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Online Education Essay | Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Education Essay

September 9, 2024 by Prasanna

Essay on Online Education: Online learning is one of the imminent trends in the education sector around the globe. This mode of learning is done through the internet. With advanced and upgraded technologies, this mode of learning has been made simpler. Online Education is also preferred in higher learning Institutions. This article will render the students about online education, its outcomes, and advantage in short and long essays on Online Education.

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long and Short Essays on Online Education for Students and Children in English

We provide children and students with essay samples on a long essay of 500 words and a short essay on Online Education in Lockdown of 150 words on the topic “Online education in India Essay” for reference.

Short Essay on Online Education 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Online Education advantages and Disadvantages is helpful to students of classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Education is an integral part of people’s lives; it will either make them or break them in the prospect depending on their careers. Education is broadly diverse today compared to the 1950s because of progressions in teaching methods and other prominent inventions that implement more apparent teaching techniques.

In E-learning, the students study from home or any other place, that is most convenient for them. They can acquire learning material online. The study materials in online education could be texts, audio, notes, videos, and images. However, the method of study has its benefits and various drawbacks too.

Online education is suitable for those who can not visit or obtain the traditional education method for one reason or the other. Nearly 6.1 million college students are currently attending online courses, and this number is growing by around 30 percent yearly.

Online education provides a myriad of advantages for people, as well as companies because it allows for, among others, flexibility. A great way to benefit more from online education is to consolidate online education and traditional ways of teaching.

Online Education Essay 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Online Education 400 Words in English is helpful to students of classes 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Introduction:  Online education is an amenable instructional delivery process that includes any learning that takes place via the internet. Online learning enables educators to communicate with students who may not be capable of enrolling in a traditional classroom course and assists students who need to work on their own schedule and at their own speed.

Every discipline is registering a surge in the volume of distance learning and imparting of online degrees, with remarkable pace. Schools and institutions that offer online education are also growing in number. Students pursuing degrees through online methods must be scrupulous in ensuring their coursework is completed through a valued and credentialed university.

Online education is known to offer the benefit of synergy. Here, the format employed makes room for dynamic communications between students and the teachers. Through these communications, sources are shared, and an open-ended synergy evolves through a learning process. When each person bestows a view or opinion through discussions and comments on others’ work course, it benefits the student to learn better. This unique advantage is manifested in a student-centred virtual learning environment that online learning format alone can contribute.

With online classes, we don’t need to travel to a different city or commute long distances. We can stay where we are and keep our current job while we work toward improving our career with an online degree. Online education also helps digital nomads—someone who espouses a technology-enabled or location-independent lifestyle. We can watch lectures and complete our coursework wherever we are.

Whether we are a full-time or part-time online student, the online education experience provides a much more manageable schedule. Online education has gained much approval on account of its cheapness. Such is the fact that online courses are more affordable than those offered at schools or colleges. While studying in universities, we may have to spend some money such as transportation, lodging, and meals, online education may not require such expenses.

One of the important aspects of online learning is its inherent flexibility, however, there is a catch, one has to be extremely self-motivated. The best online students develop various approaches for staying up to date on their coursework. Things like setting aside time every week to study and create a workspace with minimal distractions can help immensely.

Conclusion on Online Education Essay

Online education’s potential advantages involve increased educational access; it provides a high-quality learning opportunity, improves student outcomes and skills, and expands educational choice options. Therefore, location, time, and quality are no longer considered factors in seeking degree courses or higher education because of online education.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Education Essay

Introduction to Online Education Essay:  Online education refers to the type of knowledge which is imparted through the internet. Millions of people globally are enrolled in online courses and can learn from the comfort of their homes. Online education can come in different ways; they could be educational webinars and videos on the internet or even face to face learning on the laptop with the teacher, which utilises the internet.

Online education contributes a myriad of advantages for people, as well as companies because it provides flexibility among other work. This indicates that despite people’s physical locations, they can accomplish the same level of education by taking similar online courses.

Teachers and professors optimise the timelessness and focus of the learning curriculum while students are able to fit learning time into their hectic schedules. Online education offers extensive benefits to students by giving a manageable schedule, student enhancement and augmented education access and choice.

Advantages of Online Education 

Online education enables us to learn from various mentors and teachers in different areas, increasing our knowledge and perspective. It reduces nervousness among students, as many are able to communicate more through online education than regular classes. One can learn from merely anyplace as long as they have an available internet device.

Online education normally provides a chance to study at our own speed as there is no rush. Most online courses are usually enjoyable and more comfortable compared to attending traditional classes. It spares you the inconvenience of having to travel to a particular destination every single day.

Online education usually is more affordable. Online education further happens to be comparatively cheaper in comparison to conventional educational approaches. Under traditional university programs, the students are required to compensate for transportation, textbooks, institutional facilities such as gyms, libraries, swimming pools, and other costs that expedite the cost of university education up. Online education, on its part, charges only for tuition and additional essential expenses. Virtual education thus offers both the wealthy and the poor an opportunity.

It allows one to learn innovative approaches through the internet and therefore become more skilful. In online education, if there are any variations in the syllabus, updates can be done instantly compared to conventional means of education.

Online education is flexible and adaptable since one can study at any time, even at midnight. It can help increase the grades of some people as compared to standard traditional education. Some people learn more through online education.

There is no need to wait for office hours to speak to the instructor; you can immediately access them through chat or email. There is considerably a large amount of educational information on the internet. Online education can also help one to be in the mix of a diverse group of people from varied educational, social, cultural and philosophical backgrounds. The subject matter is always available on the internet, unlike traditional education.

Disadvantages of Online Education

The advantages that online education brings to students are immense and indisputable. Pursuing an online course is an excellent option in education, particularly when traditional learning situations have many obstacles, such as commuting or distance. However, as everything has two sides, online education also has some fundamental drawbacks that can be inconvenient.

Using the computer too much can make the students prone to plagiarism. It can also cause vision problems as we sit near the laptop almost the whole day. Online education may also hinder physical development. Online education can be quite complicated for a person to be accountable for their own learning without someone to drive them to do something.

Online education detaches you from your classmates. One might need to put in extra time in some cases to understand the learning process. It is easier to cheat in an online exam than when in a class and hence may not be advisable during exams. Online education also gives one a lot of autonomy which may be critical for our learning. There are a number of distractions on the internet through adverts, and this might interrupt our learning. Online education also has significantly less self-assessment.

Online education has both advantages and shortcomings, but it is an excellent method of learning that can help develop a student’s performance. To succeed in online education, one should choose an ideal university and course to avoid pursuing education from among the various suspicious universities that employers may reject. The other most essential thing is to assure that one needs to maintain communication with the school faculty and fellow students. The important point is proper time administration that helps one manage our time to complete and submit prescribed assignments in time.

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Benefits of Online Learning Essay

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Benefits of online learning

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In this modern era, there are many methods through which one can acquire knowledge. Among these, the most popular is online learning. It can be discerned as a method of teaching and learning through internet tools, to be in touch and have an alliance in an instructive environment. It helps the students to learn simultaneously and they can study without going to or staying in a school or college.

Many educational institutions support and engage in some kind of online education. Today, one can see that most of the people are unsatisfied with their job and so they try to acquire a better job with a high salary which leads them to a better lifestyle. People thus employed can study while doing their job with the help of the internet. The best advantage is that in this system one can study at his or her own time when the person feels comfortable. It is highly useful for professionals who may want to learn more without going to classrooms. To a great extent, it is also useful for housewives and retired people. Through this mode, one can become a well-informed individual who possesses great knowledge in his or her studies.

• Online learning has many benefits for high-tech companies: As the companies use different methods to design, transport, select, manage and extend their business, etc. online teaching process is instrumental for them. They can give valuable guidance, pieces of training for their employees without the need for them to be absent for long which helps to increase their skill, and through this skill, the company can achieve their goals. Besides, through this system, they can increase the efficiencies of the employees and add value to the process of business developments. At the same time, they can also save the cost of training as online learning is comparatively much cheaper.
• Online learning improves knowledge: People with good knowledge are needed in every field, especially in business. Online learning provides updated knowledge that relates to every level and this will help people at all levels develop greater knowledge in different fields. This knowledge and skill one gains from online help the person to intermingle with others in a better way, progress their profession, or develop their business successfully. It also helps to construct relationships and build up an atmosphere of trust, affection, and admiration and to be confident, and to have good and better personal and professional relationships.
• Online learning provides great opportunities at various academic levels. Through this students can save money for tuition, accommodation, and food. Online learning improves their talent in computers and the internet. Online learning does not need physical movements and students are not bound by time, place, and the tutor. “People with accessibility issues are not disadvantaged on an online course – everybody is equal.” (Benefits of Online Learning). Each individual has a similar chance to talk, express ideas through chatting without any discrimination or gender partiality.

From the above-mentioned factors, one can conclude that online learning has a lot of advantages over the other modes of education and that the main objective of online learning is to provide maximum information while being very convenient for both students and teachers. Thus online learning helps to develop business with great efficient employees, assist people to develop accurate knowledge about everything and thereby attain great achievement in their life and supplies enormous chance in educational level to help the students to gain considerable development in their life. Online learning gives a desired outcome to the person than any other means of learning.

Benefits of Online Learning: No Limitations. People Open Access Education Initiative People- uni: Building Public Health Capacity Using Internet- based e-learning. 2008. Web.

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The effects of online education on academic success: A meta-analysis study

• Published: 06 September 2021
• Volume 27 , pages 429–450, ( 2022 )

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• Hakan Ulum   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1398-6935 1  

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The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of online education, which has been extensively used on student achievement since the beginning of the pandemic. In line with this purpose, a meta-analysis of the related studies focusing on the effect of online education on students’ academic achievement in several countries between the years 2010 and 2021 was carried out. Furthermore, this study will provide a source to assist future studies with comparing the effect of online education on academic achievement before and after the pandemic. This meta-analysis study consists of 27 studies in total. The meta-analysis involves the studies conducted in the USA, Taiwan, Turkey, China, Philippines, Ireland, and Georgia. The studies included in the meta-analysis are experimental studies, and the total sample size is 1772. In the study, the funnel plot, Duval and Tweedie’s Trip and Fill Analysis, Orwin’s Safe N Analysis, and Egger’s Regression Test were utilized to determine the publication bias, which has been found to be quite low. Besides, Hedge’s g statistic was employed to measure the effect size for the difference between the means performed in accordance with the random effects model. The results of the study show that the effect size of online education on academic achievement is on a medium level. The heterogeneity test results of the meta-analysis study display that the effect size does not differ in terms of class level, country, online education approaches, and lecture moderators.

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1 Introduction

Information and communication technologies have become a powerful force in transforming the educational settings around the world. The pandemic has been an important factor in transferring traditional physical classrooms settings through adopting information and communication technologies and has also accelerated the transformation. The literature supports that learning environments connected to information and communication technologies highly satisfy students. Therefore, we need to keep interest in technology-based learning environments. Clearly, technology has had a huge impact on young people's online lives. This digital revolution can synergize the educational ambitions and interests of digitally addicted students. In essence, COVID-19 has provided us with an opportunity to embrace online learning as education systems have to keep up with the rapid emergence of new technologies.

Information and communication technologies that have an effect on all spheres of life are also actively included in the education field. With the recent developments, using technology in education has become inevitable due to personal and social reasons (Usta, 2011a ). Online education may be given as an example of using information and communication technologies as a consequence of the technological developments. Also, it is crystal clear that online learning is a popular way of obtaining instruction (Demiralay et al., 2016 ; Pillay et al., 2007 ), which is defined by Horton ( 2000 ) as a way of education that is performed through a web browser or an online application without requiring an extra software or a learning source. Furthermore, online learning is described as a way of utilizing the internet to obtain the related learning sources during the learning process, to interact with the content, the teacher, and other learners, as well as to get support throughout the learning process (Ally, 2004 ). Online learning has such benefits as learning independently at any time and place (Vrasidas & MsIsaac, 2000 ), granting facility (Poole, 2000 ), flexibility (Chizmar & Walbert, 1999 ), self-regulation skills (Usta, 2011b ), learning with collaboration, and opportunity to plan self-learning process.

Even though online education practices have not been comprehensive as it is now, internet and computers have been used in education as alternative learning tools in correlation with the advances in technology. The first distance education attempt in the world was initiated by the ‘Steno Courses’ announcement published in Boston newspaper in 1728. Furthermore, in the nineteenth century, Sweden University started the “Correspondence Composition Courses” for women, and University Correspondence College was afterwards founded for the correspondence courses in 1843 (Arat & Bakan, 2011 ). Recently, distance education has been performed through computers, assisted by the facilities of the internet technologies, and soon, it has evolved into a mobile education practice that is emanating from progress in the speed of internet connection, and the development of mobile devices.

