Education Technology

Op-Ed

Online Learning or In-Person Learning?

By eLearning Inside
November 16, 2021

In the past couple of years, online learning and online education have become widely accepted, especially after the COVID pandemic during which almost everyone shifted to e-learning as a way to continue their studies.

Now, students from across the globe have started to see the benefits of online learning over the conventional methods of learning, from asynchronous accessibility to learning in any location. Let’s have a look at some reasons why students are preferring e-learning over conventional methods of learning:

Flexibility

There is no denying the fact that online learning and online education can provide some form of flexibility. Compare it with our regular school or college days which start at around 8 AM or 9 AM. With online studying, students do not need to start at a specific time.

The flexibility of e-learning allows the students to learn at a pace at which they feel comfortable. Learning on their own can reduce a lot of pressure and burden off students’ minds and “allows students to slowly grasp concepts and ensure full comprehension before moving forward,” which leads to achieving better overall grades.

Allows The Students To Learn At Their Own Pace

Online learning allows the students to learn at their own pace. Some students are better at studying and are able to learn things more quickly than others and during conventional methods of learning, some students can lag behind the rest of the class due to which a huge amount, of course, adds up.

In online learning, students are able to work and learn things at their own pace. If a student is weak in a particular subject or particular topic then they can take more time on that topic to hold a better grasp over it. In an online learning environment, it is better understood that not every student learns at the same pace, and students are given the freedom to move at their own pace.

Personalized Learning

In conventional physical classes, a normal classroom has anywhere between 20-40 students in each class which makes personalized learning difficult. However, in online classes, the size of the class is usually small and they are designed in such a way that every student is able to take advantage of them. Online education offers a personalized way of learning for students which fosters their particular needs.

Online classrooms are designed for personalized learning to address the specific needs of students, their strengths, and weaknesses. Since the whole online education system is designed to help students, any time students feel like they are bored, they can take a few shorts breaks to relax. During which, they can check out their social media accounts on, Twitter, Omegle, or Instagram, or visit social websites such as Facebook, or OmeTV to cool off and ree-engage after a few minutes. These things are not available in conventional classrooms, making it another plus for online learning.

Pursue Things Other Than Education

When attending conventional classes students have to go to school or university and the schedule is usually pretty tight, leaving students with only a few hours to get their homework or studying done and the only time the students get to themselves is on the weekends.

However, with online learning, that is not the case due to flexible schedules. Not only can students join online classes from anywhere but while they are doing so, they can do other things. The students can set a morning-only schedule for their classes after which they can pursue other things such as playing a sport or working part-time. The students can even travel around the world and still be able to join their classes as long as they have a working internet connection.

Featured Image: Emmanuel Ikwuegbu, Unsplash.