Online Course Materials and Online Educational Tools Essay

Online Course Materials and Online Educational Tools - Essay Example Some courses are therefore available through a face to face teacher interaction which is supplemented by online course material and other educational tools. There has been some debate about the effectiveness of the online courses per se or of the supplemental course materials to add to the students’ understanding of the subject (Allen and Seaman, 2006) .Moreover, previous research has also found that teachers’ perceptions about the effectiveness of the online course or course material differs vastly (Dawley, 2007) which may in turn impact on their enthusiasm to adopt their teaching to the new requirements entailed by the online mode of learning. This research therefore aims to assess what teachers in college X at the University of Y, in Jeddah, KSA think about the online course material that the university uses to supplement the classroom teaching. As such, the main research questions are: 1. What do the teachers think are the advantages and disadvantages of the online course material? 2. What are some of the barriers and challenges that teachers face while developing and managing the online content for their courses? 2. Literature Review According to Allen and Seaman (2006), online education is not restricted to the fringe anymore instead the popularity of online education is increasing rapidly (Dawley, 2007). In fact, it has become crucial to the long term plans of any institution to incorporate online courses for both local and international students. As more and more teachers begin to adapt to this method of teaching, it is necessary to understand their perceptions about moving to an online approach. This paper takes at look at the perception college teachers have about online... As the report declares two teachers are interviewed from a University in Jeddah, and their opinion sought on the impact on student learning that the online course content that the University uses to supplement regular classes. The teachers are selected on the basis of convenience sampling from among the acquaintances of the researcher. The interviews are conducted over Skype, and the responses are analysed in a reflective manner. The findings are discussed to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the online course content, and recommendations made for the improvement of the same.This paper highlights that online education is not restricted to the fringe anymore instead the popularity of online education is increasing rapidly. In fact, it has become crucial to the long term plans of any institution to incorporate online courses for both local and international students. As more and more teachers begin to adapt to this method of teaching, it is necessary to understand their per ceptions about moving to an online approach. This paper takes at look at the perception college teachers have about online course materials and online educational tools.  Many researchers have made the observation that in spite of the high demand of online courses, faculty members are not very keen to shift their mode of teaching to an online medium.  One of the major concerns of adopting an online approach is pedagogical – whether the process of teaching would be as effective as that of a classroom.