With the emergence of pandemic (Covid-19), face to face education has almost been put to a halt, and online education has gained significant importance. The Microsoft management team declared to have 750 users involved in the online education activities on the 10 th March, just before the pandemic; however, on March 24, they informed that the number of users increased significantly, reaching the number of 138,698 users (OECD, 2020 ). This event supports the view that it is better to commonly use online education rather than using it as a traditional alternative educational tool when students do not have the opportunity to have a face to face education (Geostat, 2019 ). The period of Covid-19 pandemic has emerged as a sudden state of having limited opportunities. Face to face education has stopped in this period for a long time. The global spread of Covid-19 affected more than 850 million students all around the world, and it caused the suspension of face to face education. Different countries have proposed several solutions in order to maintain the education process during the pandemic. Schools have had to change their curriculum, and many countries supported the online education practices soon after the pandemic. In other words, traditional education gave its way to online education practices. At least 96 countries have been motivated to access online libraries, TV broadcasts, instructions, sources, video lectures, and online channels (UNESCO, 2020 ). In such a painful period, educational institutions went through online education practices by the help of huge companies such as Microsoft, Google, Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, and Slack. Thus, online education has been discussed in the education agenda more intensively than ever before.

Although online education approaches were not used as comprehensively as it has been used recently, it was utilized as an alternative learning approach in education for a long time in parallel with the development of technology, internet and computers. The academic achievement of the students is often aimed to be promoted by employing online education approaches. In this regard, academicians in various countries have conducted many studies on the evaluation of online education approaches and published the related results. However, the accumulation of scientific data on online education approaches creates difficulties in keeping, organizing and synthesizing the findings. In this research area, studies are being conducted at an increasing rate making it difficult for scientists to be aware of all the research outside of their ​​expertise. Another problem encountered in the related study area is that online education studies are repetitive. Studies often utilize slightly different methods, measures, and/or examples to avoid duplication. This erroneous approach makes it difficult to distinguish between significant differences in the related results. In other words, if there are significant differences in the results of the studies, it may be difficult to express what variety explains the differences in these results. One obvious solution to these problems is to systematically review the results of various studies and uncover the sources. One method of performing such systematic syntheses is the application of meta-analysis which is a methodological and statistical approach to draw conclusions from the literature. At this point, how effective online education applications are in increasing the academic success is an important detail. Has online education, which is likely to be encountered frequently in the continuing pandemic period, been successful in the last ten years? If successful, how much was the impact? Did different variables have an impact on this effect? Academics across the globe have carried out studies on the evaluation of online education platforms and publishing the related results (Chiao et al., 2018 ). It is quite important to evaluate the results of the studies that have been published up until now, and that will be published in the future. Has the online education been successful? If it has been, how big is the impact? Do the different variables affect this impact? What should we consider in the next coming online education practices? These questions have all motivated us to carry out this study. We have conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis study that tries to provide a discussion platform on how to develop efficient online programs for educators and policy makers by reviewing the related studies on online education, presenting the effect size, and revealing the effect of diverse variables on the general impact.

There have been many critical discussions and comprehensive studies on the differences between online and face to face learning; however, the focus of this paper is different in the sense that it clarifies the magnitude of the effect of online education and teaching process, and it represents what factors should be controlled to help increase the effect size. Indeed, the purpose here is to provide conscious decisions in the implementation of the online education process.

The general impact of online education on the academic achievement will be discovered in the study. Therefore, this will provide an opportunity to get a general overview of the online education which has been practiced and discussed intensively in the pandemic period. Moreover, the general impact of online education on academic achievement will be analyzed, considering different variables. In other words, the current study will allow to totally evaluate the study results from the related literature, and to analyze the results considering several cultures, lectures, and class levels. Considering all the related points, this study seeks to answer the following research questions:

What is the effect size of online education on academic achievement?

How do the effect sizes of online education on academic achievement change according to the moderator variable of the country?

How do the effect sizes of online education on academic achievement change according to the moderator variable of the class level?

How do the effect sizes of online education on academic achievement change according to the moderator variable of the lecture?

How do the effect sizes of online education on academic achievement change according to the moderator variable of the online education approaches?

This study aims at determining the effect size of online education, which has been highly used since the beginning of the pandemic, on students’ academic achievement in different courses by using a meta-analysis method. Meta-analysis is a synthesis method that enables gathering of several study results accurately and efficiently, and getting the total results in the end (Tsagris & Fragkos, 2018 ).

2.1 Selecting and coding the data (studies)

The required literature for the meta-analysis study was reviewed in July, 2020, and the follow-up review was conducted in September, 2020. The purpose of the follow-up review was to include the studies which were published in the conduction period of this study, and which met the related inclusion criteria. However, no study was encountered to be included in the follow-up review.

In order to access the studies in the meta-analysis, the databases of Web of Science, ERIC, and SCOPUS were reviewed by utilizing the keywords ‘online learning and online education’. Not every database has a search engine that grants access to the studies by writing the keywords, and this obstacle was considered to be an important problem to be overcome. Therefore, a platform that has a special design was utilized by the researcher. With this purpose, through the open access system of Cukurova University Library, detailed reviews were practiced using EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) that allow reviewing the whole collection of research through a sole searching box. Since the fundamental variables of this study are online education and online learning, the literature was systematically reviewed in the related databases (Web of Science, ERIC, and SCOPUS) by referring to the keywords. Within this scope, 225 articles were accessed, and the studies were included in the coding key list formed by the researcher. The name of the researchers, the year, the database (Web of Science, ERIC, and SCOPUS), the sample group and size, the lectures that the academic achievement was tested in, the country that the study was conducted in, and the class levels were all included in this coding key.

The following criteria were identified to include 225 research studies which were coded based on the theoretical basis of the meta-analysis study: (1) The studies should be published in the refereed journals between the years 2020 and 2021, (2) The studies should be experimental studies that try to determine the effect of online education and online learning on academic achievement, (3) The values of the stated variables or the required statistics to calculate these values should be stated in the results of the studies, and (4) The sample group of the study should be at a primary education level. These criteria were also used as the exclusion criteria in the sense that the studies that do not meet the required criteria were not included in the present study.

After the inclusion criteria were determined, a systematic review process was conducted, following the year criterion of the study by means of EBSCO. Within this scope, 290,365 studies that analyze the effect of online education and online learning on academic achievement were accordingly accessed. The database (Web of Science, ERIC, and SCOPUS) was also used as a filter by analyzing the inclusion criteria. Hence, the number of the studies that were analyzed was 58,616. Afterwards, the keyword ‘primary education’ was used as the filter and the number of studies included in the study decreased to 3152. Lastly, the literature was reviewed by using the keyword ‘academic achievement’ and 225 studies were accessed. All the information of 225 articles was included in the coding key.

It is necessary for the coders to review the related studies accurately and control the validity, safety, and accuracy of the studies (Stewart & Kamins, 2001 ). Within this scope, the studies that were determined based on the variables used in this study were first reviewed by three researchers from primary education field, then the accessed studies were combined and processed in the coding key by the researcher. All these studies that were processed in the coding key were analyzed in accordance with the inclusion criteria by all the researchers in the meetings, and it was decided that 27 studies met the inclusion criteria (Atici & Polat, 2010 ; Carreon, 2018 ; Ceylan & Elitok Kesici, 2017 ; Chae & Shin, 2016 ; Chiang et al. 2014 ; Ercan, 2014 ; Ercan et al., 2016 ; Gwo-Jen et al., 2018 ; Hayes & Stewart, 2016 ; Hwang et al., 2012 ; Kert et al., 2017 ; Lai & Chen, 2010 ; Lai et al., 2015 ; Meyers et al., 2015 ; Ravenel et al., 2014 ; Sung et al., 2016 ; Wang & Chen, 2013 ; Yu, 2019 ; Yu & Chen, 2014 ; Yu & Pan, 2014 ; Yu et al., 2010 ; Zhong et al., 2017 ). The data from the studies meeting the inclusion criteria were independently processed in the second coding key by three researchers, and consensus meetings were arranged for further discussion. After the meetings, researchers came to an agreement that the data were coded accurately and precisely. Having identified the effect sizes and heterogeneity of the study, moderator variables that will show the differences between the effect sizes were determined. The data related to the determined moderator variables were added to the coding key by three researchers, and a new consensus meeting was arranged. After the meeting, researchers came to an agreement that moderator variables were coded accurately and precisely.

2.2 Study group

27 studies are included in the meta-analysis. The total sample size of the studies that are included in the analysis is 1772. The characteristics of the studies included are given in Table 1 .

2.3 Publication bias

Publication bias is the low capability of published studies on a research subject to represent all completed studies on the same subject (Card, 2011 ; Littell et al., 2008 ). Similarly, publication bias is the state of having a relationship between the probability of the publication of a study on a subject, and the effect size and significance that it produces. Within this scope, publication bias may occur when the researchers do not want to publish the study as a result of failing to obtain the expected results, or not being approved by the scientific journals, and consequently not being included in the study synthesis (Makowski et al., 2019 ). The high possibility of publication bias in a meta-analysis study negatively affects (Pecoraro, 2018 ) the accuracy of the combined effect size, causing the average effect size to be reported differently than it should be (Borenstein et al., 2009 ). For this reason, the possibility of publication bias in the included studies was tested before determining the effect sizes of the relationships between the stated variables. The possibility of publication bias of this meta-analysis study was analyzed by using the funnel plot, Orwin’s Safe N Analysis, Duval and Tweedie’s Trip and Fill Analysis, and Egger’s Regression Test.

2.4 Selecting the model

After determining the probability of publication bias of this meta-analysis study, the statistical model used to calculate the effect sizes was selected. The main approaches used in the effect size calculations according to the differentiation level of inter-study variance are fixed and random effects models (Pigott, 2012 ). Fixed effects model refers to the homogeneity of the characteristics of combined studies apart from the sample sizes, while random effects model refers to the parameter diversity between the studies (Cumming, 2012 ). While calculating the average effect size in the random effects model (Deeks et al., 2008 ) that is based on the assumption that effect predictions of different studies are only the result of a similar distribution, it is necessary to consider several situations such as the effect size apart from the sample error of combined studies, characteristics of the participants, duration, scope, and pattern of the study (Littell et al., 2008 ). While deciding the model in the meta-analysis study, the assumptions on the sample characteristics of the studies included in the analysis and the inferences that the researcher aims to make should be taken into consideration. The fact that the sample characteristics of the studies conducted in the field of social sciences are affected by various parameters shows that using random effects model is more appropriate in this sense. Besides, it is stated that the inferences made with the random effects model are beyond the studies included in the meta-analysis (Field, 2003 ; Field & Gillett, 2010 ). Therefore, using random effects model also contributes to the generalization of research data. The specified criteria for the statistical model selection show that according to the nature of the meta-analysis study, the model should be selected just before the analysis (Borenstein et al., 2007 ; Littell et al., 2008 ). Within this framework, it was decided to make use of the random effects model, considering that the students who are the samples of the studies included in the meta-analysis are from different countries and cultures, the sample characteristics of the studies differ, and the patterns and scopes of the studies vary as well.

2.5 Heterogeneity

Meta-analysis facilitates analyzing the research subject with different parameters by showing the level of diversity between the included studies. Within this frame, whether there is a heterogeneous distribution between the studies included in the study or not has been evaluated in the present study. The heterogeneity of the studies combined in this meta-analysis study has been determined through Q and I 2 tests. Q test evaluates the random distribution probability of the differences between the observed results (Deeks et al., 2008 ). Q value exceeding 2 value calculated according to the degree of freedom and significance, indicates the heterogeneity of the combined effect sizes (Card, 2011 ). I 2 test, which is the complementary of the Q test, shows the heterogeneity amount of the effect sizes (Cleophas & Zwinderman, 2017 ). I 2 value being higher than 75% is explained as high level of heterogeneity.

In case of encountering heterogeneity in the studies included in the meta-analysis, the reasons of heterogeneity can be analyzed by referring to the study characteristics. The study characteristics which may be related to the heterogeneity between the included studies can be interpreted through subgroup analysis or meta-regression analysis (Deeks et al., 2008 ). While determining the moderator variables, the sufficiency of the number of variables, the relationship between the moderators, and the condition to explain the differences between the results of the studies have all been considered in the present study. Within this scope, it was predicted in this meta-analysis study that the heterogeneity can be explained with the country, class level, and lecture moderator variables of the study in terms of the effect of online education, which has been highly used since the beginning of the pandemic, and it has an impact on the students’ academic achievement in different lectures. Some subgroups were evaluated and categorized together, considering that the number of effect sizes of the sub-dimensions of the specified variables is not sufficient to perform moderator analysis (e.g. the countries where the studies were conducted).

