Is online class a learning environment?

Abstract

This paper is a literature review which examines whether online education has the capacity to support effective learning. The effectiveness of learning should be the first criteria to judge any delivery method. Thus, if the students in online education cannot learn as well as in traditional classes, then all other critical online issues, including access, student’s and teacher’s satisfaction, etc., have no meaning. The following are presented, based on the studied literature: The research paper focuses in the technological tools that the methodology uses and presents the online’s distance education researchers’ findings on the learning efficacy. Furthermore, it examines the methodology’s characteristics and its relationship with the learning theories. Finally, in conclusion, the research shows that the online methodology’s learning quality and the learning outcomes are just about the same compared to face-face learning outcomes. Findings are showing that the delivery method is just as effective as traditional education but online education is not surpassing traditional education, yet. The role of online education has changed from an alternative learning to a protagonist in most universities. In spite of the numerous studies in this area no definitive answer to the question “are the learning results in online classes similar compared to those of traditional education?” has been found.