Do we still need to depend on Online Education?

By Arnab Das, Blogger at Edubrainz | 02 May, 2023 |

Online Education

Online education has many advantages, some of which include:

1. Flexibility: One of the main benefits of online education is its flexibility. Students can access course material and lectures at any time and from anywhere. This allows them to study at their own pace and fit their education around their other

commitments.

2. Cost-effective: Online education is often more cost-effective than traditional

classroom-based education. Students can save money on transportation, housing,

and other expenses associated with attending school on-campus.

3. Accessibility: Online education makes it possible for students who might not have access to traditional classroom-based education due to geographic, financial, or physical limitations to obtain a quality education.

4. Customization: Online education allows students to customise their learning

experience to suit their individual needs and learning style. They can choose from a variety of courses, programs, and delivery methods.

5. Increased opportunities: Online education provides students with access to a wider range of courses and programs than traditional classroom-based education. This allows them to explore new subjects and areas of interest that might not have been available to them otherwise.

6. Improved technology skills: Online education requires students to become proficient in using technology to access and complete coursework. This can improve their technology skills and prepare them for a world that is increasingly reliant on technology.

7. Convenience: One of the biggest advantages of online education is that it offers students the flexibility to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule. This makes it ideal for those who are working, have family obligations, or who live in remote areas.

8. Access to a variety of courses: Online education offers students access to a wide range of courses that may not be available in their local area. This means that students can choose from a broader range of subjects and find the course that best suits their needs.

9. Lower costs: Online education is often less expensive than traditional classroom-based learning. There are no transportation costs, and students do not need to pay for room and board.

10. Increased interaction: Online education can provide students with more opportunities for interaction with their instructors and peers. This is because online courses often have discussion boards, chat rooms, and other interactive features that encourage communication.

11. Flexibility in learning style: Online education can accommodate different learning styles. For example, some students may prefer to read text-based material, while others may prefer to watch videos or listen to audio lectures. Online courses can be designed to meet the needs of all learners.

12. Self-paced learning: Online education allows students to learn at their own pace. This means that they can spend more time on topics that are challenging, and move quickly through material that they find easy.

Overall, online education offers many advantages over traditional classroom-based learning, making it an attractive option for many students.

While online education offers numerous benefits, there are also some potential demerits to consider. Some of these include:

1. Limited Teacher-to-Student Feedback: One of the main features of traditional learning is the instant feedback teachers give to their students. While in a conventional classroom environment, this feedback can come quickly, whereas with e-learning, this possibility is limited.Students can come to their teacher with their problems and can get them resolved instantly during the lecture or the dedicated hours. Personalized feedback is essential for students as it positively impacts them. It also makes the learning process richer and boosts the morale of the students.However, the conventional feedback method does not work in this setting. There are student assessments in online learning where some level of feedback can be provided, but it’s not as personal. This lack of personalized feedback can demotivate the students.

2. Risk of Social Isolation: One of the critical points of e-learning is that you can learn in the comfort of your home, but the lack of social interaction can lead to problems. For many people, school is their primary source of social interaction. In e-learning, educators and students spend most of their time online, which inevitably leads to social isolation. Social isolation, along with lack of physical interaction, may lead to several mental health problems like increased stress levels and anxiety.

3. Cheating is Garder to Monitor: One of the biggest disadvantages of online learning is proper monitoring for cheating during assessments. E-learning creates various opportunities for students to cheat. The students take assessments in their environment while using their devices. The educators only have access to the live camera feed, making detecting cheating difficult. Students have devised intricate cheating schemes and even let a third party take their exams.

4. E-learning is Inaccessible to Digitally Illiterate People: One can argue that today, almost everyone has a mobile device, a laptop, or both. So e-learning is accessible to all of those as long as they have some degree of understanding of technology. However, there’s still a vast population of people who either don’t have access to these devices or don’t know how to navigate the internet. Until there is this gap, e-learning will remain inaccessible to everyone. So, it’s essential to look at e-learning as an addition to traditional learning rather than a replacement.

5. Issues with Accreditation and Quality Assurance: E-learning is still a comparatively new addition to education. Various e-learning platforms have no accreditation, and a third party unchecks the quality of education. Lack of proper accreditation and quality check of material cripple the legitimacy of e-learning.For E-learning to stand shoulder to shoulder with traditional learning, we must ensure that all online learning platforms are qualified and have proper accreditation.

6. Requires Self-motivation and Efficient Time Management Skills: E-learning gives you the freedom to learn at your own pace. You get the flexibility to choose when to learn the materials. While this benefits the most, it comes with the cost of motivating yourself.In a conventional classroom, you have to follow a set curriculum and have a schedule that you need to follow. You also have other students around you to put you in the right mindset. It’s easy to get demotivated and procrastinate when learning all by yourself. You have to manage time efficiently so you don’t delay and meet the deadlines.

7. The Practical Component of Learning Suffers: E-learning platforms take a more theory-based approach and focus mainly on theoretical knowledge rather than practical abilities. The reason for this boils down to the fact that it is simply easier to implement theoretical lectures than practical ones in an online learning platform. Due to this, fields where more practice is required lag behind in e-learning.

8. Limited to Certain Disciplines Only: This point is related to what we have discussed above. Every discipline of education cannot be effectively taught in e-learning. At least in the current scenario, e-learning is more appropriate for fields that focus on theoretical knowledge rather than fields like medical science, which ask for a more practical approach. While things may differ in the future, we cannot wholly teach all fields through e-learning.

9. Lack of Development of Communication Skills: E-learning is a very effective learning mode, but it still lacks in some areas. Students attain theoretical knowledge at their convenience, but often their communication skills are neglected. This happens mainly due to a lack of face-to-face communication between students and teachers. Lack of development of communication skills would lead to students having theoretical knowledge but not knowing how to depart this knowledge to others effectively.

10. Prolonged Screen Exposure: E-learning inevitably leads to prolonged exposure to the screen. Prolonged screen exposure is not only harmful to kids but is not recommended for adults too. It may affect mental development in kids. In adults, too much exposure can lead to weakened eyesight and migraines.

11. Health Issues: It is seen that sitting next to your laptop or computer continuously causes various health related issues.It majorly affects the eyesight, and also sitting for longer duration may lead to obesity.Plus, it also affects the mental health and may cause depression, anxiety issues.

12. Limited access to the Resources: Being an online learner, students have limited access to the various resources like laboratories, library and many specialised equipment. This may limit the effectiveness of practical knowledge and also can make it difficult to understand certain courses.

13. Online classes often lead to boredom: Students who like traditional methods may find online learning dull. Students may find it uninteresting to attend a class that is not lively. Online learning has nobody else except the mentor or teacher who is only interacting virtually. So yes, online learning can make students go through a huge boredom as there is less engagement within them.

14. Less Cultural Exposure: Online learning limits the student’s exposure to various cultures and perspectives. This can impact their ability to think empathically and critically. So having less exposure to cultural events can be a serious disadvantage to online learners.

15. Less Credibility: Many employers or higher educational institutions may see online learning as less credible than traditional learning.This can highly affect and limit the student’s future opportunities and career advancement.

E-learning still has a long way to go to act as a replacement for traditional learning. While it has some significant advantages, there are plenty of notable disadvantages, like a lack of practical elements and issues related to accreditation and cheating. While some of these disadvantages can be removed in the future, some might never get resolved.

AUTHOR - Arnab Das, Blogger At Edubrainz.