What's it really like to learn online?Learning Online: The Student
Experience
Online learning is ubiquitous for millions of students worldwide, yet
our understanding of student experiences in online learning settings is
limited. The geographic distance that separates faculty from students in
an online environment is its signature feature, but it is also one that
risks widening the gulf between teachers and learners. In Learning
Online, George Veletsianos argues that in order to critique,
understand, and improve online learning, we must examine it through the
lens of student experience.
Approaching the topic with stories that elicit empathy, compassion, and
care, Veletsianos relays the diverse day-to-day experiences of online
learners. Each in-depth chapter follows a single learner's experience
while focusing on an important or noteworthy aspect of online learning,
tackling everything from demographics, attrition, motivation, and
loneliness to cheating, openness, flexibility, social media, and digital
divides. Veletsianos also draws on these case studies to offer
recommendations for the future and lessons learned.
The elusive nature of online learners' experiences, the book reveals, is
a problem because it prevents us from doing better: from designing more
effective online courses, from making evidence-informed decisions about
online education, and from coming to our work with the full sense of
empathy that our students deserve. Writing in an evocative, accessible,
and concise manner, Veletsianos concretely demonstrates why it is so
important to pay closer attention to the stories of students--who may
have instructive and insightful ideas about the future of education.
