Online universities challenge traditional schooling

Claire Eagle
The Ubyssey
(University of British Columbia)
VANCOUVER (CUP) –With online schools, such as the University of Phoenix, experiencing a boom in recent years, well-established universities are feeling the need to keep up with the competition.
Online institutions are currently drawing many students with promises of lower tuition fees, more course options and increased flexibility.
Success in online universities requires strong time management skills and many students soon find themselves falling behind. Beyond this, some students feel that peer-to-peer and student- instructor interaction is equally important.
“Online school isn’t personal,” said Leslie Thomson, a current arts student. “You lose so many important social and interpersonal connections. And to succeed at a job, you need to understand teamwork. You just can’t get that online.”
Some research also suggests that while online classes can be difficult to adjust to, they can also offer their own advantages.
The study found that many students in these courses “view online discussion as more equitable and democratic and as more mindful and reflective than discussions in face-to-face classrooms.”
“Research also suggests that asynchronous learning environments might be particularly supportive of experimentation, divergent thinking and complex understandings, and less supportive of convergent thinking, instructor directed inquiry and scientific thinking than face-to- face discussions.”
A number of new online uni- versities are ready to take advantage of the new platforms.
Wikiversity, for example, aims to combine both worlds by sharing independent learning with students who are too shy to sacrifice their “traditional” university experience.
“Wikiversity was created after Wikipedia to help build material and information specifically focused on education and curriculum,” said Jay Walsh of the Wikimedia Foundation.
“Wikiversity is still a young project, [but] the potential for Wikiversity to grow in new languages and to reach more users is quite high.”