Last Updated on April 22, 2023 by Uncle Pat Ugwu
There is a massive and continuous growth of online education since the year 2020. The Coronavirus pandemic caused this and after the global lockdown, institutions have continued to adopt online education. Individuals have also utilized internet technology to offer online classes. We wrote good online teaching tips here.
But there are certain limitations of online classes over traditional offline classes. There has been a growing debate among students, teachers, parents, and education stakeholders about online classes vs offline classes.
Therefore, in this post, I will make cross-validation about online education and offline education. This is intended to help those concerned to make better decisions for themselves. Here is a list of free platforms for online education.
What is Online Class?
An online class is a form of the lesson delivered over the internet. It is generally delivered with the use of a Learning Management System (LMS) to enable students to view course lessons, progress, and so on.
It also has the capabilities of allowing students to interact and collaborate with each other and to also send feedback to their teachers.
Therefore, if you are here to know what is the best between online education and offline education, this post is for you. Again, if you just want to get the advantages of online classes, then read on.
Online Classes Vs Offline Classes
Online classes are mostly designed to be self-paced, this is to allow flexibility in completing coursework. Some examples of online classes are Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Online education can be both synchronous or asynchronous type of learning.
On the other hand, offline classes are the traditional way of learning where learners are sited before a teacher in a classroom for physical teaching and learning activities. This has been the norm of learning until the recent adaptation of internet technology in education.
Covid-19 pandemic helped in the adaptation of online classes because of the lockdown experienced in 2020.
Advantages of Online Classes
Universal Access
The biggest merit of online classes is you can learn anywhere you like. There is no compulsory location for learning. Students can choose to learn from home, on campus, or even on the go. You can as well access other learning resources online without leaving your home. This removes the barrier that may be placed on you because of your location.
Flexibility
One of the advantages of online classes over offline classes is flexibility. This helps students to schedule their learning according to their own time. The flexibility of online classes also allows students to learn at their own pace. They are not compelled to complete a lesson with others, rather, they progress as soon as they master the current lesson.
Time Management
Bad timing can cause adverse effects on students learning activities. There are many parents who cannot afford to pay the fees of their children. So many of them choose to take an online class to enable them to go to work too.
Self Motivated
Online classes help to build self-motivation among students. Because students who learn online are most times self-motivated, this will help them when they face future challenges.
Skilled Teachers
With online classes, you can have highly skilled teachers to tutor. People you ordinarily may not have come in contact with. You also have chances of getting connected with other learners around the globe.
Disadvantages of Online Classes
No Physical Interaction
One big disadvantage of online education is the inability to physical interactions with students. People generally do not trust people they meet online. This may cause learners not to connect well and interact as they would usually do.
Lack of Focussed
Those who take online courses do face the challenges of staying in focus. This is because there are a lot of beautiful things going on on the internet. If one is not disciplined enough, one may waste a huge amount of time checking social media updates and email boxes.
Technical Issues
Sometimes, there are a series of technical issues witnessed in online education. They include poor internet facilities, lack of technical skill among teachers and students, cost of acquiring gadgets, and other related technical issues.
Advantages of Offline Classes
Difficult Concept
If students are participating in traditional classroom learning. It will be easier for the teacher to explain difficult concepts to them. The teacher can also use their facial expression to know whether they understand it or not. The students on the other hand will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions and receive answers immediately.
Physical Collaboration
During offline classes, students are well-connected with each other. They can interact further on a given topic or learn in groups. The teacher can also give out group assignments to the students. This may spark some element of healthy competition among the groups.
Disadvantages of Offline Classes
Now, let us make a short list of the disadvantages of offline classes.
Time Consuming
Offline classes can be time-consuming in the sense that both teachers and learners will have to converge to a specific location. Traffic congestion can be frustrating in some cities. Meanwhile, someone taking online classes would have utilized this time in learning.
Expensive
When considering school fees and the length of years one has to pay the fees plus the time involved, you will notice that online class is relatively cheaper. In offline classes, learners are paid for every lesson they take, including the ones that may not be beneficial to them. But in online classes, you choose what you want and pay for only that.
Final Thoughts
Many traditional institutions now offer online classes. Adopting both online classes and offline classes using blended learning models has a lot of benefits. As long as learners are disciplined enough to commit to learning, online education is something good for the education sector.
Teachers and educational stakeholders should help to determine what works better considering their situation.
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