Challenges and Benefits of Online Learning on Secondary School Students

This paper explores the relationship between online education and the impact on primary/secondary school students. It identifies the benefits and challenges of online learning and provides implications for effective use of online education in teaching and learning process.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Educational Research Project
Challenges and Benefits of Online Learning on Secondary School Students"
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1MANAGEMENT
Abstract:
This particular paper puts across the results of systematic literature review on the empirical
studies that helps in exploring the relationship between online education and the impact on the
primary/secondary school students. The search of the literature involved 15 journal articles from
2003 to 2018 Online education has been a new means of learning as well as educational strategy
in the 21st century that have found application in the primary and the secondary education.
Online education has enabled teachers and students in developing wider range of the ideas,
innovations and techniques and the learning and the teaching resources. As integrated narrative
review the method applies to systematic searching, writing and reviewing the literature for
bringing along the important themes and findings of research in this particular area. Thematic
qualitative criteria was applied by most authors for reviewing and selecting available literature
that allowed them in focusing on the analysis and the identification of the basic themes that
revolved around the concept of applying the online education in primary and secondary schools.
The benefits identified included improvement in the learner engagement and the centrality of the
process involved key factors that led to the development of the learning community. The
challenges identified include availability of the proper internet connection, isolation and proper
communication with the supervisors. In spite of the challenges there were students who wanted
to opt for it since it was cheaper since there was no need of spending money in renting a building
and paying expensive bills. Students also admitted to opt for online education as it allowed self
paced learning which ensured that student could take the courses from anywhere and at any time.

2MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................3
Methodology:...................................................................................................................................4
Findings: Thematic Analysis of the Literature...............................................................................6
Discussion:.......................................................................................................................................7
References:....................................................................................................................................10

3MANAGEMENT
Introduction:
Background of the Study:
Online education has become a common thing for primary /secondary education of the
21st century. Larreamendy-Joerns and Leinhardt (2006) reviewed the literature “observed two
complementary movements in the educational landscape: the merging of online teaching and
learning in the stream of the everyday practices at the universities and the role of the distant
programs in the institutions” (p. 572). Talent-Runnels et al (2006) conducted a review of the
course environment, the learner’s outcomes and characteristics along with the administrative and
the institutional factors. In critics to the available literature, it was identified that the
asynchronous communication facilitated the in depth communications and the students preferred
in moving at own pace where the learning outcomes were similar to the conventional courses and
the students having previous training in the computers expressed enhanced satisfaction with the
online course. Meta-analysis of the online learning put forward by Department of Education of
the United States put forward that online instruction has been beneficial compared to the face to
face instructions for both the primary and the secondary learners. The literature review did not
directly discuss the impact of the online education on the primary and the secondary education
that could drew the attention by focusing on the aspects that the online education not only
enhanced the courses but provided additional opportunities for dynamically interacting with the
learners
Statement of the Research Problem:

4MANAGEMENT
Online learning increases the access to the education for different people (Salmon, 2013).
The flexibility of the online course acts beneficial for people who remain involved in the time
consuming day to day obligations. In the rural areas having tighter resources the online courses
could broaden up the scopes for education of the students which could not be provided by the
educational system otherwise. Students with disabilities like inability to hear may also find
online education easier. The problem lies in the fact that online education has become
challenging for the learners since it does not have a structured routine like traditional classroom
and so the student might get confused or lost about the course deadlines and activities.
Research Question:
There are various secondary schools in United States that opts for the online education
(Stromquist & Monkman, 2014). This means of education has proved to be advantageous for the
teachers, students and the other users. Therefore, the research questions are as follows:
RQI: Do the student utilizes the advantage of online education to the fullest or they opt for the
online education for matter which are not beneficial to them?
Methodology:
Details of Search Strategy:
The search items and the phrases have been identified included online assessment,
innovative assessment, assessment of the online learning, assessment of higher education along
with an alternative assessment. Reliable electronic databases have been researched that included
Google Scholar, Science Direct, ProQuest, ERIC and Education Research Complete (Patten &
Newhart 2017).The search remained bound within the context of primary/secondary education