2.6 Interpreting the effect sizes

Effect size is a factor that shows how much the independent variable affects the dependent variable positively or negatively in each included study in the meta-analysis (Dinçer, 2014 ). While interpreting the effect sizes obtained from the meta-analysis, the classifications of Cohen et al. ( 2007 ) have been utilized. The case of differentiating the specified relationships of the situation of the country, class level, and school subject variables of the study has been identified through the Q test, degree of freedom, and p significance value Fig.  1 and 2 .

3 Findings and results

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect size of online education on academic achievement. Before determining the effect sizes in the study, the probability of publication bias of this meta-analysis study was analyzed by using the funnel plot, Orwin’s Safe N Analysis, Duval and Tweedie’s Trip and Fill Analysis, and Egger’s Regression Test.

When the funnel plots are examined, it is seen that the studies included in the analysis are distributed symmetrically on both sides of the combined effect size axis, and they are generally collected in the middle and lower sections. The probability of publication bias is low according to the plots. However, since the results of the funnel scatter plots may cause subjective interpretations, they have been supported by additional analyses (Littell et al., 2008 ). Therefore, in order to provide an extra proof for the probability of publication bias, it has been analyzed through Orwin’s Safe N Analysis, Duval and Tweedie’s Trip and Fill Analysis, and Egger’s Regression Test (Table 2 ).

Table 2 consists of the results of the rates of publication bias probability before counting the effect size of online education on academic achievement. According to the table, Orwin Safe N analysis results show that it is not necessary to add new studies to the meta-analysis in order for Hedges g to reach a value outside the range of ± 0.01. The Duval and Tweedie test shows that excluding the studies that negatively affect the symmetry of the funnel scatter plots for each meta-analysis or adding their exact symmetrical equivalents does not significantly differentiate the calculated effect size. The insignificance of the Egger tests results reveals that there is no publication bias in the meta-analysis study. The results of the analysis indicate the high internal validity of the effect sizes and the adequacy of representing the studies conducted on the relevant subject.

In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect size of online education on academic achievement after testing the publication bias. In line with the first purpose of the study, the forest graph regarding the effect size of online education on academic achievement is shown in Fig.  3 , and the statistics regarding the effect size are given in Table 3 .

The flow chart of the scanning and selection process of the studies

Funnel plot graphics representing the effect size of the effects of online education on academic success

Forest graph related to the effect size of online education on academic success

The square symbols in the forest graph in Fig.  3 represent the effect sizes, while the horizontal lines show the intervals in 95% confidence of the effect sizes, and the diamond symbol shows the overall effect size. When the forest graph is analyzed, it is seen that the lower and upper limits of the combined effect sizes are generally close to each other, and the study loads are similar. This similarity in terms of study loads indicates the similarity of the contribution of the combined studies to the overall effect size.

Figure  3 clearly represents that the study of Liu and others (Liu et al., 2018 ) has the lowest, and the study of Ercan and Bilen ( 2014 ) has the highest effect sizes. The forest graph shows that all the combined studies and the overall effect are positive. Furthermore, it is simply understood from the forest graph in Fig.  3 and the effect size statistics in Table 3 that the results of the meta-analysis study conducted with 27 studies and analyzing the effect of online education on academic achievement illustrate that this relationship is on average level (= 0.409).

After the analysis of the effect size in the study, whether the studies included in the analysis are distributed heterogeneously or not has also been analyzed. The heterogeneity of the combined studies was determined through the Q and I 2 tests. As a result of the heterogeneity test, Q statistical value was calculated as 29.576. With 26 degrees of freedom at 95% significance level in the chi-square table, the critical value is accepted as 38.885. The Q statistical value (29.576) counted in this study is lower than the critical value of 38.885. The I 2 value, which is the complementary of the Q statistics, is 12.100%. This value indicates that the accurate heterogeneity or the total variability that can be attributed to variability between the studies is 12%. Besides, p value is higher than (0.285) p = 0.05. All these values [Q (26) = 29.579, p = 0.285; I2 = 12.100] indicate that there is a homogeneous distribution between the effect sizes, and fixed effects model should be used to interpret these effect sizes. However, some researchers argue that even if the heterogeneity is low, it should be evaluated based on the random effects model (Borenstein et al., 2007 ). Therefore, this study gives information about both models. The heterogeneity of the combined studies has been attempted to be explained with the characteristics of the studies included in the analysis. In this context, the final purpose of the study is to determine the effect of the country, academic level, and year variables on the findings. Accordingly, the statistics regarding the comparison of the stated relations according to the countries where the studies were conducted are given in Table 4 .

As seen in Table 4 , the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ significantly according to the countries where the studies were conducted in. Q test results indicate the heterogeneity of the relationships between the variables in terms of countries where the studies were conducted in. According to the table, the effect of online education on academic achievement was reported as the highest in other countries, and the lowest in the US. The statistics regarding the comparison of the stated relations according to the class levels are given in Table 5 .

As seen in Table 5 , the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ according to the class level. However, the effect of online education on academic achievement is the highest in the 4 th class. The statistics regarding the comparison of the stated relations according to the class levels are given in Table 6 .

As seen in Table 6 , the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ according to the school subjects included in the studies. However, the effect of online education on academic achievement is the highest in ICT subject.

The obtained effect size in the study was formed as a result of the findings attained from primary studies conducted in 7 different countries. In addition, these studies are the ones on different approaches to online education (online learning environments, social networks, blended learning, etc.). In this respect, the results may raise some questions about the validity and generalizability of the results of the study. However, the moderator analyzes, whether for the country variable or for the approaches covered by online education, did not create significant differences in terms of the effect sizes. If significant differences were to occur in terms of effect sizes, we could say that the comparisons we will make by comparing countries under the umbrella of online education would raise doubts in terms of generalizability. Moreover, no study has been found in the literature that is not based on a special approach or does not contain a specific technique conducted under the name of online education alone. For instance, one of the commonly used definitions is blended education which is defined as an educational model in which online education is combined with traditional education method (Colis & Moonen, 2001 ). Similarly, Rasmussen ( 2003 ) defines blended learning as “a distance education method that combines technology (high technology such as television, internet, or low technology such as voice e-mail, conferences) with traditional education and training.” Further, Kerres and Witt (2003) define blended learning as “combining face-to-face learning with technology-assisted learning.” As it is clearly observed, online education, which has a wider scope, includes many approaches.

As seen in Table 7 , the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ according to online education approaches included in the studies. However, the effect of online education on academic achievement is the highest in Web Based Problem Solving Approach.

4 Conclusions and discussion

Considering the developments during the pandemics, it is thought that the diversity in online education applications as an interdisciplinary pragmatist field will increase, and the learning content and processes will be enriched with the integration of new technologies into online education processes. Another prediction is that more flexible and accessible learning opportunities will be created in online education processes, and in this way, lifelong learning processes will be strengthened. As a result, it is predicted that in the near future, online education and even digital learning with a newer name will turn into the main ground of education instead of being an alternative or having a support function in face-to-face learning. The lessons learned from the early period online learning experience, which was passed with rapid adaptation due to the Covid19 epidemic, will serve to develop this method all over the world, and in the near future, online learning will become the main learning structure through increasing its functionality with the contribution of new technologies and systems. If we look at it from this point of view, there is a necessity to strengthen online education.

In this study, the effect of online learning on academic achievement is at a moderate level. To increase this effect, the implementation of online learning requires support from teachers to prepare learning materials, to design learning appropriately, and to utilize various digital-based media such as websites, software technology and various other tools to support the effectiveness of online learning (Rolisca & Achadiyah, 2014 ). According to research conducted by Rahayu et al. ( 2017 ), it has been proven that the use of various types of software increases the effectiveness and quality of online learning. Implementation of online learning can affect students' ability to adapt to technological developments in that it makes students use various learning resources on the internet to access various types of information, and enables them to get used to performing inquiry learning and active learning (Hart et al., 2019 ; Prestiadi et al., 2019 ). In addition, there may be many reasons for the low level of effect in this study. The moderator variables examined in this study could be a guide in increasing the level of practical effect. However, the effect size did not differ significantly for all moderator variables. Different moderator analyzes can be evaluated in order to increase the level of impact of online education on academic success. If confounding variables that significantly change the effect level are detected, it can be spoken more precisely in order to increase this level. In addition to the technical and financial problems, the level of impact will increase if a few other difficulties are eliminated such as students, lack of interaction with the instructor, response time, and lack of traditional classroom socialization.

In addition, COVID-19 pandemic related social distancing has posed extreme difficulties for all stakeholders to get online as they have to work in time constraints and resource constraints. Adopting the online learning environment is not just a technical issue, it is a pedagogical and instructive challenge as well. Therefore, extensive preparation of teaching materials, curriculum, and assessment is vital in online education. Technology is the delivery tool and requires close cross-collaboration between teaching, content and technology teams (CoSN, 2020 ).

Online education applications have been used for many years. However, it has come to the fore more during the pandemic process. This result of necessity has brought with it the discussion of using online education instead of traditional education methods in the future. However, with this research, it has been revealed that online education applications are moderately effective. The use of online education instead of face-to-face education applications can only be possible with an increase in the level of success. This may have been possible with the experience and knowledge gained during the pandemic process. Therefore, the meta-analysis of experimental studies conducted in the coming years will guide us. In this context, experimental studies using online education applications should be analyzed well. It would be useful to identify variables that can change the level of impacts with different moderators. Moderator analyzes are valuable in meta-analysis studies (for example, the role of moderators in Karl Pearson's typhoid vaccine studies). In this context, each analysis study sheds light on future studies. In meta-analyses to be made about online education, it would be beneficial to go beyond the moderators determined in this study. Thus, the contribution of similar studies to the field will increase more.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of online education on academic achievement. In line with this purpose, the studies that analyze the effect of online education approaches on academic achievement have been included in the meta-analysis. The total sample size of the studies included in the meta-analysis is 1772. While the studies included in the meta-analysis were conducted in the US, Taiwan, Turkey, China, Philippines, Ireland, and Georgia, the studies carried out in Europe could not be reached. The reason may be attributed to that there may be more use of quantitative research methods from a positivist perspective in the countries with an American academic tradition. As a result of the study, it was found out that the effect size of online education on academic achievement (g = 0.409) was moderate. In the studies included in the present research, we found that online education approaches were more effective than traditional ones. However, contrary to the present study, the analysis of comparisons between online and traditional education in some studies shows that face-to-face traditional learning is still considered effective compared to online learning (Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Hamdani & Priatna, 2020 ; Wei & Chou, 2020 ). Online education has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of online learning compared to face-to-face learning in the classroom is the flexibility of learning time in online learning, the learning time does not include a single program, and it can be shaped according to circumstances (Lai et al., 2019 ). The next advantage is the ease of collecting assignments for students, as these can be done without having to talk to the teacher. Despite this, online education has several weaknesses, such as students having difficulty in understanding the material, teachers' inability to control students, and students’ still having difficulty interacting with teachers in case of internet network cuts (Swan, 2007 ). According to Astuti et al ( 2019 ), face-to-face education method is still considered better by students than e-learning because it is easier to understand the material and easier to interact with teachers. The results of the study illustrated that the effect size (g = 0.409) of online education on academic achievement is of medium level. Therefore, the results of the moderator analysis showed that the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ in terms of country, lecture, class level, and online education approaches variables. After analyzing the literature, several meta-analyses on online education were published (Bernard et al., 2004 ; Machtmes & Asher, 2000 ; Zhao et al., 2005 ). Typically, these meta-analyzes also include the studies of older generation technologies such as audio, video, or satellite transmission. One of the most comprehensive studies on online education was conducted by Bernard et al. ( 2004 ). In this study, 699 independent effect sizes of 232 studies published from 1985 to 2001 were analyzed, and face-to-face education was compared to online education, with respect to success criteria and attitudes of various learners from young children to adults. In this meta-analysis, an overall effect size close to zero was found for the students' achievement (g +  = 0.01).

In another meta-analysis study carried out by Zhao et al. ( 2005 ), 98 effect sizes were examined, including 51 studies on online education conducted between 1996 and 2002. According to the study of Bernard et al. ( 2004 ), this meta-analysis focuses on the activities done in online education lectures. As a result of the research, an overall effect size close to zero was found for online education utilizing more than one generation technology for students at different levels. However, the salient point of the meta-analysis study of Zhao et al. is that it takes the average of different types of results used in a study to calculate an overall effect size. This practice is problematic because the factors that develop one type of learner outcome (e.g. learner rehabilitation), particularly course characteristics and practices, may be quite different from those that develop another type of outcome (e.g. learner's achievement), and it may even cause damage to the latter outcome. While mixing the studies with different types of results, this implementation may obscure the relationship between practices and learning.

