, such as “Oh, we go on th “Trust” system!” Or, “Oh, the exams are TIMED [with narrow windows allowed for completing the work]!” — as though this arrangement prevents collusion. These instructors are deluded if they think any of these practices “prevents” cheating. A college degree is worth 100,000’s of dollars in future income streams. As gate keepers, we need to monitor the process of allocating course credit & degrees much more carefully, whether in an OL setting or a traditional classroom.
4L, Los Angeles
See! Just as I thought! Government schools really are prisons to reform the incorrigible!