5MANAGEMENT
that also included the last two decade where widespread use and advancement of the digital
educational technologies underwent a rapid growth. Only the peer reviewed sources have been
considered for ensuring the quality of review. Besides, further searches have been accomplished
by means of hand searching, backward referencing and consultation of the field experts. Fifty
one-peer reviewed journal articles have been considered relevant where the extent of relevance
varied based on themes captured. Quite a variety of authored books by well known writers
within the field has been taken as the secondary sources. This method of search was followed
until search delivered newer and relevant articles. A systematic review was enabled by clustering
the retrieved article.
Number of Sources Analyzed
The core study depended on the criteria for selection that included learning from the
online and the blended contexts which included learning from 10 online context and 5 blended
contexts while remaining study included participants from both the online and the blended
context. The selected literature has been drawn from the wider range of primary and secondary
education disciplines. The current meta-analysis of evidence practice in online learning revealed
that online education covered wider range of disciplines. The pre-ponderance of the studies in
the reviewed teacher education was linked to the beliefs and expertise of the teachers in dealing
with the course that would be later discussed. The basic studies have been drawn from the wider
publications range in the Australasia, America and Europe. In most of the cases it is however not
possible in identifying the online technologies and the tools in detail although the skill for
learning management has been adopted on a frequent basis.
Types of Analysis

6MANAGEMENT
Figure 1: Theory and Methodology across 15 key Studies Presented in Alphabetical
Order
Source: By Author
It follows a design pattern based methodology with a qualitative approach. The above
table puts forward a list of the selected studies with an explicit citation along with consideration
of other emerging and theoretical pedagogical viewpoint and the methodology adopted. It was
found that many reviewed studies put across that theory depended on the recommendations that
characterized online and effective academic designs. For example Sorensen and Takle (2005)
took theoretical viewpoint that portrayed the views of collaborative learning within communities
for providing the case study approach which supported the learner centric designs that actively
engaged the learners as the participants and the co facilitators. They put across suggested criteria
for supporting ongoing assessment for both the products and process of learning. Vonderwell et
al. (2007) on the other had presented theoretical viewpoint of collaborative and the assessment

7MANAGEMENT
learning that emphasizes on the learners and the design in connection with learning environment.
The study put across an approach that placed equal valuation on the process and the products of
the learning. Herrington Reeves and Oliver (2006) put across the design principles in relation to
reliable learning and emphasized on the incorporation of the real activities. The theoretical
perspective of Mackey (2009) and Mackey and Evans (2011) got connected to the communities
practice for informing a program and the course design which blended the online assessment and
the learning activities in addition to applications in the contexts of real life. The other studies did
not include any kind of explicit theory but revealed some underlying assumptions and conceptual
viewpoint within article. For example, Gaytan and McEwen (2007), Chung, Shel, and Kaiser
(2006) and Wang et al. (2008) described that activities for creating online learning. Taking into
consideration the range and the complexity of the theory and initial stages of the research into the
topic, most of the researchers preferred the case study methodology.
Findings: Thematic Analysis of the Literature
Online education remains characterized by the diversity of the approaches that would
help in enhancing the learning outcomes and experience. Depending on the in depth analysis of
literature the fundamental issue assessment is done based on the online context including
reliability, validity and dishonesty. Next the functionality of the online formative assessment has
been discussed.
It was found that the assessment of the student learning depended on the self expression
of the materials accessed, the manner in which they accessed it and the time at which they
accessed it. Researchers determined the learning of the student through the usage of the content
analysis of the courses that student often opt through online education. It was found that there

8MANAGEMENT
were students who did not want to opt for it as it required self-discipline. There were times when
the students required sorting the complicated materials dispersed through the online courses.
Students were also of the view that they often felt isolated since online education did not provide
the feeling of a classroom and they would often face difficulty while getting in touch with
learners (Shernoff et al. 2014).
In spite of the challenges there were students who wanted to opt for it since it was
cheaper since there was no need of spending money in renting a building and paying expensive
bills. Students also admitted to opt for online education as it allowed self paced learning which
ensured that student could take the courses from anywhere and at any time. It was modern
Discussion:
Summary of Findings:
 Continuous and immediate feedback acts a critical component for understanding
the learning content and goals
 Assessing and monitoring the progress of the student for provisioning of
significant feedback
 Assessing of the activities that requires proper planning and explicit explanation
to the learners for easily understanding the need required.
 Dynamic, frequent and meaningful interactions among the online participants are
necessary of active participation, stronger and collaborative learning
 Need for the shared understanding of the expected outcomes and the process
through providing clearer rubrics
 Need for gathering student perception regarding how and what they learn.

