Conclusion
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term “technology” is defined as, “the use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems”. New technologies emerge every day, but in 1989, one of the most useful technologies had become available to the general public – the World Wide Web. With the use of computer and the World Wide Web (better known as the internet), most of the people in the world are given access to almost anything at their fingertips – including online or distance education. The majority of Americans now have hectic schedules, whether it is working multiple jobs, or staying home and taking care of the kids, life can obstruct the view of completing their education. Online education, one of the most significant inventions within the internet, provides flexible learning schedules to busy individuals; therefore, it is no surprise that online education courses have become increasingly popular, impacted the educational system, and greatly affected many of our lives.
According to a study done by the American Sociological Association, online courses have become popular for those who are working students, looking for flexible schedules, have been kicked out of school and need to redeem themselves, and/or simply like the convenience of not having to commute to school. Since the inception of online college courses, enrollment for online classes has been steadily increasing with demand. In fact, according to William Casement’s study on whether online classes will also decrease the cost of tuition, he stated that, “in 2011, 87 percent of institutions offered at least some courses online and 32 percent of college students took at least one online course” (Casement, 2013). In 2010, a completely separate study by Simon Lei and Rajeev Govra explained why students choose to attend an online course as opposed to an on campus course. Although it may seem like the only benefit to an online course it its convenience and flexible nature, it is not true. Lei and Govra found that aside from the flexibility of the courses, students chose distance or online education because they want to limit the peer distractions, such as “class clowns”. Other full time (non-working) students who chose online courses advised that they chose online courses because they didn’t want to feel pressured by what they wear or even feel obligated to put on make-up to go to class. Lei, Govra, and Casement’s studies only prove that online courses are extremely popular and will continue to service the students in the future.
Aside from the escalating student demand for online learning due to its flexibility, universities have increased their demand for the online teaching platform as well. Universities have benefitted from online courses also. Since online courses can be taken anywhere around the world, the universities who offer online courses can now reach a larger audience. It is now possible for a student in Los Angeles, California to attend a completely online graduate college in a different state. This Californian can earn a degree from Southern New Hampshire University without stepping a foot into New Hampshire. The institution’s costs for holding online classes are also cheaper versus the traditional on campus classes because of factors such as: a decrease in photocopy costs for copying course related papers, and cutting costs in replenishing worn out tables, chairs, and chalkboards (Lei & Govra, 2010). Also due to the larger variety of potential students that the universities market for online courses, enrollment rates have gone up for universities and colleges who to provide online courses to their student body. Although the amount saved from the universities have not passed on to the students, it is possible that in the future, online classes will become more affordable. Currently, universities, like San Jose State University offer free Massive Open Online Courses also known as MOOCS. According to Casement, Massive Open Online Courses are not a proven learning tool, and they currently do not have education credit value. Even with these disadvantages, Massive Open Online Courses are still a positive aspect for the current and future online students because with the free and easily accessible MOOCS classes, perspective online students have an alternative to education and it’s free! In order for the online universities to stay competitive, it is likely that MOOCS may force online universities to significantly lower online courses that are for credit (Casement, 2013).
With all the publicity over online courses, great professors alike have been determined to find out whether online courses are just as effective as face-to-face classes. There have been some controversies over the situation; therefore, several studies have been made. One study by Adam Driscoll, Karl Jicha, Andrea Hunt, Lisa Tichavsky, and Greatchen Thompson shows that given the appropriate pedagogy or instruction, online courses is just as an effective teaching format as face-to-face classes (Driscoll, Jicha, Hunt, Tichavsky, & Thompson, 2012). The study showed that when comparing online courses against face-to-face courses, the midterm scores for both teaching platforms are the same. Given that the GPA of the students is taken into consideration, the test grades do not improve or become worse when the class is taken online. The same study showed that when comparing online courses to face-to-face courses, the student satisfaction does not increase or decrease when the class is taken in a face-to-face course. The professor for both platforms can effectively teach an online course just the way that he/she would teach an on campus course and the outcome should theoretically be the same. Since grade point averages (GPAs) have been addressed in this study to show that the student outcome would be the same in either platform (online or on campus), this just shows that the students who take classes on campus are a much more educationally focused when compared to completely online students. This makes sense because as mentioned before, the majority of online students are focused on other things other than merely studying. Some students may have also already attended the course with a lower GPA; thus, it in inconclusive whether the student’s GPA was lowered by the online course or if it was already low to begin with.
As online courses become more and more available, and the attendance of online students continues to grow, the issue of online cheating becomes a much larger issue. E-cheating, cheating in an online course, has become increasingly widespread in the online education system. According to a study published in the Electronic Journal of e-Learning, few of the most common e-cheating tactics are: waiting for answers, false error messages, collusion, plagiarism, and purchasing answers (Moten Jr., Fitterer, Brazier, Leonard, & Brown, 2013).
