History of Web Based Learning :: Internet Computers Technology Essays

History of Web Based Learning Most students canÏ€t wait to graduate high school and move on to college. They canÏ€t wait to get away from home to experience new things. What happens if a student canÏ€t afford college or they just arenÏ€t ready to leave home? How do you complete a Masters or Doctorate program at the age of 51 with three children? This is where web-based learning comes into play. When people think of web-based learning, they tend to picture a man talking you through the computer. That is what I believed until my sister decided to get her master degree online. She worked like a dog; writing papers, attending mandatory chats online, watching videos, and implementing lessons into her classroom. It was not the easy ride that I believed. The emergence of powerful computers has rekindled the hope that machines might act as teachers and make learning easier. Each person learns in his or her own way. No matter what, people need to actively participate to absorb knowledge. Web based learning has a history that isnÏ€t just sitting back watching the computer monitor. Computers can only make knowledge acquisition more interesting or less expensive or both. This is why the student who canÏ€t afford to go to college can take some courses from home. Also, many people simply canÏ€t learn in a classroom environment. Using the web gives the learner a change of pace that makes learning fun. Many forty to fifty years olds may feel very uncomfortable walking around on a college campus. They may be seeking career changes and the Internet allows for the anonymity that is not available anywhere else. Web based learning does not have to take place solely on a college campus. Many elementary and secondary school teachers may assign web projects because à ¤since its ease of use makes the Internet trivially accessible to pupils with no prior knowledge of computers, programming or even networking, making it more tempting for teachers to take advantage of it. My teachers did not utilize the web that often, but when they did, I enjoyed it be cause it was a change of pace.