9MANAGEMENT
Implications
In light of this study, it is possible to conclude that internet acts as the useful tool in
providing varied sources of learning and information and the use has been left to customers for
determining his or her choice. The learning of the student is portrayed negatively when the
student’s themselves portrayed the challenges or the negative impacts of online education. The
emergence of the laptop and the smart phones although made online education easier but the use
of the online education for professional use defines something that the student should not only
ne taught but also guided. However, it should not only be left on the prudence of the students as
fr as the online education is concerned but in order to ensure the wisest use online education
both the students and the teacher should have proper training. The result of the study can have
important implications in most effective use of online education in both the teaching and learning
process provided the students are educated on the proper means of acquiring the knowledge.
Limitations
Teachers should be provided with the required training for delivering online education.
This would make them competent enough in providing training to the students for the better use
of the online education. Besides, the presence of good internet facilities in school is another
criterion for guiding the students in deriving maximum knowledge through online education
despite its various challenges.

10MANAGEMENT
References:
Chung, G. K. W. K., Shel, T., & Kaiser, W. J. (2006). An exploratory study of a novel online
formative assessment and instructional tool to promote students’ circuit problem solving.
Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, 5(6), 1–27
Gaytan, J., & McEwen, B. C. (2007). Effective online instructional and assessment strategies.
American Journal of Distance Education, 21(3), 117–132
Larreamendy-Joerns, J., & Leinhardt, G. (2006). Going the distance with online education.
Review of Educational Research, 76(4), 567–605.
Mackey, J. (2009). Virtual learning and real communities: online professional development for
teachers. In E. Stacey, & P. Gerbic (Eds.), Effective blended learning practices: evidence-
based perspectives in ICT-facilitated education (pp. 163–181). Hershey: Information
Science Reference. Mackey, J., & Evans, T. (2011). Interconnecting networks of practice
for professional learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance
Learning, 12(3), 1–18.
Patten, M. L., & Newhart, M. (2017). Understanding research methods: An overview of the
essentials. Routledge.
Reeves, T. C., & Hedberg, J. G. (2009). Evaluation strategies for open and distributed learning
environments. In C. Spratt, & P. Lajbcygier (Eds.), E-Learning technologies and
evidence based assessment approaches (pp. 234–253). New York: Information Science
Reference
Salmon, G. (2013). E-tivities: The key to active online learning. Routledge.

11MANAGEMENT
Shernoff, D. J., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Schneider, B., & Shernoff, E. S. (2014). Student
engagement in high school classrooms from the perspective of flow theory.
In Applications of flow in human development and education (pp. 475-494). Springer,
Dordrecht
Sorensen, E. K., & Takle, E. S. (2005). Investigating knowledge building dialogues in networked
communities of practice. A collaborative learning endeavor across cultures. Interactive
Educational Multimedia, 10, 50–60
Stromquist, N. P., & Monkman, K. (Eds.). (2014). Globalization and education: Integration and
contestation across cultures. R&L Education
Tallent-Runnels, M. K., Thomas, J. A., Lan, W. Y., Cooper, S., Ahern, T. C., Shaw, S. M., et al.
(2006). Teaching courses online: a Review of the research. Review of Educational
Research, 76(1), 93–135. Tamin, R., Bernard, R., Borokh
Vonderwell, S., Liang, X., & Alderman, K. (2007). Asynchronous discussions and assessment in
online learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 39(3), 309–328
Wang, C. X. (2009). Comprehensive assessment of student collaboration in electronic portfolio
construction: an evaluation research. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to
Improve Learning, 53(1), 58–66