The virtual learning future

Abstract

Since there is a real possibility that online courses will become the dominant informational platforms of the future universities need to address a range of issues from design and quality through to ethics and economics to ensure that the all-round investment required reaps positive outcomes. This paper addresses some of the issues that have confronted teachers and students engaged in online teaching and learning in eastern and western contexts. This paper concludes that Asian students are not necessarily poor online learners, as has often been suggested, but that they are alert to the importance, and real advantages, of personal interaction in the learning process. For this reason it is suggested that integrated hybrid virtual and classroom courses might prove more effective and elicit more positive responses from such students than courses that are conducted entirely online.

Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to Dr Susan Chou, the students in my third-year English composition class (2003) and to the Institute of Education, the University of London, for giving me the opportunity to participate in their online teaching and learning course.