Pros and Cons of Online Education

Online education is becoming more and more popular amongst the students around the world. In the drastically changing world, the way of education is also changing. Many consider online education a thing of lesser value, but, is that really true? According to some researches online education enables the student to do better than those who prefer normal traditional classes. So let's consider the positive aspect of online education

1. Flexibility.

One of the most biggest advantages of online education is increased flexibility. You can study whenever you want, whatever you want, wherever you want. Well, that doesn't meant that the workload is less on a student studying online. If the classes are not a live one on cloud video conferencing platforms like Zoom etc., the flexibility in schedule is really a noticeable and popular aspect of online education.

2. More Affordable.

If you ever check out courses on sites like Coursera, Udemy, Skillshare etc. you will notice the prices for the courses are much more lesser than your average fees at school. Infact many of the sites provide discount and a preview to their courses so that you can have an idea of what that course is all about so that you can think if the course is worth spending money.

3. Ease of Access.

All you need for online studying is to have a computer or a mobile phone with a stable internet connection. All your study materials including video lectures, assignments are sent to you via some kind of file transfer system. You can actually enjoy learning just by sitting on your couch.

4. Help you to meet people of your kind.

Yes, you can create or join a community of your kind of people with similar interest. The online courses connects you with the global village. Being connected with people of similar interest in a hub definitely improves your skills.

5. Provides life-long learning.

Most of the people are visual learners. You would almost never forget the hammer of Thor and the inventions by Iron Man. While studying online, you get a better look of the diagrams that lasts long in brain. 3D animation now provides a long lasting sensation to the eye and you can remember the stuffs learned online very quickly.

6. You can take break anytime.

You no longer need to sit for long hours to listen the lectures. All you need is to pause the video and in meantime you can drink some water to refresh yourself and get started again!

So now you got the idea. The point is that we live in a fast changing society which is always looking for better possibilities of learning.

Besides all the above mentioned advantages, there are several negative aspects of online education that need to be read.

1. Not everyone has access to the internet.

It has been decades since when internet was invented but still the big pie of the population is devoid of stable internet connection. The rural areas of big countries like India that accounts major part of the population is still thriving on 3G which works worse than 2G.

2. It needs self-control.

Self-Control is the key. Have you ever been through that condition when you are attending online classes and suddenly Facebook notification pops up and you got busy in reading the post of your friend and spent hours scrolling down those pages? Well, you really need a self control to do what is important.

3. Could be distractive.

Ever faced that moment when you are attending online classes and your Mom starts to yell your name loudly, your cousin starts shouting for phone and your sister plays pop music at fullest volume? Well, Online Education is full of distraction that could hinder you from learning the stuffs. The traditional classes offered great peace and silence that is must for learning something new.

4. No instructor.

You no longer have a teacher who will be looking after you whether you are attentive in those online classes. There will be no one to instruct you anymore since you get a kind of freedom in online eduaction.

5. Missing the joy of being at school.

This point is emotional so it surpasses most of the advantages of online classes. By attending online classes, you really miss those joyful moments of being at school. One really misses the jokes by teachers, the prank by classmates, the friendly fights in school washroom, the bunking of class, the sweat pressure of weekly tests, and those endless talks with your bestie! :)

There are many other things to consider while taking the final decision. As on the Internet one can't study subjects that require hands on learning like neuro-science and Chemistry. One can't become doctor by just seeing online lectures but one can become Developer or Data Scientist with the help of Intenet. So, I hope you got the point now.