The Top Ten Reasons Why Online Learning Can Beat Classroom Learning

Abstract

I am an organizational behavior professor who researches, teaches, and consults in areas such as leadership, communications, change dynamics, and team building. My field is frequently described with the derogatory term Although I eschew this term, interpersonal contact is certainly a central dynamic of the field. Along comes the worldwide web which cannot be characterized as touchy-feely. The vernacular of the web is virtual, asynchronous, emoticon, hyperlink, and bot. Consequently, for all of its wonderful benefits, most people do not associate the web with taking the place of experiences that have always had a human element. What I've discovered in the world of higher education, though, is that online learning has some tremendous advantages compared with classroom learning, particularly for working adults. Before going further, I should add that, like any good person working in the field of human behavior, I could deliver a masterful argument for why web-based learning and education is not as effective as classroom learning. I could rise higher over the lecturn and preach about the magical moment when student and professor make eye contact in mutual recognition of special learning that is taking place as the professor touches the hearts and minds of her students.