Advantages and disadvantages of Online Learning

This paper will talk all about advantages of Online Learning. Which Online learning (also known as electronic learning or e-learning) is the result of teaching delivered electronically using computer-based media. The material is frequently accessed via a network, including websites, the internet, intranets, CDs and DVDs. E-learning not only accesses information (eg, putting up web pages), but also helps learners with specific results (eg achieving goals). In addition to delivering e-learning teaching, it can monitor student performance and report student progress.


Introduction
Various options for both distance education and online learning are discussed in this chapter. Must be able to choose the best technology and media to help your students learn. You can use the suggestions in the distance education chapter to help you prepare to teach online or guide your students online. Since online learning is actually part of distance learning, the differences between the two can be confusing. There is a lot of overlap. For comparison, with clear differences.
Often times e-learning is combined with face-to-face teaching and is called mixed teaching, or hybrid teaching. In this chapter we will explore studies using e-mail, the internet, intranets, and networks, as well as the issues associated with their use of CD and DVD.

Online Learning
The use of online learning in education continues to increase. Students no longer only have access to printed books, but also to educational materials that lie far beyond the walls of the school building. You and your students can find information in libraries that are diverse, far away and physically inaccessible. Resources too are so abundant beyond the dreams of many people, but the most abundant are those that are immediately available to everyone (Allen & Seaman, 2007;Alexander et al., 2012).
Teachers and students can access electronic documents to enrich their studies. Students can actively participate because online learning provides an interactive learning environment. Students can link electronic information to their papers and projects, turning them into "live" documents linked with hypertext buttons (see chapter 5 for a discussion of hypermedia). Because computers have the ability to convey information by any means (including print, video, audio recordings of sound and music), they have become an infinite library. Students can communicate instantaneously with two-way text, images, voice, data, and audio / video,

