Comparing Traditional and Online Education, Outline Example

1. Introduction
   1. Statistics
      1. Facts about importance of education
      2. Evolution of educational environment
   2. Thesis Statement: Although traditional educational institutions are world-renowned for their high quality of education, the online environment has drastically improved compared to traditional education to include overall ease of access including increased quality of learning materials, differences in lecture styles and multiple communication pathways for students to contact professors and classmates.
2. Topic Sentence (Point 1) Learning Materials – Traditional education has often had a clear advantage over the online environment due to the ease of access to learning materials, lectures and communication with professors and classmates; however, there has been a marked shift in this trend over the last decade.
   1. Online Learning – Development of advanced software materials – iReader, Café Scribe, MyScribe, etc.
      1. Allows for students to access online e-Textbooks without having the physical textbook in front of them
      2. Often significantly cheaper than purchasing a textbook from a bookstore

• Enables a unique keyword search tool to easily skip directly to concepts within the text

1. Traditional Learning – Timeless learning materials such as handouts, full paper textbooks, worksheets, etc.
   1. Costly
   2. Difficult to handle (topic search & amount of paper)
2. Statistics to show the positive advancement of e-learning materials towards enhanced learning

3. Topic Sentence (Point 2) Lectures – While learning materials are critical, the format in which students receive lectures from professors can enhance or limit the quality of learning and overall education.
   1. Online Learning – Online recorded/live lectures are often available for students
      1. Live question and answer sessions
      2. Educators complete examples for coursework just as in a traditional classroom environment

• Recorded learning is always available, not one-time-only experience

1. Traditional Learning
   1. One-time-only Experience
      1. If students are sick or absent, they will miss out on these lectures
   2. Teachers have only word-of-mouth teaching
      1. Language barriers, accents, etc. may cause difficulty in learning
   3. Negative – Online lecturers often attempt to leave the session as quickly as possible and can cut students off without answering all questions.
      1. This does not happen often, but it does happen
      2. Same issues may occur in a traditional learning environment
   4. Topic Sentence (Point 3) Communication with Professors and Classmates – Furthermore, online learning provides increased methods by which students can communicate with professors and classmates in order to ensure the best possible group learning environment.
      1. Online learning
         1. E-mail Communication
            1. Primary method of communication
         2. Chat room communication
            1. Teacher can set up an agreed upon time period for live chat room discussions
            2. Least common method of communication

• Group Projects/Discussion Forum
  1. Students may be assigned to a specific group for working together on projects and/or learning exercises
  2. Discussion boards/forums are used to increase conceptual knowledge and ask class questions for clarification

1. Traditional learning
   1. Email Communication
      1. Least common method of communication
   2. In-class discussions
      1. Primary method of communication

• Face-to-face
  1. Professors are sometimes available only during office hours
  2. Students require meetings based on everyone’s complex schedules
  3. Must agree to meet at same location on campus

1. Traditional learning communication is highly limited and depends upon all individuals meeting together face-to-face or during specific office/course time periods

5. Conclusion
   1. Restate Thesis Sentence
   2. Reiterate three main points
   3. Clarify final arguments how online learning is superior to traditional learning

References

Allen, E. I., & Seaman, J. (2009). Learning on Demand online Education in the United States. . Retrieved 10/17/2010. Retrieved from http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/pdf/learningondemand.pdf

Council For Higher Education Accreditation (2008). Accreditation and Recognition in the United States. Retrieved 10/17/2010, from http://www.chea.org/pdf/Accreditation_and_Recognition_PP_Sept08.pdf

Lynn, J. (5/16/2007). Traditional University vs. Online University. . Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/242250/traditional_university_vs_online_university.html?cat=4