Online learning

It is a fact that online learning is becoming popular due to its convenience and easy operation. Through a platform, it is provided for students as an option to substitute traditional classrooms at many universities. This has caused people to think about whether it is beneficial to distance education. Online learning would bring certain benefits but there will also be some drawbacks.
On the one hand, it is clear that online learning would create several advantages. One evident strength is that it would become more important in case of a natural calamity of emergency. The perfect example in this regard is the recent COVID 19 pandemic that the world is still recovering from. To date, many schools are running online classes, for the safety of students. Online learming is indeed a safer alternative to school education. Another reason is that it would help to reduce financial costs. Online learning is far more affordable as compared to traditional learning. This is because online learning eliminates the cost points of student transportation, students meals, and the other miscellaneous expenses. Sometimes even the textbooks are also available online and are priced much lower than the hard copies. Student can download one at your convenience and they all have the same content as real books. Last but not least, it allows learners to be exposed to a new way of learning. Online lectures can be recorded, archived and shared for internal reference. Recording lectures allows students to access learning materials at any time, and review knowledge also becomes easier.

On the other hand, there are some obvious disadvantages that would arise. Firstly, online learning will make it difficult for students to focus on lectures. For many students, one of the biggest challenges of online learning is the struggle with focusing on the screen for long periods of time. With online learning, there is also a greater chance for students to be easily distracted by social media or other sites. Secondly, the problem of technology. The quality of education differed around the world according to the quality of Internet connections, the level of preparedness of teachers and their competence in engaging with the technology. It also depended on what kind of devices students had at home. Many students were deprived of lessons because they had no computer, tablet or smartphone. Education Ministry in Malaysia has rolled out a new initiative to help underprivileged children. Around 150,000 eligible pupils from 500 schools will receive a device to enable them to participate in online lessons. Finally, with online courses, it is always more concentration on theoretical learning. Online classes have the dearth of practical aspects of learning. One of the recent studies has shown that a great number of students found classroom teaching more effective than online classes.

In conclusion, the ever growing availability of online learning has gained its popularity among the young adults for many years, which is perceived as beneficial by many people while others find it to be less effective. The emphasis can be given to its effectiveness to establish it as the most cost effective learning than the classroom teaching