Some meta-analytical studies have focused on the effectiveness of the new generation distance learning courses accessed through the internet for specific student populations. For instance, Sitzmann and others (Sitzmann et al., 2006 ) reviewed 96 studies published from 1996 to 2005, comparing web-based education of job-related knowledge or skills with face-to-face one. The researchers found that web-based education in general was slightly more effective than face-to-face education, but it is insufficient in terms of applicability ("knowing how to apply"). In addition, Sitzmann et al. ( 2006 ) revealed that Internet-based education has a positive effect on theoretical knowledge in quasi-experimental studies; however, it positively affects face-to-face education in experimental studies performed by random assignment. This moderator analysis emphasizes the need to pay attention to the factors of designs of the studies included in the meta-analysis. The designs of the studies included in this meta-analysis study were ignored. This can be presented as a suggestion to the new studies that will be conducted.

Another meta-analysis study was conducted by Cavanaugh et al. ( 2004 ), in which they focused on online education. In this study on internet-based distance education programs for students under 12 years of age, the researchers combined 116 results from 14 studies published between 1999 and 2004 to calculate an overall effect that was not statistically different from zero. The moderator analysis carried out in this study showed that there was no significant factor affecting the students' success. This meta-analysis used multiple results of the same study, ignoring the fact that different results of the same student would not be independent from each other.

In conclusion, some meta-analytical studies analyzed the consequences of online education for a wide range of students (Bernard et al., 2004 ; Zhao et al., 2005 ), and the effect sizes were generally low in these studies. Furthermore, none of the large-scale meta-analyzes considered the moderators, database quality standards or class levels in the selection of the studies, while some of them just referred to the country and lecture moderators. Advances in internet-based learning tools, the pandemic process, and increasing popularity in different learning contexts have required a precise meta-analysis of students' learning outcomes through online learning. Previous meta-analysis studies were typically based on the studies, involving narrow range of confounding variables. In the present study, common but significant moderators such as class level and lectures during the pandemic process were discussed. For instance, the problems have been experienced especially in terms of eligibility of class levels in online education platforms during the pandemic process. It was found that there is a need to study and make suggestions on whether online education can meet the needs of teachers and students.

Besides, the main forms of online education in the past were to watch the open lectures of famous universities and educational videos of institutions. In addition, online education is mainly a classroom-based teaching implemented by teachers in their own schools during the pandemic period, which is an extension of the original school education. This meta-analysis study will stand as a source to compare the effect size of the online education forms of the past decade with what is done today, and what will be done in the future.

Lastly, the heterogeneity test results of the meta-analysis study display that the effect size does not differ in terms of class level, country, online education approaches, and lecture moderators.

*Studies included in meta-analysis

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Ulum, H. The effects of online education on academic success: A meta-analysis study. Educ Inf Technol 27 , 429–450 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10740-8

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20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Classes

Online learning has become more accessible in the past decade as potential students discover that they can find ways to obtain a preferred degree while handling their daily obligations. It is a way that encourages post-graduate learning while staying within life and career schedules. Most accredited colleges and universities are now offering programs that make it possible to take some, if not all, of the required courses on the Internet.

Public and private institutions offer online classes more today than ever before in history. This education format is a way to reach students who may have social or economic situations that don’t allow them to enjoy the traditional on-campus learning lifestyle.

As more people have access to high-speed Internet connections, online education opportunities have continued expanding. It has become acceptable in most circles to earn a degree at any level with these opportunities, allowing students to have legitimacy and more accessibility with what they earned.

The advantages and disadvantages of online classes continue to evolve, but these are the current key points to consider if you’re thinking about becoming a student.

List of the Advantages of Online Classes

1. Online classes provide more flexibility to incorporate multiple learning styles. Although you can earn a healthy salary without going to college in some trades, many employment opportunities require an undergraduate degree or higher to obtain a position. That means it can be challenging to get through classes when your learning style might be different than what a local institution offers. Taking an online class allows you to have more control over how you retain the available information.

You can listen to music while you are writing a paper. Online classes let you interact in forums while watching television. Instead of being stuck in a stuffy classroom listening to a lecture, you have the flexibility to learn using the style that works best for your needs.

2. Your classes can fit better into your schedule. Online classes are the perfect solution for anyone who works a full-time job, has a family to raise, is housebound for some reason, or lives in a rural area. These obstacles can make it challenging to enroll in a traditional institution. As long as you have an Internet or data connection, then you can access your study materials whenever you need them. Many professors are even uploading lectures or providing texts that supplement the learning process.

If you have a busy lifestyle and want to get ahead in your career, then learning at your own pace with an online class is an intelligent way to obtain your next college or university degree.

3. It takes advantage of technology innovations. Online classes at many institutions take advantage of the technological innovations that occur every year. These changes get applied in convenient and practical ways, such as the implementation of a rolling semester. Some colleges and universities make their courses dominant from an independent standpoint, making it possible for students to complete their curriculum based on a schedule they said instead of what the professor requires.

As more degree programs become 100% online opportunities, many colleges and universities are finding that the independent and innovative approach makes it easier for modern students to achieve their goals.

4. Online classes are typically cheaper than traditional enrollment. Students that take online classes find that the cost of their college degree is usually less expensive than it would be if they took courses on campus. There are usually fewer textbook purchases to consider, travel cost reductions, and room and board considerations that can cut the cost of a college or university degree by 50% or more. That means each person who uses this opportunity can start their career with lower debt levels.

5. It teaches students how to be disciplined and responsible. If you can access the Internet, then your online course work is immediately available. That means each student must have the discipline to maintain the continuity of their schedule while keeping themselves on track for a successful outcome. The freedom that comes with classes that you take online comes with the need to have higher levels of responsibility. Students must stay organized and adhere to a workable schedule.

Putting all of your time to the completion of an online degree can backfire if you neglect the other critical areas of your life. Take advantage of the flexibility that this option provides so that you can spend some time with your family members and friends.

6. You can receive a degree from an accredited institution. A degree that you earn online from an accredited institution has the same weight in today’s career marketplace as one earned from the traditional approach. That means your credentials and applications will get taken seriously when you are ready to pursue new career opportunities. This advantage also means that you can take the credits earned to other programs, pursue graduate-level courses, or go after that doctorate degree that you’ve always wanted.

7. Online classes offer location independence. Some students may not have access to the program that best fits their needs. It might be across town from them, in another state, or even on the other side of the world. The availability of online classes makes it possible for students to participate in and graduate from their preferred program with less difficulty. These programs do not generally have the same geographic restrictions that you’d find with a traditional institution.

Since moving isn’t an option for many of today’s students, especially adult learners who have career and family responsibilities, online classes allow each person to enroll in the program that’s right for them regardless of where they live.

8. It provides students with real-life career preparation opportunities. When students go to college, then it can feel like you’re living in a bubble. You receive the necessary and valuable information that will let you establish a career one day, but it is not always easy to start developing the practical skills necessary to become good at your future job. Online classes require the same skill sets that many people use every day when working, which means you can enter a job market better prepared for what to expect.

An online class is quite similar to a desk job at almost any company. You must stay in touch through email, manage software solutions, and keep track of your time to ensure that you’re fulfilling all of your obligations. You get tasked with remote work while still engaging with a team to complete projects before a deadline.

9. You form social connections with your classmates. Although it is more difficult to make social connections with an online class, it isn’t an impossible circumstance. Today’s technology makes it possible to form relationships that go beyond sitting behind a computer. Your digital classmates could organize a group video hangout, facilitate conversations, and even do icebreakers that help everyone get to know each other better.

It may not be exactly the same as a face-to-face connection, but technology makes it very close. Video calls and other tools can help you to see each other even if you live on the other side of the planet.

10. It eliminates the need for verbal expression in a classroom environment. Many online students find that it is easier for them to express their opinions in this structure because there isn’t a public speaking component to the education process. You don’t need to worry about a professor calling you up to the front of the classroom to explain a concept or create a diagram. You can express yourself through writing instead, which means if something can get fixed if it doesn’t sound right in the first draft.

This advantage often leads to high-quality dialogs where each learner can carefully reflect the quality of their thinking on each comment, chapter, or project. Then you can move on to the next one whenever you feel like you’re ready.

11. Online classes create more opportunities for a varied learning experience. An online course makes it easier to include guest experts or past students in the classroom environment. Even people from other institutions can get involved in the conversations that take place to facilitate the learning process. Students can receive exposure to a worldwide perspective in their preferred subject instead of being limited to the local point of view. That means the experience has more value to potential employers in the future.

List of the Disadvantages of Online Classes

1. It can take longer to earn a degree when using online classes. If a student is not thoroughly committed to earning their degree, then it can take several years for that person to complete their online classes. Everything that the course requires is up to you. That means you must complete your assignments, read the required materials, interact with your professor, talk with your peers, and take exams according to the rules presented upon enrollment. It can be tempting to ignore your obligations when there isn’t a direct line of accountability as there is when you attend a physical classroom.

2. Some of your required course work might require in-person activities. If you are taking online classes, then there may be some stipulations where you must attend classes or take tests in a proctored environment. If a third-party observer is necessary, then it is up to each student to find an organization that will monitor this process. That means the cost of your classes each semester will go up based on the number of exams you must take.

Some institutions will even require a specific amount of on-campus time before they will award a degree. This requirement can last anywhere from two weeks to two months for U.S.-based colleges and universities.

3. You still need to take the time to fulfill your classroom requirements. Online classes can help students save a lot of time on their learning obligations, but the structure will not eliminate the need to put in some work. If you do not have a lot of free time during the day, then it may be impossible to fulfill the obligations of your enrollment. That’s why the flexibility of this arrangement can be an advantage since you only need to take one class at a time – but that can still be problematic for some people.

It is possible to avoid some of this disadvantage by taking independent learning courses online. When you can complete the work at your own pace, then the pressure of deadlines can disappear. You must still have trust in the program and remain dedicated to a result to turn this education opportunity into a real investment for you.

4. Online classes don’t provide the same face-to-face connections. Colleges and universities provide numerous opportunities for in-person social networking. When you can have face-to-face conversations with your professors and peers, then it can enhance the educational foundations that you receive. Networking functions can serve as essential connections for future career opportunities. The structure of online classes negates many of those potential advantages.

Even though you might have an institution that focuses on small class sizes and curriculum requirements that mandate interaction, a forum conversation or online chat isn’t the same as sharing coffee or lunch with someone.

5. Some online institutions don’t have full accreditation. You must verify that the college or university providing the online classes you want has full accreditation. Many facilities are not accredited even with the expansion of Internet access. That means your degree and qualifications might not receive the recognition you expect from potential employers. It may not receive serious consideration from other professionals in your preferred industry. This disadvantage also means that any credits earned might not be transferable to another institution.

The outcome of this disadvantage can be a costly mistake in terms of time and money. You’ll want to make sure to verify the specific accreditation of any school you’re considering before you even turn in an application.

6. You must have access to the Internet to complete your work. Online classes require you to have access to the Internet so that you can complete your assignments on time. If you don’t have the equipment at home to do the work or a connection that is fast enough to handle your course work, then it may be challenging to have a successful experience with this learning option. You’ll need a computer or tablet PC, a home-based ISP, and any peripherals necessary for your degree program.

Some public libraries and other institutions may offer computer access, but it may come with limited time or additional costs. You would also need to access that equipment during their regular working hours, which may not be possible with your specific schedule.

7. Many online classes require students to complete more work. The average online course in the United States requires a greater amount of reading and student interaction than a traditional class. Students must prove remotely that they have mastery over the material in question, which means your curriculum will involve a lot of independent study and Internet-based group work. Although the average amount of time one needs to dedicate to their course work is about 10 hours per week for each class, it is not unusual for individual courses at accredited colleges and universities to require 15-20 hours per week of work.

8. Technology scheduling issues can limit learning opportunities. Students must ensure that their computer is updated frequently with the latest operating system and software components to facilitate their learning. Some people may need to learn new or enhanced troubleshooting skills to manage their boot-up time, Internet connection, or software platforms that a professor requires. If you are a person who considers themselves to be technically challenged, then the tasks of this disadvantage could be a significant barrier to your current and future learning opportunities.

9. Time variations could be problematic for some students. Students who take online classes must plan and adjust their schedules to meet the deadlines set by their professors. American institutions often base deadlines on the time zone of the institution, so a West Coast student would need to account for the three-hour difference for an East Coast deadline. If international students are taking online courses, then this disadvantage could be significant.

This issue becomes problematic for students with opposite schedules. If you study at night and your partner works during the day, then there will be significant lag time between each response.

If you have a hectic schedule or zero access to a college or university, then online classes are a way to pursue your academic goals. It only requires Internet access or a data connection, and then you can begin fulfilling the requirements of your course work. The modern structure of this learning opportunity does an excellent job of simulating the traditional classroom experience.

This option may not be a first-choice selection for someone who struggles with their organization or focus. If you’re already putting in 40 hours each week with your job, then it may be unreasonable to put in another 20-40 hours after you get home to fulfill your learning obligations.

