Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cubanlord]

For those that think the traditional brick and mortar schools are the only way to go:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/study-finds-that-online-education-beats-the-classroom/?em

[bassexpander]

If I were doing my MA in a "brick and mortar" setting, I wouldn't be studying with so many teachers working all over.

For example, the majority of students I study with are currently professional teachers working in the US public school system. The interesting caveat is that we have teachers currently working in Mongolia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Europe and elsewhere.

I would never get the chance to meet such a large percentage of teachers working in ESL around the world, and have the opportunity to compare results of classwork in real-time, if I had studied in a "brick and mortar" setting.

[meangradin]

but will on-line degrees in TESOL /Applied Linguistics land one a job at a university in Canada, the U.S., etc...? I don't need a graduate degree for Korea, but I may want to work in a university/college later on in my life.

[cubanlord]

[meangradin]

[cubanlord]

[Keepongoing]

[Dee Lister]

upside: its convenient
downside: zero credibility

of course you can get some korean or other country place to hire you, but really, you only have 1 chance at this- do it right and invest in the time and $- it will pay off to do it right. look further into your future than the immediate situation.

[The Gipkik]

This kind of study probably says more about motivation levels rather than quality of education. Students who actually finish their studies via distance are, on average much more autonomous learners and more mature. They are motivated and hard working and willing to postpone gratification. Classroom students may not be as motivated or independent minded, but they are already in class, it's all around them. Therefore, you've got a pool of highly motivated students against a pool of students that are, perhaps, less motivated, less mature, and maybe even less academically gifted, but more immersed in the subject. The real question is this: how many students started a specific degree or course and how many finished? The end results are not telling. All they may be saying is that you need to be a certain kind of person to successfully complete a distance course. It's a false dichotomy.

[cubanlord]

[HapKi]

Studies like this help further the legitimacy of on-line degrees, but there is still a ways to go. All things being equal, when or if I face a university faculty hiring committee back in the States with my on-line TESL MA degree (from arguably the best distance TESL program available), I can't be sure it's going to carry as much weight in their eyes as an on-campus degree.

[ThePoet]

[ThePoet]

[Mr. Pink]

Interesting discussion. I have taken two online courses to advance my career and I found I did a lot better in them than I did in in-class courses. In reflection, I feel I did better as I like to learn at my own pace and I like to choose what is interesting for me. In class I had to deal with the fact that group work and busy work were always components of the class, and honestly I hate wasting my time on such endeavors when the only purpose of them is to extend a lesson from 1hr to 2hrs.

The curriculum that I did online was exactly the same as the people in class had to do. The difference was no busy work.

I posted about my experiences on the other thread (http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=165966)

[Juregen]

I would call this an incorrect comparison between two data sets.

People who use internet as a learning tool are often self-motivated and don't need to be "coached".

In a brick-and-mortar setting, most students are NOT self-motivated.

Self-motivation in itself is the biggest variable here. Not the use of tools.