Unintentional Consequences of Online Learning

As education continues to move into the online world there are obvious benefits of moving from traditional classroom to web courses. While we evaluate the potential benefits of using the internet for higher education, it is important that we also assess future conflicts and consequences that may arise as we begin the transformation. We must look beyond the obvious changes and begin taking a deep look into how e-learning is going to change education, society, and the individual.

Katrina Meyer, a professor at the University of Memphis, lists six consequences of moving to online higher education:

1.      Disruptive innovation

a.       The internet has changed roles, definitions, and institutions and education may have similar disruptions in moving to the Internet.

2.      Revenge Effect

a.       Due to its complexity, technology causes flaws. Meyer emphasizes that technology alone doesn’t create these flaws; rather it is us, humans who indulge ourselves in the customs, laws, and habits, ultimately producing a “revenge effect”.

3.      Complexity

a.       How we evaluate the information we receive from the Internet depends on the individual. Therefor, the internet is inconsistently evaluated/interpreted and naturally facilitates misjudgments.

4.      Tools of our tools

a.       The fear that the internet will take over. The internet will continue to gain power over our lives.

5.      Blind

a.       We are blind to the effects of the Internet. The internet affects users whether we know it or not.

6.      New purposes

a.       New technologies allow “never-before-imagined” futures to become possible.

The term “consequences” implies negative effects of the transformation, but these consequences are to be thought of as unintentional results and are not necessarily damaging or destructive to society or education.