article on DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEARNING AT SCHOOL AND AT HOME (200 words)
Answers
Explanation:
Online Learning
Online learning in K-12 has become more widespread in the past decade. According to a 2008
report by the U.S. Department of Education, the number of K-12 public education students who
enrolled in technology-based distance education grew by 65% between 2002-03 and 2004-05
(Zandberg & Lewis, 2008). Picciano and Seaman (2007) estimated that more than a million K–12
students took online courses in the 2007–2008 school years.
One of the most valuable benefits of integrating ICT in school practice is that it enhances the pos-
sibilities of teaching and learning beyond the traditional limitations of time and space (Arbelaiz &
Gorospe, 2009; Tubin, Mioduser, Nachimias, & Forkosh-Baruch, 2003). Our previous research
(Ben-Zadok, Leiba, Nachmias & Mintz, 2009) revealed that many schools in Israel exploit this
advantage by using the online environment for home tasks and independent learning.
Much research has been done regarding the contribution of online and blended learning. Results
point out, for example, that such learning offers contents not otherwise available at school, that it
meets the needs of specific groups of students, and that it reduces scheduling conflicts (Picciano
& Seaman, 2007). Students can access the online learning material any time and get up-to-date
and relevant learning materials (Ally, 2004). However, when schools want to integrate online
learning environments in class, they have to struggle with obstacles such as the availability andaccessibility of computers (Pelgrum, 2001; Rogers, 2000). As a result, students experience diffi-
culties in completing learning assignments in school. Home, therefore, may offer a useful envi-
ronment for students to continue their online learning assignments. But whereas in the classroom
the presence of the teacher can control and influence the learning process, at home students are
left to their own devices.
Research comparing online learning to traditional learning indicates that when they use a com-
puter students do assignments more in their own way and assume greater responsibility for their
learning, working both more independently and effectively (Balanskat, Blamire, & Kefala, 2006).
Learners control their learning processes and choose their own mode of learning. For example,
they may choose the content they want to engage with, the time and the pace of learning, or the
learning sequence (Sims & Hedberg, 1995). This phenomenon has led researchers to want to
study online learners’ behaviors and learning processes in greater depth, to reveal, among other
things, factors that influence students’ modes of learning.