Online Courses The Real Challenge Is Motivation

Abstract

Among the academic disciplines, business has led the way in offering Internet courses to its students. While online classes give students more opportunity and flexibility to integrate courses into their daily schedules, many concerns have developed from this form of distance education. Research on distance education indicates that the keys to effective online versus traditional classes includes the development of new teaching methods, frequent and timely interaction through e-mail, weekly discussion boards, the use of collaborative student groups, and an appreciation for students with multiple backgrounds and experiences. All of these keys are practical; however, when you consider the old adage you can take a horse to the water, but you cant make him drink, the researcher believes that intrinsic motivation can play a key role in online student success. This research paper was designed to 1) exam literature related to online courses, 2) discuss some indicators that support the notion that intrinsic motivation is attributable to student success; and 3) provide some strategies that may be used to increase intrinsic motivation in online courses.