Abstract
This chapter examines some myths relevant to students and instructors when engaging in online learning. Education is a complex process where the student’s own experiences, learning styles, personal attitude, competencies, emotions and other intangible factors will influence learning performance. Adopted myths (whether conscious or not) may be a part of that intangible influence. Thus, it becomes essential for good practice and for a satisfactory experience, not only for those who learn online but also for those who teach online, to check one’s assumptions, or those of others, against real practice and against informed advice. As an example of such informed advice and reflective practice that academics can offer their students, two tables are provided in this chapter. Regardless of the actual electronic platform used, online learning and teaching can only become of greater and greater importance in tertiary teaching, making investigation of this issue both timely and important. While our chapter is embedded in current educational theoretical writing, we also intend this chapter to be of practical value for the teaching and learning domain as we critically analyse mythical drawbacks to online learning and offer practical steps to overcome both perceived and actual problems. Our own practice is based in the Spanish higher education sector and we write with an acknowledgement that online learning proceeds at a different pace and with different underlying challenges and assumptions around the globe.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Allerton, H. E. (2000). Top ten e-learning myths. Training & Development, 54(9), 32–33.
Appel, C., Santanach, F., & Jager, S. (2012). Speakapps: New tools and activities for the development of speaking skills in a second language. EDULEARN12 Proceedings, 1710–1715.
Bates, T. (2004). The promise and the myths of e-learning in post-secondary education. In M. Castells (Ed.), The network society. A cross-cultural perspective. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 271–292.
Bonk, Curtis J. (2002). Current myths and future trends in online teaching and learning. Retrieved from http://www.courseshare.com/cjbonk/myth_trend.html.
Buy, Ugo. (2001). Debunking some common misconceptions on e-learning. Retrieved from http://www.uic.edu/eng/meng/pdfs/compsac2001.pdf.
Drago, W., Peltier, J. W., Hay, A., Hodgkinson, M. (2005). Dispelling the myths of online education: Learning via the information superhighway. Management Research News, 28(7), 1–17.
Dublin, L. (2004). The nine myths of e-learning implementation: Ensuring the real return on your e-learning investment. Industrial and Commercial Training, 36(7), 291–294.
Ebersole, J. (2012). The myths of online learning. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnebersole/2012/08/24/the-myths-of-online-learning/.
Felix, U. (2003). Online education: Great expectations turned into myths? Paper presented at the annual meeting of ED-MEDIA, June 2003, Honolulu, Hawaii.
García-Manzano, A. (2005). Mitos de la educación on line. Teoría de la Educación, 6(2). Retrieved from http://www3.usal.es/~teoriaeducacion/rev_numero_06/n6_art_andres_garcia.htm.
Gilbert, S. D. (2001). How to be a successful online student. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.
Gill, S. J. (2003). Myth and reality of e-learning. Educational Technology, 43(1). Retrieved from http://www.stephenjgill.com/mythandrealityl.html.
Klor de Alva, J. (2010). 4 myths about for-profit online learning. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 31 October 2010. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/4-Myths-About-For-Profit/125116/.
Li, Q., & Akins, M. (2005). Sixteen myths about online teaching and learning in higher education: Don’t believe everything you hear. TechTrends, 49(4), 51–60.
Lominé, L. L. (2002). Online learning and teaching in hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism: Myths, opportunities and challenges. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 1(1), 43–49.
Mendenhall, R. (2007). Challenging the myths about distance learning. Distance Learning Today, 1(1), 1–13.
Miller, K. W. (2008). Teaching science methods online: Myths about inquiry-based online learning. Science Educator, 17(2), 80–86.
Njenga, J. K., & Fourie, L. C. H. (2010). The myths about e-learning in higher education. British Journal of Education Technology, 41(2), 199–212.
Poole, B. J., & Axmann, M. (2002). Education fact or fiction: Exploring the myths of online learning. ITFORUM paper. Retrieved from http://itforum.coe.uga.edu/paper62/paper62.htm.
Sherry, L. (2005). Diffusing e-learning: Myths, questions, and experiences. In G. Kearsley (Ed.), Online learning: Personal reflections on the transformation of education (pp. 374–401). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
Tancredi-Guerra, B. (2011). Apuntes para resignificar la educación a distancia. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 14(1), 55–72.
Vadillo, G. (2010). Five myths surrounding K-12 online learning. Distance Learning 7(2), 61–63.
Yoder, M. B. (2005). Online learning myths, truths: Inspiring successes, surprising research, practical guidelines. Proceedings of the IASTED international conference, web-based education, Grindelwald, Switzerland, pp. 381–385.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2015 Federico Borges and Anna Forés
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Borges, F., Forés, A. (2015). Dispelling Myths for Students: Alternative Ways of Thinking in Online Education. In: Harmes, M.K., Huijser, H., Danaher, P.A. (eds) Myths in Education, Learning and Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137476982_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137476982_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-50205-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-47698-2
eBook Packages: Palgrave Education CollectionEducation (R0)