By Katrina Bergey
In this day and age, online learning is becoming more and more common as technology is a dominating force. Many schools are using online tools on snow days so the district no longer has to make up the extra snow days. Many college kids now take online courses, too. Online learning is not just for students, many employers are now asking employees to use this tool. There are a significant amount of differences with a few similarities. How do these differences affect the actual learning of students?
One of the biggest differences is the human interaction. Online learning has virtually no real interactions with others. There may be videos or demonstrations but no way for people to verbally converse. This can be a huge downfall because people can’t ask the questions they immediately have or communicate their thoughts. People seldom work with others when using online courses, which can prohibit them from fully grasping the content or looking at situations from different perspectives. Verbal communication and physical engagement is a huge benefit for every situation but especially in a learning environment. Some believe online learning keeps everything very consistent because it typically is one standardized course, but classrooms depend on teachers and their approaches to teaching. Classrooms change from day to day, even hour to hour, while online courses remain relatively constant.
A big factor most employers look at is the cost. The cost of having an actual instructor, a place to meet, travel, and allowing people to go to the training is much greater than most online courses. An article on the Gyrus website stated that businesses and organizations save between 50-70% when they use online courses instead of a physical classroom setting. That is a substantial amount of money that can be saved by employers or organizations, by doing online courses.
Another huge difference between actual classrooms and online classrooms is the flexibility. Online learning allows people to use it whenever they have free time, wherever they may be. There are no real restrictions when it comes to when and where you do your online courses, making it very convenient for everyone. Going to classes can pose as a problem sometimes, whether it’s a scheduling conflict, transportation problem, or weather issues. Classrooms can be significantly more inconvenient. It takes a lot more planning to ensure you can make it to the class, whereas online you don’t have to worry about any of those problems.
One of the main things people are concerned with is how to track the productivity and progress of the learners. Both classrooms and online courses can track both of those things fairly easily. Classrooms typically have tests, quizzes, and assignments to trace how well people are doing and the headway they make. Online courses can do the exact same thing. Some speculate that online courses can actually track the progress better than regular classrooms because you can automatically see exactly how they do every time.
The effectiveness of both online learning and classrooms is really based on individuals. Some may flourish with online learning while others struggle. Certain people may need human guidance and interaction to keep them focused and on task while others prefer to be their own guiding force. The success of online learning or classrooms is truly based on people and how they function.
Online learning is a great tool and so is an actual classroom setting. Online courses are increasingly popular as technology advances and becomes more prominent. Both online courses and classrooms have more differences than similarities. These are meant to help teach others but take very different approaches. There are advantages and disadvantages to both ways. It is mainly based on individuals more than anything.
Katrina Bergey is a student at Fillmore Central High School. She is one of eight area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 20th year.