Pros and Cons of Online Education

As we know during this pandemic times, all students are studying via online methods. Students are having their classes conducted via various online tools, through which study materials are also shared. As every technology has it's own advantages and disadvantages, Online Education has its own Pros and Cons. Let us discuss them in detail.

PROS

Online Education has the following advantages as mentioned below.

Flexibility

The biggest advantage of online education is its flexibility. One can study from where ever they want to, whatever they want to and whenever they want to.

Ease of access

Studying online only requires a laptop/desktop/smartphone/tablet with a good internet connection. All our study material, lectures, videos are shared on our e-mail or WhatsApp. Classes are usually conducted through Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc.

Affordability

Studying online reduces a lot of financial expenses for parents like transport charges, textbooks, accommodation, which can be saved for their future studies.

Fun to learn
Many websites offer fun learning methods that allow the teacher to take quizzes, give MCQ questions, etc. This makes learning more fun in online mode.

CONS

Apart from the Pros of Online Education, it also has a few disadvantages as mentioned below.

Lack of Social Interaction

One of the biggest disadvantages of online classes is the lack of Social Interaction. Young children like making friends and having a great time in an offline class mode, as there is no time restriction. The probability of finding a good friend is much higher in physical classrooms than online.

Screen Time

Due to online learning, the children's screen viewing time has increased tremendously and because of this parents feel that it would have a negative impact on their eye-sight and health.

Self - discipline
In online mode, a very high degree of self-discipline and time management is required for completing assessments and assignments as compared to offline class, in which the students are constantly monitored by the teacher.

Effectiveness of assessments

Unfortunately for conducting assessments via online methods is not really recommended because there is a higher chance of cheating for eg. students will search on google or use a calculator or use the textbook to solve the question, without the teacher's knowledge of the same.

Whenever a new technology is introduced, it is bound to have disadvantages and with the passage of time, mankind has found ways to overcome them. We realize now as entire mankind has come to standstill because of COVID 19, it is only Education which is happening without any disruption, all thanks to Online education. Hence let us look at the positives for enhancing our knowledge horizon.

As author Buckminister Fuller rightly said, "If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead give them a tool, the use of which will lead to a new way of thinking".

Hence online education has become the new normal, which we all should embrace happily.

By: Ishana Rajnish
School: Delhi Public School
Class: 7th