Online classes are playing an unprecedented pivotal role in recent times all over the world. The main reason for this is COVID-19 Pandemic. It has changed the way the world functions and learners learn.
If you are a learner or a student, you would understand it better. Millions of students, be it, pre-school children or college students, everyone is in their homes, attending online classes.
There are many advantages and disadvantages of online classes. In this article, you will get a thorough view of all the points that explain it. For now, millions of students are dependent on online classes, no matter how effective they are, to study on a daily basis.
This is to say, the virtual model of learning has developed a lot. Still, there is a huge scope of development. In times of crisis, it is the online classes that ensure better learning for all types of students.
Why are online classes important?
Conventional classes are mostly held in the classroom. They involve human interaction between teachers and students for the exchange of information. However, with the rise of the Internet, there has been an increase in online classes, courses, and even online degrees. Let us see why they are important.
Online classes are the future of learning: In the future, online classes will play a major role in learning. More students will learn and discuss ideas via online classes. This is just the beginning.
Online classes break barriers: Online classes remove the distance barrier. Any student who has the access to the internet can attend the lectures and learn without limits.
Online classes are more flexible: Ask the students, they will tell you that online classes offer more flexibility to them than conventional classes. It is great for busy people who want to learn but don’t get enough time.
Online classes are more economical: Students spend a fortune worth of money to enroll in conventional classes. More money is required for additional things like transportation, accommodation, etc. On the contrary, online classes are frugal and don’t cost much.
Refer: 15 best online classes for kids
Advantages and disadvantages of online classes
You now know the importance of online classes and the roles they are likely to play in the future. There are some groundbreaking reasons why online classes have become so popular at present. All of these reasons are the advantages of online classes over conventional classes. Here are some of the phenomenal advantages of distance learning-
1. Learn anywhere
This is the most important advantage of online learning. It offers high-quality lessons to the students irrespective of their location. The location could be anywhere within a nation or between nations. The only requirements are the internet and a device. Most people have access to the internet via their smartphones or laptop. With the help of this, online learning has become smoother than ever.
2. Less time-consuming
Studies show that online classes consume less time than conventional classes. Students can save much of their time learning online and use the saved time to learn something else.
Some online classes are even pre-recorded. This gives the students an advantage to learn at their own pace. The timings have no restrictions. It depends solely on the students how and when they want to learn.
This proves to be convenient for many students as they get free time for learning hobbies and other interests.
3. Readymade resources
This is a rather controversial advantage, but it still counts. Students get notes and other resources without any problem. It is like a capsule and students don’t need to rush to find notes on their own. However, this advantage carries from place to place.
4. Confidence
Believe it or not, students are more comfortable during online classes. They tend to ask more questions without a feeling of judgment.
5. Student-centric
Online classes are more about students. Conventional classes didn’t focus much on the students, rather, they were more focused on completing the course material. Online learning has changed this focus to students again.
6. More opportunities
Online classes provide more fluidity to learning. With the help of online classes, students can give more time to their interests and enjoy learning on the go. Gone are the days when conventional learning was enough to succeed. At present, it is more about skill and its proper implementation. For this to happen, online classes are doing the right job.
Disadvantages of online classes
You can digest all the advantages with a pinch of salt. It is because they have their disadvantages too. Disadvantages are important as they give the right direction to improvement. Therefore, without wasting much time, let’s discuss some disadvantages of online classes.
2. Accessibility and usability
Although technology has established itself firmly into humanity, still, it hasn’t penetrated enough to be accessible by all. There are still millions of people who don’t have access to the internet, therefore, they can’t attend online classes.
You can still find people who don’t know how to attend classes on their own. This has become the most common barrier when it comes to online learning. It has made online learning useless for people not having the right knowledge to use the resources or to access the internet.
3. Indiscipline among students
This is also one of the main reasons why online classes have become unsuccessful in some groups. Often, students can be seen as breaking rules, poking fun, misbehaving, and even fooling teachers.
It is most common among teenage students. This breaks the flow of learning and creates a bad impact on other students too. Some students even misuse technology and don’t fully attend the classes like they are supposed to.
4. Partial learning
Most students take online classes as a replacement to conventional learning, not as an alternative for it. As a result, students don’t learn as much as they are supposed to. Although it seems that students have completed their lessons, some of them won’t even know what the lesson was about.
5. Misuse of flexibility
Online classes are far more flexible than conventional classes. This has certainly been misused by many students. The flexibility of the timings as well as
6. Lack of trust between teacher and students
No matter how advanced an online class is, there is always a degree of distrust between the teacher and the student. It can’t replace one-on-one learning.
How can online classes be improved?
there are many advantages and disadvantages of online classes. But they are, undoubtedly, the medium that would be preferred in the future. They are more economical, time-saving, and what not? However, one can’t unsee the scope of improvement in online classes. There is much that can still be done in various domains to make online learning comparable, or even better than normal classes.
Some of the changes that can be incorporated in online classes include-
By making technology more accessible: This is one of the most important ways through which the face of online classes can be improved. If more people can get access to technology,
By making students more vigilant towards rules: Students can be asked to obey all the rules while attending online classes. This will ensure the least nuisance and the most effective learning.
By making classes more interactive: To avoid the feeling of being distant, the classes can be more inclined towards interactive learning. Interactive learning will focus on students in a better way.
By asking students/teachers for feedback: Online classes directly affect students and teachers together. To make better amendments to it, direct feedback should be taken from them. In this way, better improvements can be made.
Conclusion
Online classes come in various forms and have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, one can’t deny the fact that online learning has revolutionized the flow of knowledge in recent times. The pandemic came and changed the world overnight. There was no better and economical way to keep up with learning for students other than online learning. It proved to be a huge success.
Being a realist, one also cannot keep an eye away from the disadvantages of online learning. It should be seen as a scope of improvement. To make online learning a better process that yields amazing results, institutions are working tirelessly to improvise upon the process.
Hopefully, in the future, there will be a better version of online learning.
