RESEARCH PAPER TEMPLATE

North American University

Education Department
M.Ed. in EDLE & CUIN
EDUC 5324: INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO EDUCATION

Name: Sefer OZTURK Date: 6/21/2020

Topic Selected: What does research say about the advantages and disadvantages
of distance education?

1. LITERATURE REVIEW: (250 Words)

What does the literature/research say about this issue/topic? By using NAU
Library or Online Search engines, conduct a literature review.
 You need to include 5 different sources (book, journal article, web
article etc.) in your review. Try to use current sources as much as
possible.
 You need to summarize and synthesize your sources by discussing a
common theme or issue.
 You don't need to critique your sources
 You don't need to evaluate your sources (if the sources are
trustworthy, weather the author has a bias or not)
 You need to provide background information such as history and
definitions

Literature Review:

Distance education is a way to learn electronically without having face-to-face

interaction in the physical environment with an instructor, an educator or a

trainer. Learners and institutions have good reasons to adopt distance

education. Universities gain from accepting students without building classrooms

and providing accommodation. “More, the online teaching may be used

successfully for general corporate training exercises and advanced career-

specific educational advancement” (Tehrani, 2011, p.47). Students sometimes

have reservations about pursuing higher education through distance education,

because lack of clarification about the advantages and disadvantages of this

educational style. It's a wise idea to consider the pros and cons of obtaining a

degree through distance learning before choosing it. Students must know that

distance learning may not be the best choice for every kind of student, but

knowing their pros and cons will help to determine if distance education is

appropriate or not. “Traditional students gave high importance to establishing

good communication with their classmates, while online students gave the same

importance to their communication with the instructor and additional consults

needed for their learning of the material. These findings point out that additional

“nice to have” functions should be explored, in order to integrate pedagogical

methods to suit the needs of the students” (Raspopovic, Cvetanovic &

Jankulovic, 2016, p.142-143).

One of the advantage of distance education is that time will not be wasted

commuting to and from campus, no time wasted waiting for a bus or a subway.

In a distance education, classroom may be the bedroom and the e-material will

be available on the electronic device anytime. Students who don't have enough

time may transform as an alternative to distance learning by trying it in their

homes' comfort. “The results showed that the e-learning platform has

advantages on time management for those students who are advanced users,

but it is time consuming for those who are beginners” (Indericia, 2014, p.242).

With the exception of situations where students need to follow an online tutorial

at a particular time or a video conference lecture, they can study fairly much

whenever they want and wherever they like. But, when there are no professors

around for face-to-face engagement and no peers who can assist with constant

reminders about upcoming homework, there are high chances to get frustrated

and lose control of deadlines. “With the increase of e-Learning, consideration

needs to be given to some of the advantages and disadvantages of the

 technological learning that is available. As technological advances have taken

its place in the information world, individuals have become more exacting and

better informed as to what choices exist for their education.” (Fedynich, 2013,

p.6).

Excessive reliance on technology, particularly when learning takes place in an

online platform, can be a major disadvantage in the distance learning form of

education. Any malfunctioning software or hardware will prevent the process of

learning. “As programs and applications continue to change, educators must

carefully decide what technology will be used in delivering their distance

education courses. This study outlined the interactive tools and platform that can

be implemented to enhance distance education classes.” (Stear & Mensch,

2012, p.63).

2. REFLECTION: (250 Words)

 What is your personal opinion on this issue? Do you agree with the
research? If you agree or disagree, please explain why?
 Provide examples/experiences regarding this issue from school
perspective or If you are not working in a school, from your
profession. Be specific with your examples. You can mention
software/hardware names, specific methods that you plan to use, etc.
 How would you implement this research in your career? (At least 1
paragraph)

Reflection: The cost for a distance education degree (online or otherwise) can be

much more reasonable for any particular course than the tuition for a traditional

degree. The flexibility that arises with distance learning is such an immense benefit

for many students. Accessibility and simplicity of this style of learning are essential

advantages. Suppose if student is back from work or even in the middle of the

night, he/she can study on weekends. Perfectly-designed programs can also help to

promote diversities among the students in cognitive, cultural and social terms.

Students will have more time for work or social life. Sometimes, it can be

embarrassing for the students to ask a question or admit that you are unable to
understand the concept in class. Then online education comes to save the student.

One of the best benefit of distance education is that if student is self-disciplined and

self-motivated then he/she can learn at his/her own tempo. When all students are

taught together in a classroom, sometimes it is challenging to have each student on

the same level. Students may study as much they want every day as long as they

complete their study material within the specified time according to given course.

Distance education has recently recognized and accepted by many businessmen,

employers and companies, which is an encouraging sign. Students don't need to

worry about accreditation of distance learning.

Due to above mentioned advantages, I am in favor of distance education when I see

pros and cons. As a result of researches, use of technology in higher education is

unavoidable. I believe that in the future, all the board of directors of universities

will take distance education into their agendas to get more admission, to improve

their quality education, to adjust and implement latest educational technologies and

to develop their faculty members. It is also good facility for the people who work

but want to continue higher education at the same time. For example, I am head of

mathematics department and I have to work 8 am to 5 pm six days a week. If I

haven’t been started distance education in North American University then I would

not have time to go to university. So distance education is a bounty for me to do

master in education. I have been improved my-self not just in education but also

developed about use of technology (kahoot, kutasoftware, wolfram alpha,

activinspire, geogebra, screen casting, google form and slides) and how to integrate

technology into education.

3. REFERENCES:
 Cite at least 5 References in APA.
 You may use http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-journal for
citing your sources in APA style.
References:

Fedynick, L. V. (2013). Teaching beyond the classroom walls: The pros and cons
of cyber learning. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, 13, 1-7.

Indericia, E. S. (2014). E-learning platform: Advantages and disadvantages on time

management. The 10th International Scientific Conference ELearning &
Software for Education,, 3, 236-243.

Raspopovic, M., Cvetanovic, S., & Jankulovic, A. (2016). Challenges of

Transitioning to e-learning System with Learning Objects Capabilities. The
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 17(1),
123-147. doi:10.19173/irrodl.v17i1.2172

Stear, S. & Mensch, S. (2012). Online learning tools for distant education. Global
Education Journal, 3, 57-64

Tehrani, M. S. (2011). Distance learning: An empirical study. Information Sysstems

Education Journal (ISEDJ), 9(1), 41-52.