Growing up alongside the internet and other technology, online learning has been integrated into my education for most of my schooling. Online and digital learning can enhance classroom lesson plans and increase the variety of teaching styles that may better suit different students. From “Type to Learn” in third grade to Codecademy in my senior year of college, I have used many different online learning programs as part of the curriculum. They have certainly been an asset and taught me things better than a traditional classroom setting could have.

The only exclusively online education that I have participated in was an online English Literature class that I took over the summer through a local community college. The course was only offered online at the time, which is why I did not take it in a classroom setting. To be honest, it was not the best method of learning for me. I completely agree with the New York Times article when the author says that people are less motivated when it comes to online education. I found myself procrastinating more and often missing assignments. Many factors contributed to this (lack of interest in the subject matter, other time commitments, etc.), but the main reason was that I did not have regular classroom meetings to keep me accountable and on task. I never once met with my professor or classmates in person, so I did not have the same motivation and discipline as I did in my previous coursework.

I believe that online education can provide benefits to learners. To achieve this, though, I think that there has to be an incentive there. The only reason I even completed my online class was because I paid a lot of money to take it and I needed to stay on track if I wanted to graduate college on time. I think that MOOCs are a great asset for people who want to learn new things, especially with the constant development of technology. However, I do not see the “stickiness” of them improving much since they are supplementary and often not a top priority for those enrolled. Other mandatory, urgent things in life come up that take priority. That being said, I do not think people should be discouraged from creating or enrolling in MOOCs because they can continue to spread knowledge and new skills, which are constantly improving our world.