These advantages and disadvantages of online classes must receive individualized consideration. If you live at home full-time and want a self-directed education, then this innovation can be a positive experience. When you prefer social interactions and a traditional classroom, then it may not be the best choice to pursue.

Home — Essay Samples — Education — Online Vs. Traditional Classes — Online Classes vs Traditional Classes: Which One is More Beneficial?

Online Classes Vs Traditional Classes: Which One is More Beneficial?

• Categories: E-Learning Online Vs. Traditional Classes

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Published: Jan 30, 2024

Words: 489 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, background information on online classes and traditional classes, thesis statement, advantages of online classes.

• Students can choose when and where to study
• Allows for balancing work and family commitments
• No geographical limitations
• Students can access course material 24/7

Disadvantages of online classes

• Limited opportunities for networking and collaboration
• Difficulty in building relationships
• Students must be disciplined and organized
• Easy to procrastinate without structured class times

Advantages of traditional classes

• Immediate feedback and clarification
• Personalized attention from instructors
• Dynamic discussions and debates
• Hands-on activities and experiments

Disadvantages of traditional classes

• Limited flexibility for working students or those with family commitments
• Difficulty attending multiple classes at once
• Limited access for students in remote areas
• Impacts diversity in the classroom

Restatement of thesis

Final thoughts.

• E-Learning Industry. (2021). E-learning Statistics and Facts For 2021. https://elearningindustry.com/elearning-statistics-and-facts-for-2021
• Fortune Business Insights. (2021). E-Learning Market Size, Share & Analysis By Product (Services, Content), By End-User (Corporate, Academic), And Regional Forecast 2021-2028. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/e-learning-market-102801
• Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding Online vs. Classroom Instruction From Students' Perspective. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 5(4).

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50 Pros and Cons of Online Learning [Deep Analysis] 

Online learning represents a transformative shift in educational paradigms, leveraging digital technology to provide accessible and flexible learning options. This modality has seen a surge in popularity, driven by a global recognition of its potential to transcend traditional educational boundaries. It enables people from various backgrounds to obtain quality education remotely, eliminating the constraints of geographical location. Despite its advantages, online learning also presents challenges, including the digital divide, reduced interpersonal interactions, and concerns about educational quality. This deep analysis aims to explore the 50 pros and cons of online learning, offering a comprehensive view of its impact and highlighting both the opportunities and hurdles it presents in the ever-evolving education landscape.

Pros of Online Learning  

Let’s delve into each pro of online learning to help students understand the topic more precisely:

1. Flexibility

Online learning provides flexibility, allowing students to study anytime and anywhere, accommodating the schedules of working individuals, parents, or those with irregular timings. This adaptability helps students manage their educational pursuits and other personal and professional responsibilities. It assists in organizing learning schedules around personal and professional commitments, reducing stress and enhancing the ability to balance educational needs with life and work responsibilities. For example, a working professional can integrate their studies into their routine by studying during evenings or weekends, making education feasible amidst a hectic schedule.

2. Accessibility

Accessibility in online learning, facilitated by just an internet connection, allows students from any geographic location to access quality education, thus eliminating distance and travel barriers. This feature is especially beneficial for those in rural or underserved areas. It helps by providing access to quality education regardless of one’s location, effectively removing geographical and physical barriers. This accessibility promotes equal learning opportunities and supports inclusive education, ensuring that students, irrespective of their location, can enroll in specialized programs offered by urban or even international institutions. For example, a learner from a remote area can register for specialized courses provided by universities located in major cities or abroad, broadening their educational and career prospects.

Related: How to Make Most of Online Learning?

3. Variety of Courses

Online platforms offer various courses across various fields and specialties, empowering students to engage with subjects that may not be locally available, ranging from advanced scientific courses to creative arts and languages. This diversity of offerings provides a broad spectrum of learning opportunities, enabling students to delve into different fields or concentrate on niche areas, thus enhancing their career prospects and personal development. For instance, an individual interested in rare languages can access specific online courses that are not available in their local area, facilitating specialized learning and exploration in their field of interest.

4. Pace Control

Students can progress through courses at a pace that aligns with their learning preferences and capabilities, allowing fast learners to accelerate their studies and those needing more time to proceed without pressure. This pacing flexibility helps students learn at a speed that suits their learning style, thereby improving comprehension and retention. It also minimizes frustration and maximizes the effectiveness of the learning process. For example, students facing difficulties with a complex math concept can take extra time to review and practice, ensuring they fully understand and master the material before moving on.

5. Cost-Effective

Online education typically incurs lower costs than traditional campus-based learning, with savings extending to commuting, accommodation, and often course materials, thus making education more financially accessible. This affordability helps reduce the financial burden of education, making it more achievable for a broader range of students. Reducing costs associated with online learning can also lessen student debt and alleviate financial stress. For example, students taking online courses often save on expenses related to commuting, textbooks, and campus facilities, contributing to the overall cost-effectiveness of their education.

Studying in a familiar and comfortable environment can reduce stress and improve concentration, thus enhancing the learning experience. This setup helps by allowing students to study in a preferred environment, leading to better focus and productivity. The additional benefits of personalized study conditions include an improved overall learning experience and increased satisfaction. For instance, students can create a quiet, personalized study space at home, tailored to their specific needs, free from the distractions often encountered in classroom settings, thereby fostering a more conducive learning atmosphere.

Related: Hybrid Learning vs Online Learning

7. Technology Skills

Navigating online learning platforms and tools can improve digital literacy, a crucial skill in today’s technology-driven world. This enhancement of digital literacy and technical skills is essential for the modern workforce, helping individuals become more competent and adaptable to technological advancements. The additional benefits include improved employability as individuals become more adept at using digital tools, making them more attractive to potential employers. An example is the regular use of learning management systems and online research tools, which prepares students for the technological demands of contemporary, tech-savvy workplaces.

8. Interactive Content

Online courses often include multimedia elements such as videos, interactive simulations, and quizzes, making learning more engaging and effective. This approach actively engages students, making learning more enjoyable and impactful. Including various multimedia elements caters to different learning styles and enhances information retention, offering a more dynamic and interactive educational experience. For instance, interactive simulations in an online science course enable students to experiment with concepts in a virtual lab setting, providing a hands-on experience that deepens their understanding and engagement with the material.

9. Global Perspective

Interacting with students and instructors worldwide in online learning contexts exposes learners to different viewpoints and cultures, enriching their educational experience and broadening their worldview. This exposure to international perspectives and cultural diversity enhances global awareness and understanding, which is increasingly important in today’s interconnected world. Such interactions prepare students for globalized careers and working in multicultural environments, equipping them with the skills to navigate diverse cultural dynamics. An example of this is engaging in collaborative projects with international peers, which can provide valuable insights into varied business practices and cultural norms, further enhancing the learning experience and preparing students for international professional interactions.

10. Self-Discipline and Responsibility

The self-directed nature of online learning fosters the development of crucial life skills such as time management, self-discipline, and personal responsibility. This environment helps cultivate personal skills like time management, self-motivation, and organizational abilities, which are beneficial in both personal and professional settings. For example, managing deadlines for multiple online courses teaches students to prioritize tasks and manage their time effectively. These skills honed through the self-regulatory demands of online education, are valuable assets that enhance an individual’s ability to navigate various aspects of life and career successfully.

Related: Reasons to Attend Regular College

11. Immediate Feedback

Many online courses offer instant feedback on quizzes and assignments, enabling students to comprehend their mistakes and learn from them quickly. This rapid feedback mechanism allows students to identify areas of weakness promptly and concentrate their efforts on improvement, thereby accelerating the learning process and facilitating the achievement of mastery. For instance, instant grading on online quizzes provides an immediate understanding of errors, allowing students to promptly correct and grasp the necessary concepts. This feature of online learning enhances the educational experience by providing timely insights into performance, thereby aiding in more efficient and effective learning.

12. Customizable Learning Environment

Online learners have the flexibility to create a study space that best suits their needs, from a quiet home office to a local café with headphones, enabling them to tailor their environment to their preferences, which improves concentration and efficiency. This personalization of the study space not only enhances comfort and personal well-being but also positively affects learning outcomes. For example, students can establish a quiet corner in their home equipped with all necessary study materials, crafting an ideal learning environment that fosters productivity and academic success. This adaptability in creating a conducive study setting is a significant advantage of online learning, allowing individuals to optimize their surroundings to support their learning process.

13. Accessibility for Disabled Individuals

Online education is notably more accessible for students with physical disabilities, providing customizable learning experiences and eliminating the need for physical travel. This accessibility ensures equal education opportunities, offering necessary accommodations and support and promoting inclusivity and equal opportunities in education. For example, online courses with features like closed captioning and adjustable text sizes cater to the needs of students with hearing or visual impairments, making learning more accessible.

14. Up-to-date Content

Digital courses can be easily updated to reflect the latest research, technology, and industry trends, ensuring that students receive the most current education. This constant updating keeps learners competitive and relevant in their fields, with courses in rapidly evolving sectors like digital marketing or cybersecurity swiftly incorporating the latest trends and technologies.

Related: Benefits of Online Learning for Working Executives

15. Resource Availability

The availability of resources is a significant benefit of online learning. Many materials, such as e-books, academic papers, and educational videos, are readily accessible, often at no additional cost. This access supports extensive research and a deeper understanding of subjects, with online libraries, journals, and videos greatly enriching students’ research and learning experiences.

16. Reduced Anxiety

For students who experience anxiety in traditional classroom settings, online learning offers a less intimidating environment, allowing them to engage more comfortably with the material. This less stressful and more controlled setting can lead to improved mental health and better academic performance, exemplified by the ease of participating in discussions via online forums compared to face-to-face interactions.

17. Learning Retention

Engaging multimedia content in online courses can significantly enhance memory and information retention, making learning more effective. Interactive elements like virtual reality can simulate real-world scenarios, deepening understanding and aiding recall, enhancing immediate learning and contributing to long-term retention of information.

18. Scalability

Scalability in online learning allows for accommodating many students, making education accessible to a broader audience, and overcoming the physical constraints of traditional classrooms. This scalability enables education delivery to many students, increasing the reach of educational programs and facilitating wider knowledge dissemination. For example, thousands of students can take a popular online course globally, unlike a traditional classroom with limited capacity.

19. Sustainable

Sustainability is a significant advantage of online learning, as it eliminates the need for daily commuting, making it more environmentally sustainable by reducing traffic congestion and lowering emissions. This approach reduces the carbon footprint associated with traditional campus-based education and supports environmental sustainability, aligning with green living practices. For instance, the online learning model significantly reduces travel-related carbon emissions, reducing the overall environmental impact.

Related: Reasons Why the Future of Education Is Online Learning

20. Career Advancement

Online courses offer career advancement opportunities by enabling working professionals to enhance their education and skills without interrupting their careers, thus supporting continuous professional development. This allows individuals to pursue further education while maintaining their career trajectory, enhancing their professional skills and knowledge, and remaining competitive in the job market. An example is an IT professional who can upskill by completing an online cybersecurity course, qualifying for higher-paying and more specialized roles.

21. Innovative Teaching Methods

Innovative teaching methods in online education, such as gamification, virtual reality simulations, and collaborative projects, enrich the learning experience. These methods introduce new and engaging ways of learning that accommodate diverse learning preferences and needs, making the educational process more dynamic and increasing student engagement and success rates. For instance, gamification can make learning more enjoyable and interactive, boosting participation and motivation.

22. Expert Access

Access to experts is a hallmark of online learning. Students can receive instruction from leading figures in various fields, ensuring access to high-quality education and insights, irrespective of their location. This access provides students with the opportunity to learn from top professionals and academics, offering high-caliber education and insights. For example, students can participate in online lectures or workshops led by renowned scholars or industry leaders, which would be inaccessible locally.

23. Networking Opportunities

Networking opportunities abound in online platforms, which often include forums, group projects, and social media connections, enabling students to network globally with peers and professionals. This networking facilitates global connections beneficial for collaborative learning and career development, expanding professional networks, and creating opportunities for future partnerships or employment. Through online courses, students can connect with industry experts and peers worldwide, potentially leading to job opportunities or collaborative projects.

24. Cultural Exchange

Cultural exchange in online courses allows students to interact with peers from different cultural backgrounds, enhancing cultural understanding and exchange. This interaction fosters cultural sensitivity and global awareness, contributing to personal development and preparing students for global work environments. In online settings, group projects can provide collaboration opportunities with peers from various countries, offering valuable insights into diverse cultures and work ethics.

25. Lifelong Learning

Online education supports lifelong learning by offering accessible educational opportunities for individuals at any career or life stage, thereby fostering continuous personal and professional growth. This facilitates ongoing education and skill development, enabling individuals to remain knowledgeable and adaptable throughout their careers. Online education promotes personal fulfillment and professional competitiveness in a rapidly evolving world, with professionals continuously updating their skills through online courses, workshops, and webinars to adapt to industry changes and advance their careers.

