Introduction
Nowadays, many people are using technology in various ways one of them is learning. Online education is sustainable and growing. It is enhancing a lot of new opportunities for students (Mayadas et al., 2009). Many schools have embraced online classes to replace the traditional method of learning that was paper-based learning and also submitting assignments. Online classes are used almost everywhere in the world due to their efficiency and saving of time for both the lecturers and students. One may ask what these online classes is, it is the communication between student and the tutor without physical contact between them but using the internet. In these classes, learners get all the information they need online eg notes, assignments, lectures, exams among others without necessarily going to classes. Online classes may have both positive and negative effects on students’ preferences of learning styles. Students may prefer online classes or other learning styles depending on many circumstances. These three articles examine the effects of online classes on students’ progress in college while also highlighting the relationship of these online classes with the academic achievements of students.
Bettinger, E. P., Fox, L., Loeb, S., & Taylor, E. S. (2017). Virtual Classrooms: How Online College Courses Affect Student Success. The American Economic Review, 107(9), 2855–2875. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26527929
Online courses are now being offered in most colleges. This paper identifies their effects in comparison to traditional physical classes. The authors used the instrumental variables approach and concluded that when students take online classes instead of physical, it reduces their achievement and their progress in college. The study showed that in the course done online the grades are lower and Students’ probability of remaining enrolled at the university is low. These findings are from the research of effects for students doing both online and physical classes options which are about 70% of the college population, they showed that two-thirds of the university students do online courses and the other one-third access the physical classes. However, some students, they only do online classes for their courses in college. The study also showed that the progress of these online classes reduced each year.
Bergstrand, K., & Savage, S. V. (2013). The Chalkboard Versus the Avatar: Comparing the Effectiveness of Online and Inclass Courses. Teaching Sociology, 41(3), 294–306. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43186514
This paper studies how students gauge online courses in comparison to physical courses. the data used was from evaluations of undergraduate students taking 118 sociology courses, and the results showed that the students felt that they have not lerned well and aduautely when they use online classes.it also showed that the students believe they are handled more carefully and with respect in physical classes compared to online classes. the students also rated online courses lower than physical classes. The results however showed that the change to online classes results in good evaluations for tutors who do poorly in class. These results gave a caution to the use of online classes as a means to deal with high enrollments in schools and also save time for teachers and suggest that teachers should choose teaching styles that best fit the learners and the teacher’s teaching skills.
Ozerbas, M. A., & Erdogan, B. H. (2016). The Effect of the Digital Classroom on Academic Success and Online Technologies Self-Efficacy. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 19(4), 203–212. http://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.19.4.203
The research highlights the effects of online classes on the performance of students and efficiency of the online technology. The study aims to research whether the environment by online technology has effects on the performance of the students in 7th grade. in this study, an experimental design was used together with post and pre-test control groups of students. A number of 58 students were used in a high school in Ankara. At the commencing of the study, students used the academic success test as the pretest and at the end of the study which was 4 weeks, the students used similar scales in the post-tests. The results showed that there is a significant difference in the academic achievements observed in students’ online classes.
Conclusion
Online classes have helped create broad opportunities for students, they can access learning materials from anywhere they are and get much into research while embracing the new technology. Online classes have a significant relationship with the student’s academic success however, many studies have shown most students prefer physical classes over online classes for a better understanding of content and their progress in school. Student success academically is higher in physical classes compared to online classes. These are major effects of online classes on students’ preference on learning styles.
REFERENCE
Mayadas, A. F., Bourne, J., & Bacsich, P. (2009). Online Education Today. Science, 323(5910), 85–89. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20177127
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