Over the past two years educational institutions have seen their fair share of challenges to say the least. We have seen a multitude of different ways to cope and adjust to the ever changing rules and protocols. Most notably however, the change from in person, to virtual classrooms.
While this change was of course made for the safety of all staff and students, can you make the argument that it’s actually a better format overall? Are online classes more beneficial to students in the long run? Are they a detriment to teachers? Let’s weigh the pros and cons of online learning
Let’s start with the pros shall we. Now in the spirit of transparency, most of the pros come from the perspective of students. Not many good things come from virtual schooling from a teacher’s perspective.
The fact that students physically aren’t in class comes with a fair amount of positives actually. For one, there’s no travel commute. While that could be a positive for teachers as well, many have taken to holding class from their offices on campus now there’s lesser restrictions. But for students it makes things that much easier. Not only do students living a great distance from campus not have to worry about the commute, sitting in traffic, being late to class getting up at an ungodly hour of the morning to get to class, but it proves to be a financial benefit in its own right. For many students, car insurance is only a necessity to get to and from school. If we eliminate the need to pay for the car to go to school, many opt to not have a car in use in the first place. On top of that there’s the cost of gas, and paying for parking at school is not cheap, as well all know. For students who don’t have or use a car, they aren’t worried about transit fairs which are increasingly rising every single year.
Outside of this, being from remote locations obviously protects everyone and has everyone’s safety in mind but it provides students with the benefit of time as well. Without the travel commutes too and from class, students are able to go right to their school work once class ends. I for one find that tackling my assignments directly out of a zoom class gives me the opportunity to pound out the assignment while the content is still fresh in my mind. A mindset I’m sure I share with many of my peers. In addition, the handing in of said assignments becomes much easier. A simple submission onto the online learning hub makes keeping track of assignments that much easier. Not that physical copies of papers or worksheets are that common anymore, but this prevents the ones that are out there from getting lost in any way.
Unfortunately, from this man’s perspective at least, that marks the end of the pro list for online learning. Convenience is great, but that’s not why us students are here. We are here -and paying thousands of dollars to be here I might add- to learn. And not being in person, physically there to be able to connect with the instructor and have a hands-on learning experience hinders your ability to get the best education possible.
( Source: CTVnews.ca)
I imagine teachers would agree with me on that as well. Not being able to be there and connect with your class, would make it that much harder to deliver the best possible lecture you could. There’s no way a teacher can ensure every student gets it either? And let’s not underestimate the difficulty in teaching a class of 40-plus students to use, for example, a video editing software over a Zoom call, and then make sure everyone is following along no problem? Doesn’t sound all that easy to me.
It’s not as simple as a student raising their hand in a classroom when everyone is communicating virtually. And handing in all these assignments virtually might be easy for a student to make sure they get it in on time, but I can’t imagine that makes it any easier for a teacher to actually mark the assignment itself.
One of the more serious difficulties with online learning is the inability to monitor and ensure academic integrity from students. With students not being able to get as much individual attention, or hands on learning from the teachers -no matter the subject mind you- teachers can’t always be sure their students are entirely prepared for the exams. Not that it’s their responsibility to do so, students still need to be accountable.
But the worst part, and I’m sure almost everyone would agree with me, is the simple lack of socialization with our peers. Outside of gaining an education and studying the field in which you want to make a career in, school is about socialization, and not just in a way of making friends. Going to school, in a program that is full of people wanting to break through the exact same field you are in, can be a great thing. School is about making those connections with the people you may one day call a co-worker, or that person you need to interview for a breakthrough story if you’re in a journalism program for example. Maybe you meet the person you co-found a business with. Or maybe for god sakes you simply make a new friend. One that makes the courses easier on you, one to study with, or maybe you meet your next best friend. Regardless, being online and not in class physically complete takes away that possibility.
(Youtube/ Tedx Talks)
It seems online classes and virtual education are inevitable for the future with no real sight in returning to full time in person any time soon. And unfortunately, it’s becoming increasingly hard to say that that is a good thing. From either the perspective of a student or a teacher, there really are not many positive things to say about online learning other than “i get to sleep in more before my class”. As this way of learning seems to be a mainstay for now, I wish I could say I’m happy and or excited about it, but after weighing the pros and the cons, I simply can’t do that.