Related: Online Learning vs Classroom Learning

Cons of Online Learning

1. lack of social interaction.

Online learners often miss out on the social dynamics of a classroom, leading to potential isolation and reduced interpersonal skills. Overcoming this involves participating in online forums, virtual study groups, and social networks to build connections and engage in social learning.

2. Technology Dependence

The effectiveness of online education largely depends on reliable technology and internet access. To overcome potential barriers, securing access to the required technological resources and establishing contingency plans for technical setbacks is essential. This proactive approach ensures continuity in learning, minimizing disruptions caused by technological issues and maintaining a steady and productive online educational experience.

3. Self-Motivation Requirement

Online learning requires self-motivation and effective time management. To overcome these challenges, establish clear goals, develop a structured study schedule, and employ accountability mechanisms, such as regular check-ins with peers or mentors, to maintain progress and motivation throughout the learning process.

4. Limited Hands-On Experience

The challenge of limited hands-on experience in online learning, particularly in practical subjects, can be addressed by actively seeking supplementary practical opportunities. Engaging in internships, workshops, or lab work can provide real-world experience and hands-on skills that complement and enhance the online educational experience.

5. Screen Fatigue

Extended screen time can lead to eye strain and fatigue. Addressing this issue involves taking regular breaks, performing eye exercises, and creating an ergonomic workspace. These practices help alleviate discomfort and prevent fatigue, enhancing productivity and well-being during prolonged digital engagement. An optimal setup and routine can significantly improve the online learning experience and overall eye health.

6. Potential for Distractions

Home environments may present distractions, affecting concentration. Mitigating this requires establishing a dedicated study area and employing time management techniques to maintain focus and enhance productivity.

Related: EdTech vs eLearning: Key Differences

7. Technical Issues

Online learning is prone to technical problems. Addressing this necessitates honing troubleshooting abilities and consistently engaging with technical support to swiftly resolve issues and ensure a smooth learning experience.

8. Reduced Immediate Feedback

Delayed feedback in online learning can be addressed by students proactively requesting input and participating in platforms that offer immediate responses. By actively seeking evaluations and utilizing quick feedback tools, learners can enhance their understanding and adjust their study approach in real time, leading to a more effective and responsive educational experience.

9. Quality and Accreditation Concerns

The variability in online program quality can affect qualification recognition. Overcoming this involves researching and enrolling in accredited and reputable programs.

10. Limited Instructor Interaction

Limited interaction with instructors in online courses can be countered by students proactively reaching out through different communication methods for guidance. Engaging with teachers via emails, online office hours, and discussion forums can enhance the learning experience, ensuring students receive the mentorship and support they need to succeed in their online academic pursuits.

11. Cultural and Language Barriers

Online learning’s diversity can lead to communication challenges. Overcoming this involves using translation tools and engaging in cultural exchange programs.

12. Requires Strong Digital Literacy

Successful online learning demands proficient digital skills. These skills can be enhanced by attending digital literacy workshops, where participants can improve their technical abilities. Such educational programs equip learners with the expertise to navigate online platforms effectively, ensuring a more efficient and enriched learning experience. This proactive approach to skill development is crucial for optimizing the benefits of digital education.

Related: How to Network in an Online Training Program?

13. Assessment Challenges

Online assessments can pose challenges to integrity and fairness. Overcoming these involves advocating for transparent assessment methods and using online proctoring services.

14. Learning Style Mismatch

Online learning doesn’t accommodate every learning style, but this can be addressed by selecting online programs that provide a variety of teaching methods and materials. By choosing programs that cater to different preferences, such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles, students can enhance their learning experience and outcomes, ensuring a more inclusive and adaptable educational environment.

15. Isolation from Campus Life

Online students often lack the campus experience, but this can be mitigated by participating in virtual activities or attending local events replicating campus life. Engaging in these experiences allows for social interaction, networking, and a sense of community, bridging the gap between online and traditional education environments and enhancing the educational journey.

16. Overreliance on Written Communication

Online learning often relies heavily on written communication. Enhancing communication with video calls and voice messages can overcome this.

17. Time Zone Conflicts

Time zone differences in international online courses can complicate scheduling. To overcome this, strategic planning and scheduling tools are essential for effective coordination. By utilizing these tools, students and instructors can synchronize their activities across different time zones, ensuring that everyone can participate in live sessions and collaborative projects. This enhances the overall learning experience and minimizes the inconvenience caused by geographical disparities.

18. Limited Career Services

Online students often face restricted access to career services. They should utilize online career resources and participate in virtual job fairs to mitigate this. These strategies provide access to career advice, networking opportunities, and potential job openings, effectively bridging the gap between online education and career development. Engaging with these resources can significantly enhance the career prospects of online learners.

19. Minimal Peer Learning

Online courses may reduce opportunities for peer interaction, which is vital for collaborative learning and networking. To counter this, students should actively form or become part of study groups and engage in online discussion forums. These platforms enable the exchange of ideas, enhance understanding through collective learning, and foster a sense of community, effectively bridging the gap in social interaction within the digital learning environment.

20. Lack of Accredited Programs

Accredited online programs are scarce in some fields. Overcoming this limitation requires diligent research to identify industry-recognized, accredited programs. Ensuring accreditation helps validate the quality and credibility of the online education received, aligning it with professional standards and enhancing career prospects.

21. Inadequate IT Support

Insufficient IT support can impede online learning, but overcoming this challenge requires familiarizing oneself with frequent technical problems and pinpointing available support resources. By understanding common technical difficulties and knowing where to seek assistance, students can navigate and resolve IT issues more effectively, ensuring a smoother and more uninterrupted online learning experience.

22. Course Completion Rates

Establishing personal milestones and actively participating in the course community can counter lower completion rates in online learning. Setting individual goals and interacting with peers and instructors creates a more engaging and accountable learning environment. This approach motivates students to persist through their courses, improving completion rates and fostering a sense of achievement and belonging within the online educational setting.

23. Perceptions of Legitimacy

Skepticism regarding the legitimacy of online qualifications exists. To counter this, selecting programs with reputable credentials and clearly articulating the rigor of online coursework can enhance their perceived value. Demonstrating the thoroughness and depth of online education helps gain recognition and respect for these qualifications.

24. Physical Health Concerns

Online learning’s sedentary nature can cause health problems. Mitigating these risks requires engaging in regular physical activities, using ergonomic furniture, and maintaining proper posture. These practices promote physical well-being, preventing the negative health impacts of prolonged sitting and screen time.

25. Emotional Well-being

The solitary aspect of online learning can affect mental well-being. To mitigate this, it’s crucial to lead a balanced lifestyle, cultivate social connections, and utilize mental health resources. Engaging in regular physical and social activities, establishing a support network, and seeking professional help when needed can alleviate the psychological challenges of online education, promoting a healthier, more supportive learning experience..

Exploring the 50 pros and cons of online learning reveals a complex picture where its advantages and disadvantages intertwine. Online education democratizes access to learning, offers flexibility, and tailors to diverse needs, yet encounters challenges like technology disparities, engagement difficulties, and questions of academic integrity. Advancing online learning requires a balanced strategy that amplifies its advantages while methodically mitigating its limitations. As we move forward, integrating innovative solutions, policy reforms, and continuous research will be crucial in enhancing the efficacy and experience of online education, ensuring it serves as a robust and inclusive platform for learners worldwide.

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Essay on Online Education for Student in English

Table of Contents

Digitization and the internet have changed the way we live. Technology has impacted every aspect of our lives. The education sector has seen major disruptions since the launch of online education. Leveraging the power of the internet, many educational institutions allow students to attend lectures and complete a course without having to attend classes in person. During the pandemic, online education thrived, and many schools and colleges opted for it to ensure students don’t miss out on time. However, online education has some advantages and disadvantages. In this essay on online education, we will talk about the pros and cons of online education.

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Introducing the essay on online education

In the simplest terms, online education is about learning using the internet. The educational institutions create a portal where students can log in. The teachers access the portal to create class timetables. The portal sends invites to students who attend the class from their homes. Except for the fact that teachers and students are not in the classroom, online classes are conducted the same. This structure offers certain pros and cons, as detailed below.

Advantages of online education

Here are some pros of online classes:

In an online class, the teachers cannot use textbooks. Hence, they rely on technological tools like videos, podcasts, PDFs, etc., as a part of the lesson plan. This helps increase the efficiency of the teachers since they have more tools at their disposal.

Easy access

This is the most important advantage of online education. Since students are not expected to attend the class physically, educational institutions can reach out to more students. Further, recording the lectures is easy. This ensures that students never miss a class.

Cost-efficiency

When an institution offers an online course, it does not have to bear the costs of infrastructure, electricity, transportation of students, etc. Hence, it can offer courses at much lower fees compared to offline courses. This can help a wider range of students to opt for courses that they couldn’t do earlier.

Better attendance

The flexibility of attending a class from any location helps improve attendance.

Acceptance across different types of students

Traditionally, the only way to learn was to attend a physical class. While some students enjoy a classroom environment, others struggle to find focus in a large group. In an online class, students can choose to attend the class or see the recorded lecture later. This allows them to study as per their choice.

Disadvantages of online education

Here are some cons of online education:

Excessive screen time

Children are already spending much time glued to their screens due to social media platforms. With online classes running into hours, young children’s screen time has increased. According to eye doctors, this can be detrimental to their vision in the long run.

Technology-related problems

Online education is highly dependent on the availability of the internet. In India, the reliability of the internet connection is still an issue in smaller towns and villages. This can impact the learning process of the student.

Children learn a lot of things by socializing with their peers. However, in an online class, this interaction is non-existent. This is especially true if children are from various geographical locations. Over time, this can cause a sense of isolation.

Training the teachers

Most teachers are accustomed to offline classes. Hence, schools and educational institutions need to invest in training teachers on technology and providing them with the tools needed to hold an online classes.

Future of Online Education in India

While online classes were common internationally, their acceptance in India grew during the lockdown. However, there are some challenges that need to be addressed to incorporate online education successfully in India:

• People in rural India need access to computers and training to use them.
• Computers and laptops are costly. The government must ensure that people from economically backward classes get them at affordable prices.
• Practical and laboratory teaching is not possible online. Educators will have to devise an alternative for them.
• An efficient way to conduct an online examination where the students are at home.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has taken various initiatives to oversee and manage digital learning in India. The Ministry is planning to create a dedicated unit for the same. This unit will have experts from diverse fields like IT, education, e-governance, digital pedagogy, etc. This unit will ensure a seamless transition to online education in India.

Summing up the essay on online education

This essay on online education highlights the pros and cons and the future of online education in India. The internet has revolutionized the way we live our lives. Online education is an important milestone in the future of education. Hence, with the right approach and planning, we can ensure that online education benefits children across the length and breadth of the country.

Essay on Online Education FAQs

What is online education essay.

An online education essay is a written piece that discusses the concept and advantages of learning through the internet.

What do you mean by online education?

Online education means learning and taking classes using the internet instead of going to a physical school or college.

How online education is better?

Online education can be better for some because it offers flexibility, access to a variety of courses, and the ability to learn from anywhere with an internet connection.

What is online education in simple words?

Online education means studying and attending classes on a computer or device connected to the internet.

What is online classes paragraph?

Online classes are courses that you can take on the internet. They allow you to learn from your computer at your own pace.

What are the 10 benefits of online classes?

Some benefits of online classes include flexibility, convenience, a wide range of course options, and the ability to learn from home

What is online education speech?

An online education speech is a spoken presentation about the topic of learning through the internet.

What is online education PDF?

An online education PDF is a document or file that contains information about online learning and can be easily shared and read on a computer or device.

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Essay on Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Classes

Online classes have become a significant part of our lives, especially in recent times. They have gained popularity as an alternative to traditional classroom education. In this essay, we will explore the advantages and disadvantages of online classes to help us understand their impact on our learning experiences.

Advantages of Online Classes

One of the most significant advantages of online classes is flexibility. Students can set their own schedules, allowing them to balance their education with other responsibilities. This flexibility can be especially helpful for students who have part-time jobs or extracurricular activities.

Additionally, online classes often offer a wider range of course options. Students can access courses from different schools and even different countries without having to travel. This diversity can enrich their educational experience and expose them to different perspectives.

Online classes can also provide a comfortable learning environment. Students can choose where they study, whether it’s in the comfort of their own homes or a quiet library. This can reduce distractions and help some students focus better on their studies.

Disadvantages of Online Classes

However, online classes also come with their fair share of disadvantages. One major drawback is the lack of face-to-face interaction with teachers and classmates. In traditional classrooms, students can ask questions and seek clarification immediately. In contrast, online learners may need to wait for responses via email or discussion boards, which can be frustrating.

