Due to advancements that have been made in technology in the recent years, online learning has turned out to be increasingly popular. For majority of college students, taking online classes tends to be the most convenient, as well as efficient way of advancing their education. In the present-day world whereby one is expected to acquire multiple certifications so as to advance in his or her career, online learning has turned out to be the only viable option. Nonetheless, there has been an ongoing hot debate as to whether online learning can be considered to be as effective as in-person learning. There are fears that online learning has the potential of impacting negatively to the quality of education offered to the college students.
According to the opinion of most people, the effectiveness of online learning as compared to in-person education mainly depends on the nature of course that the college student is undertaking. On the other side, other individuals tend to belief that in spite of the wide range of advantages associated with online learning, the in-person education remains to be the ideal option. Such individuals base their argument on the aspect that the in-person education offers multiple benefits to the college students that range from being in the position of interacting with tutors and classmates physically to having good control of one’s learning process. On top of that, some individuals prefer in-person education over online learning because of familiarity.
Either way, once it gets to effectiveness, it can be argued that both online learning and in-person education have their pros, as well as cons. From a certain perspective, online learning can be actually more convenient as college students do not have to go through the hustle of attending classes physically from a certain location. The students can just access their courses as long as they have a computer and internet connection. Besides, online courses turn out to be more affordable to the college students putting into consideration that they dot to have to incur costs such as travel expenses that are associated with the in-person education. In that regard, the students are able to direct more focus on their education without having to bear with the distractions associated with attending in-person education.
On the other hand, once it gets to the point of learning outcomes, the available research indicates that online learning when administered in the proper manner, it can be effective similarly to in-person education, as long as the online classes are well-designed. Additionally, it has been established from formidable sources that college students undertaking online classes perform relatively well as compared to their counterparts enrolled in in-person education. Such a finding has been attributed to the aspect that online learning tends to foster active learning, as it requires the college students to fully engage with their course materials through not only interactive content but also self-assessment tools.
Nonetheless, it has to be noted that such positive outcomes depend on the manner in which the tutors pay attention to quality in the design of the online course content and materials. Not every online program is developed while directing the needed focus on quality, as some are considered to be poorly structured, a turn of events that can result to disengagement, as well as poor learning outcomes. For the online-learning to be as effective as in-person education, their content should be designed such that it incorporates diverse multimedia elements such as simulations, videos, and quizzes for the purposes of enhancing the college students’ understanding. Most importantly, the online courses should offer students the opportunities to regularly collaborate with their classmates in addition to receiving feedback from tutors. Although some can argue that the college students undertaking online classes are likely to cheat in their exams thereby impacting negatively on the quality of education offered, such a loophole has adequately been address through the introduction of proctored exams. Such elements ensure that the online students do not get to miss anything that is offered in the in-person education setting.
In general, it can be assumed that online learning can attain the same effectiveness as in-person education as long the necessary measures are undertaken. However, as earlier pointed out, there are some courses that cannot be effectively delivered online. Some courses such as medicine and engineering require real-time interaction between the college students and their tutors. Moreover, they involve the practical application of ideologies learned in class in laboratories, something that cannot be adequately achieved through the use of virtual labs. For the college students undertaking such courses, they have to understand that the need of having hands-on experience and immediate feedback, which can only be realized in in-person education.
Overall, in spite of the pros, and cons linked to either online learning or in-person education, one cannot straightforwardly assert that one is more effective as compared to the other. It should be known that both have their strengths along with challenges, thus their effectiveness highly depends on the college students’ personal needs, the respective subject matter, in addition to the quality of module design. While, the in-person education tends to have more benefits as compared to online learning, the advancement in technology has necessitated a shift in the manner in which people can be able to access education.
In conclusion, many educators have the view that a hybrid approach, which blends both online learning and in-person education, is the most ideal for most of the college students. It is outright that such an approach will exploit the benefit of flexibility linked to online learning with the practical, as well as interactive elements associated with in-person education. All in all, the milestones being made in the technological field call for radical adjustments in the education system, which should involve the blending of online learning and in-person education. It is only through such an approach that college students can receive high-quality education that meets the prevailing job market needs.