Eldridge 1

Joshua Eldridge
VanderSlik
English 100-15
1 December 2014
Traditional Learning Compared to Online Learning
Ever since schools were created there has always been a defined set of rules and methods
to teach students. Once a person becomes old enough to join an elementary school they then
begin their life of education. Throughout these twelve or more years of elementary education,
students will learn plenty of subjects and skills to help them throughout their lives. Through the
ages of four to six, children will attend preschool or kindergarten and listen to a teacher teach
them on a subject such as math, English, science, or history. It is generally known that the
teacher uses tools such as a whiteboard, projector, or computer based applications to teach the
students from the front of the class. This occurs throughout the young elementary grades. As the
students progress through each grade they gain more knowledge and more ways to learn. The
new ways of learning generally occurs while they are enrolled in middle school and high school.
These new ways of learning are in the form of computer based and internet based learning. The
learning previously discussed with teachers teaching students in front of a classroom will be
considered as traditional learning throughout the research of this paper. The computer based and
internet based learning will be considered as online learning.
Online learning is not a commonly known issue or topic for everyone in the United
States. There are those who have not heard of this type of learning, or cannot afford to pay for a
computer to participate in some form of online learning. To understand what online learning
truly is, it must be explained beforehand in this research. Online learning is when a student uses

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a computer to access a program that contains videos, instructions, and other tools to utilize the
internet to teach the student. The difference from online learning and traditional learning
however, is the fact that with online learning, the student does not have a teacher that they can
ask questions to. Along with that, the students do not have their peers to collaborate with as they
would with a traditional classroom. Once a student accepts to participate in online learning, they
are agreeing to not only work alone and teach themselves a topic using a program on the internet,
but to give up the social communications that go along with traditional classroom learning.
To compare online learning to traditional learning, they must first be addressed by
themselves. The effectiveness of online learning will be addressed first to elaborate on the pros
and cons of this learning method. After analyzing and reading through research about the
effectiveness of online learning conducted by The Future of State Universities, an abundance of
information was given relating to this research. This research states surprising results that may
confuse those against online learning. The first key finding in their research stated, Students
who took all or part of their course online performed better, on average, than those taking the
same course through traditional face-to-face instruction. (The Future of State Universities). This
means that the students who participated in online learning learned better than the students who
participated in traditional learning. The advantage of online learning over traditional learning is
that a student can learn at their own pace rather than having to follow the pace that a teacher sets
them or the pace of fellow classmates. Not only that, but the students who performed better with
online learning may not have performed better due to the fact that they are taking online courses
alone. There is the possibility of different learning styles with each and every student. If the
study was not performed on a wide sample of students then it may be biased, but given what was
found and ignoring any biases states that students learned better with online learning.

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Even though the group of online learning students performed better than the traditional
learning students, there is a factor to be noted. Within their research they also stated that out of
the online learning students, the ones who worked together or had an instructor to guide them,
worked better than those who independently taught themselves with the program. This finding
can be related to traditional learning because of the collaboration and instructor based learning. If
the online learning students worked together and had an instructor to help them as well, this is
very much similar to a traditional learning environment. Another interesting finding that helps
this research lay out its foundation is this, Elements such as video or online quizzes do not
appear to influence the amount that students learn in online classes. (The Future of State
Universities). With online learning videos and quizzes within the program make a big difference,
or so people think. According to their findings, they stated that videos or online quizzes do not
make an impact on the amount the students learn during the course. This means that the
information provided to the students isnt dependent on whether its in video form or quiz form.
It just means that the information must be presented in a way that makes it understandable and
comprehensible to the students learning it.
Looking at the other side of this research, traditional learning, the source of information
will be research conducted by Anna Ya Ni from California State University. Her research
compared online learning to traditional learning. However, there are sections that elaborate on
the methods of learning by themselves instead of by comparison. Under the interaction
subsection in her research she states, An important component of classroom learning is the
social and communicative interactions between student and teacher, and student and student.
(Anna Ya Ni) This supports what was stated in this research earlier about interaction between
students. What online learning cant fully achieve is the feeling of being in a classroom with a

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teacher and other peers. Looking at the research from a sociological perspective, social
interaction is a must have for any learning environment due to humans natural abilities to adapt
and learn from one another. Students can gain strong knowledge and skills from a classroom
environment rather than just hard facts and information. Along with that, socials skills develop
inside the classroom environment that not only helps communication between peers, but benefits
life skills that the students will be able to use in future careers or life decisions. The ability to
report to a teacher and ask them questions on a subject will mentally support the student because
they know the teacher is wiser and skilled in what they are teaching. Social interaction is an
overall must have for any learning environment due to the support and life skills that come out of
it.
Looking at both online learning and traditional learning, it is obvious that both have their
pros and cons. Online learning gives a student the ability to learn at their own pace and not be
stressed by time limiting factors on their work, but lacks the interaction of a classroom. While
traditional learning gives students the option to ask a teacher questions, debate with other
students and create a strong foundation for their opinions and decisions, and to enhance their
social skills for future life choices. Both environments offer different styles of learning while still
teaching the same subject, it will just depend on the students learning needs and preferences as
to whether or not online learning will benefit them over traditional learning.

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Works Cited
"Research on the Effectiveness of Online Learning." Web.
<http://www.academicpartnerships.com/sites/default/files/Research on the Effectiveness
of Online Learning.pdf>.
Ni, Anna. "Comparing the Effectiveness of Classroom and Online Learning: Teaching Research
Methods." Web. <http://www.naspaa.org/jpaemessenger/Article/VOL19-2/03_Ni.pdf>.
Yashchin, Avi. "Will Online Learning Replace the Classroom?" The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/avi-yashchin/will-online-learningrepl_b_4935348.html>.