Online education may be a controversial topic to people on all different variants of the size of whether or not they agree or not. Does it improve, worsen or have no effect on how a student performs academically or how does it affect their social skills outside the classroom?
There’s a discussion on people getting their degrees completely online, with no traditional classroom experience. Online education can have both beneficial and not so beneficial factors, but if you mention using only online school, the cons outweigh the pros.
Although it’s useful gizmo, using online school solely isn’t a sufficient source for a well-rounded education. The use of online schools has been increasing since it was first debuted for public use within the late 1900s, and its use has rapidly increased starting within the first 2000s. And now due to pandemic every school, tuitions and other classes have started taking online classes for hours and hours.
Pros of online education
The biggest advantage to studying online is the increase in flexibility. You can study when you want to, how you want to, where you want to. This does not mean that the workload is less for a student studying online, only that they have more flexibility in when, how and where they study.
All you need to study online is a computer with internet access. All of your study materials, lectures and assignments are sent to you via email on some kind of file transfer system. Even your correspondence with lecturers is wired, with email and video calls via skype widely used.
Transports costs can add up to hundreds per week, and textbook can set you back thousands of dollars per semester. The student who studies online has to pay a set annual fee, and that’s it.
Cons of online education
Many firms and institution are quick to dismiss online education. If two candidates are interviewed who are exactly the same in every respect, except one studied at a conventional university and the other studied online, in many cases. The student who studied online will miss out.
One of the biggest disadvantages of studying online is lack of social interaction. This is especially relevant for young undergraduates who should be making friends and having a great time. University is important for your carrier, but don’t forget that you will meet new friends that will last you a lifetime.
The internet is an emerging phenomenon, it is still in the infant stage of its development and so it should be of no surprise that there are some shortcomings to online education. Courses that required hands on experiences, such as neurology or chemistry, are simply unsuited to online education.
Everything has some pros and cons. It is totally up to us how we are going to take this. There are both advantages and disadvantages to study online.