The debate between online learning vs offline learning has become a prominent one in today’s times. With the surge of COVID-19, the whole world had to undergo massive digitalization. We realized we could get so much done with the aid of man’s brainchild – technology. Be it working from home, conducting day to day operations, taking meetings, attending school and classes we found ways to go on with life.
Amidst all this, students started to realize that whether the pandemic existed or not there were some major reasons why there’s such a strong attraction towards online learning. For starters, by taking classes indoors students all over have realized a few things offline learning puts you through that can actually be cut out of the chase.
“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, then we rob our children of their tomorrow.”
John Dewey
Here are a few reasons why students don’t prefer offline learning after having taken so many online classes lately given the circumstances.
Fixed classes at fixed timings:
Offline Learning of study requires your physical presence at a fixed time on a particular day. This leaves no room for flexibility and you need to reschedule your day around your classes instead of accommodating them seamlessly as part of your routine.
Commuting takes up too much time:
Students get less time to introspect and self-study as they are wasting time commuting between school, coaching and other classes.
Longer classes mean less attention:
It has been proven that humans have a certain attention span after which absorbing information gets tough and retaining it is monotonous. Offline classes tend to have longer schedules as the lecturer tries to finish as much syllabus as they can which may become uninteresting for students.
Difficult for working individuals to accommodate:
Learning has no age and with our progressive society of today, even working individuals try to balance both classes and their jobs. Offline mode of study is difficult to opt for employed people.
Extra expenses:
Offline classes or on campus classes are always more expensive than online classes. These charges could include transportation, facilities, additional expenses for attending school and college every day.
No repeat lectures:
The lectures given during offline classes cannot be repeated whenever required as opposed to online classes which can be retained, rewinded and can be viewed multiple times as per the convenience of the students.
Higher chances of missing syllabus targets:
In case of any unavoidable cause, if a student can’t make it to an offline class they miss out on lessons and therefore, ultimately on their syllabus targets as well.
Less individual attention:
For teachers in offline classes it gets difficult for them to individually pay a lot of attention to each student unlike online classes where it’s easier for the student as well as the teacher to focus on each other.
Remote learning:
No option for remote learning in offline classes as students have to make it to the venue of the class as opposed to online learning where a student can comfortably study from their own space, anywhere in the world.
Less parental monitoring:
Once children are sent to school, parents transfer the responsibility to the teachers there and don’t really know how their child is faring at schools unless for a parent-teacher meeting. However, online classes enable parents also to keep a check and they are able to track their children’s progress more closely by being at home with them during their classes.
Conclusion
While there may be divided opinions on the topic, it’s very popularly said that “Technology cannot replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational.”
