Five Myths About
ON-LINE LEARNING
Most of the objections to using e-learning and I.T. for education are not based on evidence, but on pre-concieved ideas and prejudices. Let’s consider a few of them.
1. MYTH: APPRENTICES LEARN BETTER IN A TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM. There is no evidence that this is the case. Several studies have shown no difference between the learning outcomes of students in a traditional classroom environment and students who are learning on-line.(1) In 2010, the United States Department of Education released an expansive study comparing online learning to in-person learning (classroom time); compared to a mixture of the two. What did the Department of Education find? “Students in online conditions performed modestly better, on average, than those learning the same material through traditional face-to-face instruction. . .The effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad across different content and learner types.”(2) This study had a huge impact on government policy. After it’s results, the Department of Education spent
6 | Aussie Painters Network
more than $600 million on online tools, so more students could learn online.
The number one factor that determines learning outcomes is how much students are engaged by the information. A poor trainer will train poorly, and even a good trainer has bad days. Poor instructional design creates poor on-line learning experiences. But the advantage of using e-learning is that it gives the college the ability to control the quality of instruction for every single student, every single time. Engaging lessons create ideal learning conditions that enable students to learn at their own pace. Myth busted! 2. MYTH: IT’S EASIER TO CHEAT ON-LINE Video response technology allows trainers to authenticate responses given by students on-line. In a classroom where answers are all written down, its easy for students to simply copy from other students. Its much harder to do that if you have to answer verbally while being filmed. Classroom training often involves group activities, but group activities mean that often by simply participating the student is being assessed on
the outcome created by the group, instead of their individual work. E-learning can use question banks for assessment. This means that students are given randomised questions; no two students will get exactly the same set of assessment questions. So they really have to learn the required knowledge. Myth busted! 3. MYTH: APPRENTICES PREFER CLASSROOM TRAINING In 2019 every school in Australia uses some form of on-line learning. Kids go to school armed with laptops and tablets instead of textbooks. So it makes sense to offer them the same rich learning experience when they start their apprenticeships. This is what students are saying about the Painters Institute’s on-line training: ‘Really enjoyed the course and enjoyed the instructional videos’ ‘I enjoyed this course it was informative and made easy to understand especially with video’ “I’m learning heaps, its better than TAFE’