Another disadvantage is the potential for technical issues. Slow internet connections or computer problems can disrupt a student’s learning experience. These technical challenges can be particularly challenging for students who do not have access to reliable technology.

Moreover, online classes require strong self-discipline. Without the structure of a physical classroom, some students may struggle to stay organized and motivated. Procrastination can become a significant issue when there are no set class times.

Balancing Advantages and Disadvantages

To make the most of online classes, it’s essential to find a balance between their advantages and disadvantages. Here are some tips:

• Time Management : Develop good time management skills to ensure you stay on track with assignments and class schedules. Create a daily routine and stick to it.
• Communication : Be proactive in asking questions and seeking help when needed. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your teachers or classmates through email or discussion forums.
• Technical Preparedness : Ensure your technology is up to date and reliable. Back up your work regularly to avoid data loss.
• Engagement : Actively participate in online discussions and activities. This can help you feel more connected to your classmates and teachers.

Conclusion of Essay on Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Classes

In conclusion, online classes offer both advantages and disadvantages. They provide flexibility and a broader range of course options, but they can also lead to challenges like a lack of face-to-face interaction and technical issues. To succeed in online learning, students must develop strong self-discipline and effective time management skills. By finding a balance between these advantages and disadvantages, students can make the most of their online educational experience. Ultimately, whether online classes are right for you depends on your learning style, needs, and circumstances.

Also Check: List of 500+ Topics for Writing Essay

The pros and cons of online learning

What to look for in an online course.

By: MIT xPRO

If you’re at a point in your life where you’re considering continuing your education, you may wonder if online learning is the right path for you.

Taking an online course requires a notable investment of time, effort, and money, so it’s important to feel confident about your decision before moving forward. While online learning works incredibly well for some people, it’s not for everyone.

We recently sat down with MIT xPRO Senior Instructional Designer and Program Manager Luke Hobson to explore the pros and cons of online learning and what to look for in an online course. If you’re waiting for a sign about whether or not to enroll in that course you’ve been eying, you just might find it here.

Pros of Online Learning

First, let’s take a look at the true value of online learning by examining some of the benefits:

1. Flexibility

Online learning’s most significant advantage is its flexibility. It’s the reason millions of adults have chosen to continue their education and pursue certificates and degrees.

Asynchronous courses allow learners to complete work at their own pace, empowering them to find the optimal time to consume the content and submit assignments.

Some people are more attentive, focused, and creative in the mornings compared to the evenings and vice versa. Whatever works best for the learners should be the priority of the learning experience.

2. Community

When Luke asks people about their main reason for enrolling in a course, a common answer is networking and community.

Learners crave finding like-minded individuals who are going through the same experiences and have the same questions. They want to find a place where they belong. Being in the company of others who understand what they’re going through can help online learners who are looking for support and motivation during challenging times and times that are worth celebrating.

Some learners have created study groups and book clubs that have carried on far beyond the end of the course-it’s amazing what can grow from a single post on a discussion board!

3. Latest information

“Speed is a massive benefit of online learning,” and according to Luke, it often doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

“When we say speed, we don’t mean being quick with learning. We mean actual speed to market. There are so many new ideas evolving within technical spaces that it’s impossible to keep courses the way they were originally designed for a long period of time.”

Luke notes that a program on Additive Manufacturing , Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality , or Nanotechnology must be checked and updated frequently. More formal learning modalities have difficulty changing content at this rapid pace. But within the online space, it’s expected that the course content will change as quickly as the world itself does.

Cons of Online Learning

Now that we’ve looked at some of the biggest pros of online learning, let’s examine a few of the drawbacks:

1. Learning environment

While many learners thrive in an asynchronous learning environment, others struggle. Some learners prefer live lessons and an instructor they can connect with multiple times a week. They need these interactions to feel supported and to persist.

Most learners within the online space identify themselves as self-directed learners, meaning they can learn on their own with the right environment, guidance, materials, and assignments. Learners should know themselves first and understand their preferences when it comes to what kind of environment will help them thrive.

2. Repetition

One drawback of online courses is that the structure can be repetitive: do a reading, respond to two discussion posts, submit an essay, repeat. After a while, some learners may feel disengaged from the learning experience.

There are online courses that break the mold and offer multiple kinds of learning activities, assessments, and content to make the learning experience come alive, but it may take some research to find them-more on what to look for in an online course later in this article! Luke and his colleagues at MIT xPRO are mindful of designing courses that genuinely engage learners from beginning to end.

3. Underestimation

Luke has noticed that some learners underestimate how much work is required in an online course. They may mistakenly believe that online learning is somehow “easier” compared to in-person learning.

For those learners who miscalculate how long they will need to spend online or how challenging the assignments can be, changing that mindset is a difficult process. It’s essential to set aside the right amount of time per week to contribute to the content, activities, and assignments. Creating personal deadlines and building a study routine are two best practices that successful online learners follow to hold themselves accountable.

Experience the Value of Online Learning: What to Look For in an Online Course

You’ve probably gathered by now that not all online courses are created equal. On one end of the spectrum, there are methods of online learning that leave learners stunned by what a great experience they had. On the other end of the spectrum, some online learning courses are so disappointing that learners regret their decision to enroll.

If you want to experience the value of online learning, it’s essential to pick the right course. Here’s a quick list of what to look for:

• Feedback and connection to peers within the course platform. Interacting regularly with other learners makes a big difference. Luke and the MIT xPRO team use peer-reviewed feedback to give learners the opportunity to engage with each other’s work.
• Proof of hard work. In the online learning space, proof of hard work often comes in the form of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or specific certifications. MIT xPRO course participants who successfully complete one or more courses are eligible to receive CEUs , which many employers, licensing agencies, and professional associations accept as evidence of a participant’s serious commitment to their professional development.

Online learning isn’t for everyone, but with the right approach, it can be a valuable experience for many people. Now that you know what to look for in an online course, see what Luke and the MIT xPRO instructional design team have to offer by checking out the latest MIT xPRO courses and programs .

Originally published at http://curve.mit.edu on August 8th, 2022.

The pros and cons of online learning was originally published in MIT Open Learning on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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Are Online Classes Worth It? 12 Pros & Cons

• 12 Sep 2019

A third of all students now take online courses . Although the reasons why vary, there are several key benefits to learning virtually—from increased flexibility to lower costs.

But online courses aren’t for everyone. Some individuals want to engage with faculty face-to-face or need the in-person touchpoints to stay on track and motivated.

If you’re mulling over the decision to take an online class, it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons against your career goals and preferred learning style. To help you decide, here are some advantages and disadvantages to learning online.

Pros of Online Learning

1. you can learn on your time.

Online courses offer unparalleled flexibility, particularly for undergraduate students trying to learn a new skill outside of their major or working professionals already juggling a full-time job . You can complete coursework when it’s convenient for you, whether that’s after work or during your lunch break.

You can also schedule your learning around when you’re most likely to retain new information. Whether you’re an early riser or a night owl, you can log in whenever is the optimal time for you.

2. You Can Learn at Your Speed

Some students don’t feel comfortable raising their hand in class and asking the professor to reexplain a topic their peers already seem to grasp. In an online learning environment, you can pause videos or return to concepts covered in previous modules. You can dive deeper into a particular topic instead of skimming over it.

3. You Can Save Money

While there are many free online courses, even those that aren’t still typically cost less than their on-campus counterparts. By learning virtually, you eliminate room and board fees, as well as any commuting costs. And because there’s greater flexibility, you can simultaneously earn a paycheck and an education.

Related: Should You Take an Online Course? 9 Things to Consider

4. You Can Break Down Geographic Barriers

When choosing an online program, you’re not limited by location. You can register for a program abroad without needing to board a plane.

The lack of geographical constraints extends to your peers, too. Online courses offer the opportunity for you to engage with fellow learners from around the world. Through that interaction, you can gain a global perspective and learn how to work collaboratively with people from different backgrounds and countries— skills employers say they look for in candidates .

5. You Can Gain Practical Tech Skills

Completing an online course proves you’re comfortable with technology, which could positively impact your resume as more companies embrace remote work. Showing you’re familiar with digital tools, know how to communicate effectively, and can stay organized are all traits employers look for. And those are the same traits you’ll pick up in an online class.

6. You Can Achieve Similar Career Outcomes

There are several misconceptions about online learning—particularly that you won’t achieve the same outcomes or respect from employers that you would by attending an on-campus program. But that’s not always the case.

In a recent survey by City Square Associates , 50 percent of learners reported receiving more attention from recruiters after completing a Harvard Business School Online course, while one in four said they received a promotion or title change. An online certificate from a reputable institution can have the same, or even better, impact on your resume than a more traditional degree.

Related: 6 Networking Tips for Online Learners

Cons of Online Learning

1. you might have limited, if any, interaction with faculty.

Depending on the type of online program you choose, you could have limited, if any, interaction with the professors. Your peers may be able to fill that void and answer your questions, but you should consider the level of faculty engagement you need to feel like you’re making progress.

2. You Can't Be Disorganized

Completing an online course requires time management and self-discipline. Because you’re not required to be in class on certain days each week, it’s your responsibility to set aside time to study and work through assignments. If you’re highly organized and can commit to a schedule, then you should succeed in an online environment.

Related: 3 Time Management Tips for Online Learners

3. You Might Have Potentially Fewer Networking Opportunities

Depending on the course you choose, there could be fewer opportunities to network with peers. If the social element is crucial to you, choose an online learning platform built around peer interaction and active participation , or perhaps even offers events .

For example, at Harvard Business School Online, more than 60 percent of surveyed past participants say they feel part of a community with similar aspirations.

4. You Really Need to Do Your Research

With more than 11,400 free massive open online courses available alone, the options can be overwhelming.

As you’re compiling research, jot down the qualities you want in an online education to help whittle down the list. Is earning a credential vital to you? Do you want a more immersive, interactive experience instead of engaging solely with videos? By knowing your preferences, it will be easier to spot and eliminate programs that aren’t the right fit.

5. You Can't Always Find Industry-Specific Online Training

Despite the abundance of online courses, there are still limited opportunities for more specialized industries. But if you’re committed to advancing your career, there are business skills that can help you no matter your profession and online courses that can fill gaps in your skillset .

6. You Might Need to Fight Against Misconceptions

Although online learning is growing in popularity, there’s still some lingering skepticism. That’s changing, though; in a survey of executives, 83 percent said that an online degree is just as credible as one earned through a traditional campus-based program. According to employers, if the online program was from a reputable institution with high-quality learners, it was deemed more credible.

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Online Learning

Only you can decide if online classes are for you, based on your unique personal and professional goals and preferred learning style. For many working professionals interested in advancing their careers, online courses offer the flexibility and convenience they need to balance developing new skills with their current life stage and job responsibilities.

Do you want to take your career to the next level? Download our free Guide to Advancing Your Career with Essential Business Skills to learn how enhancing your business knowledge can help you make an impact on your organization and be competitive in the job market.

About the Author

Is Online Learning as Good as Face-to-Face? Where It Shines and Doesn’t

“I am so confident that online education is an equity issue. And what I mean by that is there is a group of people that can’t be there… So if we can provide high-quality online education to those people, we’ve done something wonderful. We’re really leveling the playing field when it comes to accessibility.” Dr. Grant Linsell, Dean of Arts and Cultural Programs and the Dean of Distance Education at Rio Hondo College

When the pandemic began in the United States in March of 2020, one of the biggest and most immediate changes was the shift from in-person learning to distance education. According to the US Census, 93 percent of households with school-aged children experience some form of distance learning because of Covid-19. College campus across the county sent their students home for Spring Break, then swiftly made plans to move classes online.

At the time. Dr. Grant Linsell was working as the Dean of Arts and Cultural Programs at Rio Hondo College in Los Angeles County. “In the space of three days, we went from having about 350 courses with an online footprint to 1,487 courses,” he remembers.

Mikaela Doherty was a graduate student at Southern Oregon University when the pandemic altered her plans for her degree: “My program was a master’s in outdoor adventure and expedition leadership. We had coordinated and developed this whole term called spring immersion in which we would have taken the undergraduate students out on five- to ten-day excursions. We had spent three months planning each trip, including budgets, travel gear, everything that we needed. And then three weeks before spring term, we got the news that it wasn’t going to happen,” she shares.

Distance learning is not new, with correspondence courses being around since the 1800s. However, they became more prevalent and went online with the technical revolution in the 1990s. Covid-19 simply accelerated a process already in motion.

“I think what the pandemic has done for us is it forced instructors and administrators to offer everything online. Even things that we were recalcitrant against having online in the past. And, to a lot of people’s surprise, some things that they knew for sure wouldn’t work well online actually kind of do,” says Dr. Linsell.

So is online learning as good as face-to-face? Continue reading to learn from an expert in the field and a graduate student who has experienced it first hand.