Limitations
Incompatible material. One concern is that some topics covered on computer networks, especially on the internet, are not suitable for students. (1) Copyright. Because information is so easily accessible, it is easy for individuals to easily download a file and illegally exploit their own interests. Thus, students may write papers or projects that are simply "co-fitting" (copy paste) and not their own work. (2) Information search estimated that thousands of sites, several thousand new internet sites were added to the internet every day. This growth made finding information more difficult. To assist in obtaining information, some commercial companies and universities provide search engines that follow web links and display the results according to your search. (3) Support without good technical support and wise management, a network of computers may "shut down" quickly. Problems with a network can paralyze a lab or even shut down an entire school. (4) Access through a wired or wireless device system or a modem, all users must be connected to the network. The computer must have the appropriate software and hardware installed in order to access the internet. In a wireless system, the user must have the necessary permissions to use the system. Signal strength is also an issue in wireless connections. The weaker the signal, the less likely it is that you will be able to send and receive data. (5) Access agreements. Another limitation is the speed at which users can access information. Extremely long waiting times can be prevented by designing compact Web pages. If you are creating your own Web page, you should take the time to combine images, colors, and text that will be meaningful to your target users. (6) Lack of quality control. Students must be critical readers and thinkers who know how to evaluate information. What is posted on the internet is not a "fact". Anyone can post anything on the Web, including information that is unnecessary, wrong or untrustworthy. Online learning options are constantly expanding.You will find resources that enhance classroom activities, the entire program or course, e-mails for easy communication, and a wealth of information on topics of interest. There are many software applications (eg, WebCT, black board) that provide instructors and students with easy access to teaching as well as resources for successful online learning.
There are issues that must be addressed by anyone wishing to undertake this area of academic study: (1) A certificate from the institution offering degree programs.
(2) The quality and level of difficulty of the course.
(3) Costs associated with online courses, such as equipment requirements, online fees, and tuition fees.
E-mail is textual communication between individuals and can be integrated into subjects and used by students to collect information from and ask questions to individuals who are far outside the walls of the school (eg other students and experts). For example, during class about the weather, students can collect weather data (temperature, rainfall, and wind direction) from students who are in other geographic areas. They can also request a weather map from a local TV meterologist, which can be logged as an attachment to an e-mail, or use the NASA website for the latest satellite photos. Experts from the National Weather Service can be contacted for answers to specific questions. Of course, as a teacher, you should make important schedules ahead of time.
Teachers can use "WebQuest" to help students use the Web effectively in gathering information in Student-Centered activities (Dodge, 1999). Developed by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University. WebQuest incorporates internet resources into the school curriculum.
WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented simulation activity where some or all of the information students interact with comes from resources on the internet. Teachers design a WebQuest with specific learning outcomes in mind. There are several specific steps for students in a WebQuest: (1) Introduction A scenario about some key issues or concepts to prepare students to ask questions.
(2) The students' assignments to identify su or problem and ask questions to WebQuest.
(3) In the group process, students take on the role and begin to identify the processors they will follow to gather information to answer questions. (4) Resources Resources were identified by teachers and students for teacher and students to identify in their WebQuest. This is one area where teachers provide links to websites and provide links to websites and provide access to printed materials in classrooms or school libraries. (4) Conclusion This is the end of the WebQuest, but invites students to continue investigating the issue or problem. The webQuest often ends with an evaluation of the process students used along with references for achievement. WebQuest can be applied to many subjects and sources of information such as: (1) Recent incident monitoring for social studies.
(2) Science activities such as tracking the weather and studying space satellites for other planets (eg NASA at www.nasa.gov).
(3) Information database for exposition writing assignments. (4) Mathematical puzzles that require the ability to think logically. (5) Discussion groups with online information exchange. (5) Bank jobs and resume services to be applied in job search activities.
One of the growing uses of online learning in the P-12 level is encouraging writing skills by connecting students with "e-pen pals" or "best friends". Subject plans can be sent as an attachment or posted on a school or district server. Questions can be asked by an individual teacher or a group of teachers (for example, all physics teachers in a state). Another vehicle for electronic ideas is a blog, which stands for a web-based communication log of entries, and looks like an online discussion board. Teachers can help students create blogs to improve their ability to exchange ideas. This electronic community provides teachers and students with access to information. There is a caveat when starting out with this type of electronic community: students should prepare students for their online safety. Students should be advised not to disclose personal information in any communication. Many museums and zoos create online exhibitions or "tours" of their collections. Your students can visit Guggnheim and view the collection while learning more about artists. A growing number of journals and magazines are now being published, either as a complement to existing print versions or as an entirely new form. Most of the leading publishers have placed their catalogs on the Web, which makes it easy to place and order books, software, and other products (Clark, 2003;Dumford & Miller, 2018;Mitchell & Delgado, 2014).
Many publishers are willing to make their actual products available online. They provide a trial package that "runs out" in a specified number of time periods usually 30 days. There are still issues of illegal copying and distribution of material that have led some publishers to worry about being granted full and limited access to software and files. School districts or schools often purchase or develop teaching modules provided by the intranet (a way of disseminating information within a school or district discussed later in this chapter). This teaching method is used to provide remediation to students or increase learning opportunities with the latest version of the material. Updating these materials is relatively easy as the main set of digital materials can be modified and made readily available, while in the past revisions have often required sending printed materials and / or computer discs to the school. Electronic learning also provides flexibility to students as they may be able to study material anytime and anywhere. Students can submit answers to the exam via the internet. Once answers are in the database, they are assessed and the results are immediately available to students and teachers. Online learning is especially beneficial when learners are geographically dispersed and when teaching is always up to date.

