Online Learning: How Effective Is It?

The internet has ushered in a communications revolution. For both tutors and prospective students, the educational innovations that online learning offers can be highly beneficial. A 2009 U.S. Department of Education review of online learning concluded that K-12 students who took classes online (in whole or in part) performed better than those who had had traditional classroom teaching. They also suggest that blended learning (a combination of face to face, conventional lessons together with online learning) produced the best results of all.

It is still early days; online learning courses have only been running for ten years at most. That means that relatively few studies of the effectiveness of online learning have been conducted. Future research is unlikely to uncover problems in online learning itself. The task is rather to ensure that the potential of online learning is maximized as far as possible. There can be little doubt that online learning is the future and that the opportunities and options will grow hugely in coming years. Studies also suggest that online learning is good for teachers too, helping them to hone their teaching skills and engage with learners to maximum effect.

However, it isn’t just a matter of adding a computer and achieving magical results with online learning. The International Association for K-12 Online Learning, which examines the issues in detail, concludes from their own research that there are three key factors involved in effective online learning. Much still depends on the design of the course or online tutoring program, the quality and ability of the online tutor and the nature of the interaction between tutor and learner. The organization suggests that ultimately it is the quality of the teacher or online tutor who is guiding the online learnign process that is the most important factor.

There are many reasons for the enhanced achievements that result from students learning online. For one thing, most children and teenagers find computers engaging – often more so than listening to an instructor. Learning online helps students to concentrate on the task at hand, and minimizes distractions arising from classmates’ behavior. A major advantage of online learning is that students can learn at their own pace, whether that is faster or slower than that of their peers in the classroom.

The identification of blended learning as perhaps the most effective way to enhance student achievement is especially significant for those seeking tutoring services. Learners who make use of tutoring services are in essence getting the best of all worlds: classroom instruction, plus individual attention from an online tutor, plus the opportunity to work at the pace that is best suited to their particular abilities.

Without a doubt, online tutoring and courses for K-12 students constitute a major growth area in today’s educational world, offering learners opportunities that simply did not exist only a decade ago.  A well-designed course or online tutoring program, delivered by a qualified tutor, is an engaging way to help learners to achieve their full potential.