Suddenly the pandemic swept the whole world. To this day all educational institutions in our country and many others are closed on a quarantine. This is how the government of different countries is trying to reduce the threat of the mass spread of a new type of virus (Covid-19). And this can be understood. But the question arises: what a healthy population should do? How can people spend their time with a good use for the future? After all, it’s not worth expecting that institutes and universities will open their doors in the near future. Government agencies are trying to use various mobile applications such as Viber to bring the year to its logical end. Government agencies are trying to use various mobile applications such as Viber to bring the year to its logical end. However, continuing education courses, language courses, and others certainly have problems and are completely blocked due to the ban on any movement and work.
No need to get upset and postpone studies. Now there’s a huge selection of educational programs. This allows mastering favorite majors to a massive number of people who don’t have enough time or money to get a higher education traditional way. Online education is especially suitable in the lights of recent events when the whole world is dealing with the new pandemic. There is a constant argument on how useful distant learning is? How affordable and effective is it? Jobsora will help to get through everything and find all pros and cons of online learning.
Who needs online education?
For several years, the government has allowed conducting distance learning. The format is accessible to a large mass of the population. Everyone can master the necessary program. There are even online schools offering secondary education services to children. It is much more difficult to organize a child, but this is a way out for parents working abroad and traveling with the whole family.
After leaving school or if they want to take up the profession, people decide what they will do next: study or earn. A classic student has no income. Elementary survival is often a priority, especially in young families. By the way, it’s possible to combine online learning with work.
The clear advantage of distance learning is the ability to communicate via the Internet, which opens up opportunities not only for students but also for teachers. The alternative attracts both categories and has two sides of the coin.
A flexible schedule is a freedom of choice for students which is often limited at universities to a few mandatory courses to study.
Next on our list is an inconvenience is the daily morning rise. By choosing an online study form, you can change the schedule for yourself and the choice of subjects is yours. The student is not required to strictly follow the schedule. Lectures can be viewed even at night and a lesson can be taken on the road just by using a smartphone.
Communication with the best teachers
Not everyone can go to the capital to study in popular universities. Traveling entails huge expenses, and the competition for one place in university is huge. Today, most universities have prepared various disciplines in the form of distance learning courses. Therefore, it is realistic to get knowledge from experienced professionals and have a diploma from a prestigious university without leaving the walls of your home.
Affordable prices
Even the budget department pulls decent money. Students from other cities pay for meals and accommodation. If you are lucky to study in your own city, you will not be able to work and get enough salary for your life. But distance learning allows you to fully work and the cost of courses is much cheaper than classical education.
Territorial freedom also applies to exist managers living in remote regions. Today, many are training. Going to face-to-face seminars or training is quite difficult. Online products have occupied a worthy niche, as it is convenient for organizers and participants.
The opportunity to study for any category of citizens
Thanks to online education, people with disabilities now have an opportunity to find a profession. There is a category of the population who find it difficult to tolerate close communications with others. Shy students find it easier to learn from home since there is no peer pressure, no need to think about the appearance.
The ability to choose the pace and channels for the exchange of information
Now any difficult topic can be seen as the recording. It’s possible to skip unnecessary information and in general save time. You can also choose the appropriate format. These are online webinars or Skype conferences. Messengers are designed to communicate and resolve issues at any time, and an e-mail will allow you to receive training manuals and other documents.
What are the interests of teachers
Teachers also use the benefits of online learning. They can achieve high results and efficiency using convenient tools. These include tests, presentations, videos, streams, screenshots, and chats. The student is given the opportunity many times to review a difficult lesson to learn. It’s easier for the teacher to track student progress. For this, special programs are developed with convenient tests, evaluation, and statistics. Having knowledge, experience, and a desire to teach, there is the possibility of additional income.
Courses and webinars in electronic form are a lifesaver for heads of organizations. You can train staff without high costs without experiencing difficulties with the temporary absence of workers. This approach is especially popular in enterprises where staff turnover is observed. Having created your own training course or using the proposed services, you do not need to fill out and constantly pay for the position of a coach. It is also worth noting the ability to work from anywhere, without losing a professional look. Even being late for a lecture, you can always connect to a lesson using a smartphone and mobile applications.
Cons of online learning
The appeal of distance learning is undeniable and has many advantages, but obvious disadvantages cannot be left aside. Theoretically, people of any age can learn using the Internet, but it is fair to say that the older generation often does not have the necessary skills. Let’s consider other negative aspects.
Lack of control
This can be either a plus or a minus. Not every person works well without the control of a boss or a professor. There is no one to shift responsibility. A person is fully responsible for the diligence and timely delivery of tests, materials. There is no support in the form of friends who can whisper the correct answer and remind you of the need to complete the homework. An online student should have maximum self-organization and willpower.
Lack of credibility
Communicating with a tutor, there is no way to make sure that the authorship of the assignment belongs to you. Therefore, many organizations are distrustful of the received online certificates. To solve the problem, serious educational institutions use a number of verification methods: they conduct video conferences, special programs and require original student documents. Such difficulties more often relate to final tests. But any essay students can order on special resources that offer these services. The trick also applies to traditional education.
Service quality
The described verification problem, unfortunately, works in two directions. The student is also limited in the preliminary assessment of the proposed material. Often, after paying for courses and several classes, and understanding comes of their low quality. Attentive attitude to the choice of programs, the study of reviews and ratings will help to resolve the issue.
Is practice necessary
There are specialties that cannot be mastered without practical skills. A striking example is doctors, engineers, biologists. A surgeon or test pilot will not be able to practice using only theoretical knowledge. True, distance learning is being developed and field sessions are being introduced to learn the practice. But is it worth it to study in absentia?
What are the disadvantages for the organizer
Describing the mass of instruments in rainbow light, we assume that speakers are able to use them. Platforms for e-learning require some knowledge. In addition, it will be necessary to study and implement effective methods for conducting distance seminars. It is important to keep the attention of students and the methods are much different in comparison with direct contact. The teacher who has not mastered the fascinating ways of online learning pushes students to the temptation to turn off the computer and do more interesting things. Each task will have to be prepared not only in the range of information but also in terms of technical parameters.
In universities, problems may arise with the involvement of experienced teachers. Due to the need to study technical issues, an experienced older generation may be wary of such an undertaking.
Output
The effectiveness of online education has two sides and cannot be regarded as unambiguously. E-learning is in the process of rapid development and has many advantages! There are also enough shortcomings, although they can be found in traditional methods. The modern way of life requires specialists who are ready to learn constantly. Therefore, remote forms will not lose their attractiveness!