Meet the Experts

Mikaela Doherty

Mikaela Doherty holds a master’s of interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in non-profit management and outdoor leadership from Southern Oregon University. Her thesis was on barriers and opportunities in recreation and how the current outdoor recreation culture must shift to be equitable, accessible, and inclusive for everyone.

Doherty’s bachelor’s in psychology is also from Southern Oregon. She is a passionate outdoorswoman and has a certificate in wilderness first response from the National Outdoor Leadership School.

Grant Linsell, PhD

Dr. Grant Linsell is the dean of arts and cultural programs and the dean of distance education at Rio Hondo College in Los Angeles County. He holds a doctorate in wind ensemble conducting from Arizona State University and music degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of Michigan.

Dr. Linsell is a sought-after presenter, conductor, and clarinetist, with his main research foci being online teaching and learning, music education, and the music of Igor Stravinsky.

The Benefits of Online Learning

It is undeniable there are some real benefits to online learning.

“I am so confident that online education is an equity issue,” says Dr. Linsell. “And what I mean by that is there is a group of people that can’t be there. And they can’t be there for a lot of reasons. Maybe they can’t be there because they’re caretakers. Maybe they can’t be there because they have a disability that impacts their mobility. Maybe they can’t be there because they have a disability that doesn’t allow them to interface with a roomful of people in a way that makes them feel comfortable. Maybe they need assistive technologies to learn that aren’t compatible with a normal classroom experience. Maybe they just need more time. So if we can provide high-quality online education to those people, we’ve done something wonderful. We’re really leveling the playing field when it comes to accessibility.

For Ms. Doherty, who ended up switching out of her master’s in outdoor adventure and expedition leadership for one in interdisciplinary studies that could be completed more easily online, she also saw some benefits to online learning: “The main benefit was that I could pick and choose my schedule. There were set deadlines, but other than that, it was pretty fluid. I determined when I went to school. I was working like five jobs at the time and trying to make ends meet that way. I could just log on and do my work anytime. It was nice to not have to be present for a scheduled class time,” she shares.

Dr. Linsell agrees that scheduling flexibility is a major advantage of distance-based education: “Online learning also solves time issues, and it makes it so that class is much more flexible for a lot of these students. Folks are finding that there is a large group of students who are doing better in an online modality than they are in person. And it’s not a majority, but it’s way more than anybody thought,” he says.

Another benefit to online learning is that it can help with classroom overcrowding: “More online learning could solve space problems. We’re operating on a campus right now that was originally constructed for about 5,000 students, and we now have 18,000 students,” says Dr. Linsell.

What Subjects Are Best for Online Learning?

“If we can find disciplines where we’re after knowledge acquisition and practice of skills that are observable online, then we do really well,” says Dr. Linsell. “So, an example is writing. We can teach writing extraordinarily well online because the experience of a student writing, revising, getting feedback, revising, etc., is very similar in person to what it is in an online experience.”

Dr. Linsell continues, “We have a lot of courses that we colloquially refer to as ‘flipped pedagogy,’ where you do your schoolwork at home and then your homework at school in a lab. We just pushed through a whole bunch of auto tech classes, where students will do the lecture materials on their own time online, And then when they come into the lab, they’re just in the lab working on cars and working with the instructors.”

Online learning also works particularly well for non-traditional students who have specific time constraints: “One of the things that we noticed is that students that are enrolled in online asynchronous courses, in other words, they can just log on and do the work when they need to, are skewing older, and they’re skewing later in their career. So those people are taking advantage of these classes because they work a full-time job, or maybe they don’t have a schedule that allows them to go to class when it’s scheduled,” says Dr. Linsell.

The Challenges of Online Learning

As with any learning methodology, online learning has its struggles and limitations.

The lack of structure from asynchronous courses was a struggle for Ms. Doherty: “I’m much more of a social learner. And I personally don’t have great time management. I would leave things to the last minute and didn’t have a teacher or somebody that I felt accountable to other than just myself. There was no real connection with any of the other students. I was literally reading a book and writing questions and submitting them and not even getting that much feedback from instructors,” she says.

Dr. Linsell has also found this to be true in the numerous online classes he has taught and supervised: “There are these systems that we as humans have developed evolutionarily, to work as a society, and they don’t work at a distance,” he says.

Because of this, teaching online can be extremely exhausting for both students and teachers. “When we’re in the room together and my limbic system is talking to yours, there are things that can work. When we don’t have that insight, it can be really hard. If we can find a way in emotionally and if we can meet students where they are online, then we can do well,” says Dr. Linsell.

He then adds, “You can earn emotional and interpersonal capital in a room full of people. But you can only spend it online. The instructors that I oversee that are the most successful are the ones who have found a way to humanize the experience and make people feel like they’re part of ‘a thing.’ Regardless of what the subject is, if your students feel like they’re part of something, then they do it really well and success rates start to approach those of in-person learning.”

However, there are some types of teaching that will likely never do well online. While Ms. Doherty and her cohort managed to teach their spring immersion course, it never approximated the experience of taking multiple five- to ten-day trips in the wilderness: “Within two weeks, we had to plan a whole curriculum of online learning for skills that are taught hands-on in the field. How do you teach someone how to paddle properly? How do you teach this from a screen?” she says.

Dr. Linsell, a music educator first and foremost, has found that music teaching can be extremely difficult online: “If things need to happen in time like if there is a temporal component to the instruction, it doesn’t work very well. My discipline doesn’t work well in an online modality because one of the most important things that we deal with is this concept of rhythmic entrainment. We don’t have systems with a small enough latency that I could play a clarinet duet with someone and have it sound good,” he says.

The Verdict: Do Students Learn Better Online or in a Classroom?

The truth is that it depends .

Ms. Doherty, for example, understands the benefits of online learning, but it just wasn’t for her. “I definitely don’t want to say no to online learning because I feel it is necessary and advantageous to people who are working mothers or fathers and need the time to bust out assignments after they get off work at night. Or if someone wants to go to a school that is halfway across the country but can’t feasibly move there. But it’s no more online learning for me,” she shares.

Dr. Linsell, as an administrator, knows that online education has come a long way in approximating the quality of face-to-face learning. “When online education first started as a thing, the success rates were 12 to 14 points lower than in-person instruction. More students were failing than in-person classes. But as we’ve kind of journeyed through learning how to teach online, those success rates are converging. We can look at some of the biggest data sets that we have, which in my case is the California Community Colleges system. We have 2.4 million students on 115 campuses and we can see that over the years, those two numbers have been coming together. Currently, on our campus, online instruction and face-to-face instruction are only one or two percentage points different as far as success goes,” he shares.

“If students have access to a computer, high-quality high-speed internet, and, most importantly, to a place where they can learn, then the success rates between in-person and online are approaching each other,” says Dr. Linsell. “When I say success, I’m speaking of a metric that we use in administration that literally just means passing.”

In closing, Dr. Linsell notes that supporting teachers and professors through the transition to online instruction is essential to the success of distance-based learning: “Teachers have to be good at teaching online for it to work. They have to be deeply invested in learning the pedagogy. They have to spend time to become comfortable in that modality and learn the best practices. And if they aren’t part of an institution that values that time, if they’re not part of an institution that provides adequate professional development resources, it’s just another thing that we asked teachers to do for free,” he says.

Kimmy Gustafson

Kimmy Gustafson is a freelance writer with extensive experience writing about healthcare careers and education. She has worked in public health, at health-focused nonprofits, and as a Spanish interpreter for doctor’s offices and hospitals. She has a passion for learning and that drives her to stay up to date on the latest trends in healthcare. When not writing or researching, she can be found pursuing her passions of nutrition and an active outdoors lifestyle.

Online college classes can be better than in-person ones. The implications for higher ed are profound.

Subscribe to the center for technology innovation newsletter, john villasenor john villasenor nonresident senior fellow - governance studies , center for technology innovation.

February 10, 2022

When the Covid pandemic started in early 2020, colleges shifted to remote learning out of necessity. With large in-person gatherings in classrooms suddenly off-limits, online instruction was viewed as the lesser of two evils—inferior to in-person classes, but infinitely better than no classes at all.

Two years later, something unexpected has happened. For many college courses, online instruction is proving to be far more effective than many people anticipated. Why? One key reason is that today’s communications networks and consumer devices enable much higher quality telepresence than was possible a decade ago. But another reason is that due to the pandemic, enormous numbers of students and instructors have gained proficiency with online learning software.

In particular, the mass adoption of Zoom in higher education has created a network effect where its utility as an instructional tool is amplified by the number of people who have become familiar with using it. The quality of a well-run synchronous (i.e., live, as opposed to pre-recorded) online class can now rival—and in some respects exceed—the quality of the in-person equivalent.

Supporting a broader range of learning styles

Synchronous online instruction allows a richer set of interactions. When I am teaching online, the Zoom “chat” window often becomes a nonstop stream of insightful ideas, reactions, and web links provided by students. Rather than distracting from the course, the chat dialog enriches it. Students ask and answer questions from me and from each other, offer thoughts, and react to posts from their peers. In a recent class discussion regarding the First Amendment, as soon as I mentioned several related Supreme Court cases, one of the students dropped links to the rulings into the chat. There’s simply no analog to this parallel form of engagement in a traditional in-person class.

I’ve also found that there are students who are reticent about speaking up during in-person classes, but comfortable using the chat function in online classes to provide written comments or questions. It makes me wonder: How many thoughtful, interesting perspectives went unexpressed in my pre-pandemic in-person classes? Clearly, there must have been students in those classrooms who would have been happy to provide their ideas in written form had that been feasible, but who instead stayed silent because it was not.

Another advantage of online instruction is the expanded ability to invite non-local guest speakers. In the past two years, I have hosted speakers in my online UCLA classes from as far away as Argentina. I now marvel at the time inefficiency of some of the pre-pandemic trips that I made when I was a guest speaker—when I would spend a full day, and sometimes more, to take a round trip plane flight in order to spend 90 minutes in a classroom at another university. It’s asking a lot to expect a guest speaker to devote that much time in order to participate in a single class meeting. By contrast, online guest appearances take only an hour or two of the speaker’s time, making the universe of people who are available to speak vastly larger.

In addition, at the many colleges that currently require students and instructors to be masked while in a physical classroom, there’s another advantage to online instruction that’s so obvious and fundamental that it often goes unstated: it’s a lot easier to understand what someone is saying when you can see their face.

Recognition of the potential advantages of online instruction isn’t new. A paper published back in 2001 noted that online courses could “address a variety of learning styles,” allow “access to a larger variety of quality resources,” and enable instructors to “use creative teaching methods in delivering material.” Due to the pandemic-induced mass adoption of online college instruction, those predictions have proven to be true on a scale that would have been hard to imagine two decades ago.

Challenges in online learning environments

Of course, online learning has downsides as well. As a 2018 paper addressing “Online learning in higher education” put it, “an online environment might benefit certain types of engagement, but may also be somewhat of a deterrent to others.”

A key disadvantage to online instruction is that there are categories of courses for which it falls woefully short—think chemistry laboratories, studio art classes, and the like. An additional vitally important concern is that online learning can be isolating. An online class doesn’t allow the level of spontaneous interactions among students that occur before, in, and after in-person class meetings. That’s an important mechanism for students to find study partners and teammates for class projects, and more generally to socialize and to get to know their peers.

There are also well-documented equity concerns with online learning , including the fact that not all students have a home with access to reliable internet and a computer. But there are also equity issues on the other side of the ledger. Not all students are in a position to live on-campus or within easy commuting distance of one. And some students have caregiving responsibilities for a young child or elderly relative that limit their flexibility for leaving home. For those students, it can be more equitable to offer online instruction than to require their presence in a physical classroom.

Rethinking college online instruction

The bottom line is that the preconceived notions that I and many others in higher education had about the supposedly unambiguous inferiority of online classes have proven to be wrong. Unfortunately, few college administrators are likely to acknowledge the advantages of synchronous online instruction. Doing so would call into question the entire model of the residential college—a concept that is a multi-billion-dollar business, a central feature of the American cultural landscape, and a rite of passage all rolled up into one.

But a more objective, pandemic-seasoned appraisal of online learning would admit that thanks to technology, the campus classroom—the actual and symbolic core around which all that college has come to mean is constructed—no longer needs to be a physical room. We are probably not ready to imagine how higher education might look if it were redesigned from the ground up, taking full advantage of the opportunities created by technology to maximize student engagement and instructional quality, accessibility, and equity.

One thing is sure: It would look very different from the higher education ecosystem we have today.

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TAM is a non-profit organization with goals to maintain and perpetuate the Telugu Samskriti(Culture), Sahityam(Literature) and Sampradayam(Tradition) among the Telugu speaking people of Maine. TAM intends to organize unique cultural and literary events that depict the rich cultural heritage traditions and arts of Andhra Pradesh.

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