The first cheating method is “waiting for answers”. “Waiting for answers” is when a student waits for another student to take an exam, and then waits for the answers from the student who had just taken the exam.
Second cheating method is a “fraudulent error message”. When a student wants to peek at the questions for a test or exam, the student will open the exam and then tell the professor that there was an error while taking the exam. This cheating technique will allow the student to view the exam prior to taking the timed exam.
The third cheating method is “collusion”. Although online classes usually have students from different areas, “collusion” is still possible through other means of technology, such as texts and emails.
The fourth cheating method is not strictly for the online course community. “Plagiarism” is another popular form of cheating. “Plagiarism” occurs when a student copies full pages of essays or portions of books without proper use of citations and quotes.
Lastly, students have been known to “purchase answers” from the internet. Test bank sites, like brainmass.com and cramster.com have made it possible for students to post the test question into the internet and buy answers to their tests.
The colleges who provide online courses have become very aware of the cheating situation. Once the online class test banks become compromised, it is difficult for the class to come up with test questions that are similar to the originals. Therefore, they have come up with tactics in finding offenders and applying appropriate punishment for academic dishonesty an online learning environment. The same study that researched methods of online cheating have also found methods in order to minimize online cheating. The article published in Electric Journal of e-Learning suggests a few methods to limit cheating: policy notifications, test timelines, traps, surveillance, randomized questions, and a class mole (Moten Jr., Fitterer, Brazier, Leonard, & Brown, 2013).
The first method to limit cheating is to notify the students of the cheating policy. Since it is possible for a student to overlook the policy, the article suggests that the institution require the student to sign the policy as a form of proof of policy acknowledgement. If a student is caught using academic dishonesty, the student can be expelled using the signed policy agreement if needed.
Second, the article suggests that the professors establish a strict timeline for tests. It is proven that with a substantial amount of time to take a test, it is easy for a student to research the answers. If a test is given only a limited amount of time when taken, then it is possible for an unprepared test taker to not complete the exam and limit the chances of the student to research or purchase answers online.
Creating a cheating trap is a more advanced way to catch cheating students. The cheating trap requires the institution to create a website that offers the wrong answers to an exam. If the student copies all the exam answers from the cheating trap website, then the student will fail his/her test.
The surveillance method is much more costly than all the other alternatives to catching academically dishonest students. The surveillance method will require webcams, so that the professor can watch the student(s) as he takes his exam. Although this method is great in theory, it is still possible for students to cheat when they are not in clear view of their webcams.
Lastly, the article states that it is a good idea to have a “class mole”. The class mole will act as if he were a student and look for students who are collaborating to cheat. This also is a good idea in theory, but it is unlikely that the students will collaborate cheating on an online class when it is possible to purchase answers online.
Currently, online courses are most popular in higher education, but there have also been studies of other online learning. Studies have been made for grade school and online collaborative learning (OCL). OCL is to assist with collaborating with fellow students online after onsite school hours; therefore, it is used to enhance the face-to-face learning experience. A study done by the National Taichung Institute of Technology showed a positive change in marketing class students who had used OCL when working on an assignment. The study showed that the students who have taken advantage of the OCL assistance had gotten better grades than those who did not have OCL assistance (Guo & Tsai, 2011).
A separate study showing an online e-course with grade students in Korea also shows potential for an online learning environment. Unlike college online courses, the e-course for the grade school had a specified time. Also different from college courses, like DeVry, the entire class had webcams and took the course as if they were all in the same room. The study showed that the grade students reacted positively toward the teaching environment. Although they preferred speaking into the microphone over typing the text into the keyboard, they still favored a combination of both text and voice over simply speaking into the microphone as their best method of interaction. According to this study, the students enjoyed the online class and feel that the interaction with their teacher was the same amount with their teacher as if they were in an actual onsite classroom. Even though the study was successful, the study cannot conclude whether the class was enjoyed because of the teacher and the teacher’s constant interaction with the students, or if the students reacted positively toward the online teaching environment.
In conclusion, online education is a valuable technology that will continue to become a part of normal society – it will not be a phase or a fad. People have found convenience in online learning, and many are ecstatic to find that they can earn a degree, while balancing work and family while doing all of this in the comfort of their own home. Online education has assisted the community and the environment by reducing smog in the air and reducing the use of wasted paper and ink. Due to the publicity of online education in colleges, online education is now being tested in different platforms. Online testing has tested successfully in Korea’s online class for grade students. Online Collaborative Learning was studied in Taiwan and tested successfully as well. The rise of Massive Open Online Courses have offered free online courses that are not credited, but may lead to lower pricing on for credit online courses. Online learning will definitely be in our future. In fact, Nadia Yusuf, the author of “The Future of Global Education”, believes that online classes have a chance to become the main form of education. Granted that a handful of students still like the on campus environment, it is possible that even if classes do not become 100% online, online learning will not go away. Advancements in technology will only assist with the online learning environment that is troubling us today, such as online cheating and lower grade point averages.

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