In 2020, the world went through the biggest pandemic ever, which brought heavy and drastic consequences to society. At this time, the most used word was the “new normal” which was mainly used in learning and education. His new normal brought in online learning, which is a transformed concept of education where the students would not need to attend physical classrooms to learn. In recent months, the demand for online learning has increased significantly, all over the world. This means the demand will continue to grow in the future.
Like every other teaching method, online education also has its own set of advantages and challenges. So let’s dive into its pros and cons; what will be beneficial for the learners and what could present itself as a challenge.
Advantages -
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Accessibility of Time and Place:
One of the most popular advantages of online learning is the accessibility of time and place. This type of education allows students to attend classes and learn from any location of their choice, at any given time. Similarly, this also allows schools and educational institutes to reach a more extensive circle of learners, wreaking restrictions set by geographical boundaries.
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Efficiency:
Online education offers teachers an easy and efficient way to teach. Online learning also contains a wide number of tools such as PDFs, videos, podcasts, etc. Teachers can use any of these tools in their classes, and lectures as part of their lesson plans. This also gives them to plan lessons beyond traditional textbooks, including online resources that will make them more efficient educators.
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Affordability:
Another advantage of online education is that reduces financial costs. This is because online learning eliminates student and teacher transportation costs, student meals, and real estate. On top of that, all study materials and courses are available online which can be easily accessible and affordable.
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Student Attendance:
Since online education can be accessed at any time of the day, it has significantly increased student attendance. This also aids in the fact that online classes can be taken from any location of their choice. So there will be fewer chances of students missing out on lessons.
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Variety of Learning Styles:
Every student has a different learning technique and style, some students might be visual learners, and some prefer audio learning. Similarly, some students thrive in classrooms while others get distracted in a large group. Online learning system offers various learning types and strategies, prioritizing every student and their needs.
Disadvantages -
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Hard to Focus on Screens:
One of the biggest challenges of online learning is that students find it difficult to focus on screen for longer periods. With online learning, there is also a greater chance for students to get distracted by social media and other sites.
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Sense of Isolation:
Students can not only learn traditional education from attending physical classes but they can also learn a lot from being in the company of their peers. When it comes to online learning, there is only minimal physical interaction between students-teachers, and students themselves. This often results in a sense of isolation in students.
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Technological Issues:
Another hard challenge for online education is internet connectivity. While Internet usage and availability increased over the past few years, a consistent connection with decent speed is a present problem in smaller cities and towns.
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Managing Screen Time:
Lastly, many parents have some serious concerns about the health hazards that are a result of spending so many hours staring at a screen. This significant increase in screen time is one of the biggest disadvantages of online education that needs a serious boundary.
While online education has its own, very distinctive perks, it still has some disadvantages attached to it. If this has to be the prominent teaching method in the future, it still needs some correcting for both the students and educators.