Network
Networks are common knowledge that computers can be used to connect students to communities and resources outside the classroom. The network connects homes, schools, libraries, organizations and businesses so students, families and professionals can access or share information and teaching instantaneously in a number of ways.
(1) Local Area Network is a network whose coverage is only 100 meters, usually in a building or campus, which can be said as a private network.
(2) Metropolitan Area Network If this type is one level wider than the LAN type network, the coverage reaches 10-50 km or it can be said that the coverage can reach one city, for example, such as campuses, offices, government, and so on in a city with using this MAN network can be interconnected.
(3) Wide Area Network, this type of network whose network coverage is the widest of the LAN and MAN types, where the WAN can cover one country or even a continent by crossing the geographical borders of the country and public property (O'Donoghue et al., 2004;Radović-Marković, 2010;Salter et al., 2004).

Interconnection Networking
The internet is also called a computer network that has a reach to all corners of the world. Or you can say a network in a network that connects one computer with millions of computers in the world. This network is the most powerful in terms of data exchange because the speed Intranet A special type of network, called an intranet, is one that is not used by the general public, but internally by a school or organization.

Advantage
Ease of communication, allows people to use to communicate with each other by leaving messages on the internet system. Sharing hardware, multiple users for example to access one printer. Centralized, the information is in a central database that can be accessed by all teachers or students at any time. Recency, a network allows for updating of information.

Limitations
Cost, expensive to build a network as large as a building. The server must be a highly capable computer and the building as a whole must be wired to connect the computers. The number of users is limited, the users have to wait their turn to gain access. Reliable long distance connection. A teacher or learner connecting from home may occasionally have network problems or dropouts. This can be especially frustrating for people to download information from the network.

Issues
There are many important issues related to electronic learning, especially regarding internet use. These issues include safety, monitoring of student utilization, acceptable use policies, and ethics.

Security
Students should be instructed not to provide their telephone numbers, addresses, and other personal information on the internet. Students can be contacted and even harmed by immoral individuals. It may be wise for students to provide their school address information for correspondence if they have to provide such information. In addition, as an educator, you must have permission from parents to post photos of children and their works, such as essays, poetry and works of art, on the web.
The Center for education and research in information security and security (CERIAS) focuses on multi-disciplinary education and research in the areas of information security. This organization focuses on supporting education in issues of privacy, ethics, and information management. Issues such as the confidentiality of student records, privacy of information, and protection of students when they work online are important considerations. This organization provides guidance for educators to protect students, teachers and the school community

Monitoring of Use by Students
Teachers and parents should monitor students when using the internet to ensure that their behavior is appropriate and to keep themselves from browsing unsuitable material, whether intentional or accidental. The number and level of monitoring is often based on the age of the students. Younger students monitored more than students who were older. If a student finds material that is inappropriate the student should feel comfortable telling you about the source. Biased software helps monitor student utilization. For example, snapture software allows teachers to prevent students from visiting sites that are "out of bounds". The software makes it possible for teachers to "hit the site and save it on a local computer hard drive. In this case the students were expected to visit the web even though they were not really connected.
Close supervision is essential. There is no organization or agency that controls activities on multiple computer networks. It is important for teachers to work with parents to understand their responsibilities regarding access to information outside of school (Shi-Chun et al., 2014;Blanco et al., 2020;Norbutaevic, 2020 Such policies typically include that schools will do whatever it can to control access to inappropriate information, that students will take responsibility for not accessing such information, and that parents understand that there is a possibility that their children may access it. such information despite the school's efforts to prevent it. All parties sign documents agreeing that they read and will comply with the policy. Education departments in most states have created resources to assist educators in developing AUPs for use in their schools.

Ethics
There are informal rules for behavior that should be on the internet. To use the analogy of the internet as an information highway, these are "road rules" known as ethics. These rules apply to e-mail and other interactions on the web.

Conclusion
Online learning opportunities continue to expand. More resources are available to students and teachers to enhance and expand classroom activities. Teachers are no longer limited to the materials they have in their classrooms or in the school media center. They can access resources from around the world. They can provide students with experiences like webQuest that help them to learn to use the internet as a source of information. Students can reach out to other students and experts to exchange ideas. The Internet has opened classrooms to a wealth of information around the world.