Today we will show you the advantages and disadvantages of online classes and online learning, since there is a part of the student community that has doubts about this new study modality.
The convenience of studying at home and online education is the best thing that can exist, however, there are certain students who were comfortable with the face-to-face mode, and when changing their way of studying, they feel a little uncomfortable or dissatisfied with this way of acquiring knowledge.
Certainly, this new learning style has changed up how people get educated, and instead to attend classes personally, they can choose when and where to keep learning.
Of course, there are pros and cons of online classes, and there is no right or wrong answers, as it brings benefits and challenges to this new model and learning environment.
At the end, the objective is that online courses can help students on their educations, but also develop some new skills with this method of learning.
Keep reading to learn more about the advantages of online learning, and its disadvantages.
Here are the main advantages of online classes and digital learning, which will bring you many benefits later in your studies, these are:
The learning resources are accessible anytime as the study materials are available online.
The teachers do their best to understand the situation of each of the students who are taking this virtual modality, making a study schedule according to the availability of the students to enter the virtual classroom.
There will be a way in which your tutors will leave recorded classes in case you are late or it is difficult for you to watch the class because of your poor internet connection.
Students and teachers might have to be present in live classes, but if the course is already on video, than it allows students to access the learning material whenever they want.
This becomes more convenient, if the students are already professionals, who have some other responsibilities and they need more flexible time schedule to take classes.
One of the great advantages of using these virtual classes and technology in education, is to watch your classes anywhere in the world; because if you can not go directly to the university or study center for certain circumstances, you can choose to see your scheduled classes by this online mode through the learning platforms.
Many schools and universities offer distance learning classes to facilitate the comfort and ease for these students who have difficulty to see their course in person.
The use of online learning platforms have become a great alternative to traditional learning, and they give the opportunity for both universities and students to have a better organization of the content material.
Another advantage of online learning is that students can access now institutions and universities from around the world.
People are not any longer forced to just attend their local university because is the one that it is close.
There are more and more online learning platforms to continue various learning courses.
Students now have the option to choose from a wide variety of online courses, and choose to learn whatever it fits better for their interest, such as programming or study languages online.
This also bring up the possibility of an extensive network of students worldwide that can make online learning more richful.
You will have the chance to taking online courses and study in the comfort of your own home without so many interruptions, thus capturing the information from the classes given by your tutor.
This is one of the points in favor; since it favors to choose wherever it is desired to study as in traditional classes.
Virtual learning has brought up this flexibility of online programs, and reduced the need to commute.
Succesful online learning programs don’t require a place anymore, but the focus is now on the quality of the content, and students will demand for online courses that are up to date to the world trends of the new work, and where still universities with old courses plan that took years to be updated must acknowledge this change.
One of the benefits of these classes is that you will not have to get up early, get ready, leave the comfort of their homes and go to the study center to receive your class, you will only get up at the time the online class starts, take out your notebook and pencil to take notes of the subject that the teacher is going to give.
It is in the past when students missing out on lessons due to a traffic jam, or the weather, as it has become easier to just access the class online.
Not everything is perfect with this type of virtual modality and as it has many advantages, in this section we will give you the disadvantages of online learning, these are:
It has been noticed a lot the lack of participation of the teacher towards the student in clarifying certain doubts regarding the study material given in class; however, this is the low point of these classes; because if this is not solved, we will see many students with failures and lack of understanding on the subject.
The feedback of the subject is a fundamental pillar for learning and understanding of the subject in question, many teachers give their class by this platform and omit the clarification of doubts presented by the students.
This may be due to the time factor or poor connection.
One of the unfavorable points of these virtual classes is the lack of interaction among your classmates, as it was done before in the study house during break times, on the other hand, you can have a direct contact with your classmates by this same way, by private chat or by study groups.
It can generate a sense of isolation, as students are by themselves in their rooms, and hence the lack of development on social skills will be present, that compared to physical learning, students do learn from their peers.
Online platforms might be good to manage the content itself, but it will lack that human interaction even if there can be virtual exchanges between fellow students.
Certain student population has little interest in taking this type of virtual classes and learning online; since it can happen that less knowledge might be acquired if there is no commitment, the means are not favorable to see these classes, and by the degree of the subject or if it should be given in person, with the participation of the teacher and student, mostly to clarify doubts about the subject.
There are students who are attracted to this mode of study, but as time goes by, the loss of interest in watching these virtual classes is noticed.
It is normal to have distractions when teaching and learning, both in face-to-face and virtual classes this case is very evident; however, there are many distractions when taking these online classes, especially at home when you are sent to run an errand, the desire to pass the class and do something else, etc. arises.
If you have a lot of distractions in your environment, it will be difficult for you to acquire the knowledge that these virtual classes provide.
As easy to get up and go to the kitchen at the middle of the class, so the students may focus more on other things rather than the class itself.
This would be one of the most common disadvantages in these virtual classes, since having a slow internet or not having a network to connect and watch your classes, will make it very difficult to access the study material in question.
That is why it is always recommended to have a good internet coverage, so that the learning process is favorable for you and you can view the study material without problems.
Interactions between students and teachers might get interrupted if the internet is not working properly.