The modern world is characterized by growth and advancement in technology. Whether in the contemporary work place, at the office or even in people’s homes, evidence of technology is all over; machines doing tasks such as laundry and cleaning, online communication, online meetings and conferences among others. The spread of technology has also infiltrated into the educational sector where online classes have become a common aspect in the modern learning. Of course, there are various debates which seek to ascertain whether there is the online classes are beneficial to the classes or not. The debate exists between students, tutors, parents and even states. In a bid to clear the air on this issue, this essay seeks to identify whether there are benefits that students reap from the online classes. In order to ascertain this, there is the need to look at the disadvantages of the same. The paragraphs below look at this prospect, seeking to prove that online classes are actually beneficial to the students.
There are some arguments that online classes are more of a disadvantage than an advantage to the students. Trotter (3) argues that the system can at times be misleading to the students. They tend to think that the online classes are just a walkover, a blessing that saves them from the pressure of the traditional classroom setting. As such, they sign up for the online classes but end up failing miserably, simply because they failed to be disciplined and follow up teh classes as necessary. This indicates that improper usage of the system can actually be a major disadvantage to the students. Another disadvantage associated with the system is that it neglects one of the chores a school should fulfill. That is socialization. The argument is that when students sign up for these classes, they never get to interact one on one with the tutors or even the other students. This makes it very difficult to form strong bonds between the students, their tutors and their colleagues.
Looking at the above drawbacks, it can be deduced that the problem is not with the online learning system. Rather, it lies with the students who fail to use it as is necessary to realize good results. For the socialization aspect, the issue is still on debate, given that people can easily socialize on the social sites such as Twitter, Face Book among others. On the other hand, looking at the advantages associated with the online classes, it can be seen that the benefits of the system are actual, not a far-fetched theory.
Serhan (1) looks at one of the main advantages of the system. This is the fact that it offers a lot of flexibility for the students. As such, it becomes much easier for the students to advance careers that they might not have pursued in the traditional classroom setting. Through the online system, an individual who might be involved in different activities or a different schedule can easily juggle between the classes and the other activities. Trotter (3) gives an example of a student who plays basketball and football for the school team. Of course, such a student is very committed elsewhere and might find it a bit hard to cope with the tight schedules. However, the system makes it easy for such a student to pursue all his passions at a go. This is one of the aspects of flexibility that online learning offers students.
Another advantage of the system is that it offers a chance for the students to use advantage of the growth in technology (Clayton 1). The argument that the system is a welcome change in the 21st century, a move that should be accepted and embraced by learning institutions in the country and in the entire globe. The institutions have realized this, and have embraced the advantages of the same. Trotter (1) observes that one of the school administrators observed that “it broadens the curriculum way beyond what we’d normally be able to offer.” Just to demonstrate how this happens, there is the indication that students can take classes from different parts of the world and learn from different tutors. This broadens not only the courses offered by the institutions, but it also gives the students a chance to gain more insight on given topics. For instance, one of the student claims that “we have students from Venezuela and we can ask them direct questions on Buddhism” (Trotter 4). Another example of how the online classes offer a great convenience is that they have a deeper analysis on the topics. For instance, in studying history in the traditional American system, a topic such as the Vietnam War is discussed for about a week only. However, with the e-learning system, the topic can be an individual module that can be studied for a whole semester. Well, this just shows how the system has beneficial effects in broadening and deepening the understanding of the concepts in education. Furthermore, it can help the shy students comfortably go through their studies. One of such students observes that rather than having to ask questions in the normal class setting which can be embarrassing at times, the online system makes it easy since the student can just post the questions, and then gets the response later.
The system also helps in saving on educational costs. Trotter (1) observes that at a particular time in the VHS Lab at Hudson High, a student can be responding to a lecturer and classmates from Malaysia, another attends a session from Georgia while yet another one attends a session from a tutor based in Clinton, Mass. Well, if online learning was not a reality, such students would have to be physically present in the respective classrooms, which implies that they would have to incur the travelling costs as well as accommodation costs since they are away from home. With such an illustration, it is undisputable that online classes are a major boost in the educational system.
In conclusion, the above paragraphs look at the advantages as well as the benefits associated with online classes. The main disadvantages of the system is that it does not offer a social forum for the students and it can also lead to poor performance since it makes it hard to students to effectively manage their studies. However, the benefits are much more. The system offers flexibility, convenience, versatility, and cost effectiveness for the students. Well, all these factors help the students to pursue and advance their careers in an environment where learning could have been much more difficult. It is for this reason that this essay takes the position that online classes are a major boost to the country’s educational sector. States should participate in fully facilitating these classes in order to improve the educational levels in their area.
Works Cited
Clayton, Eric A. ‘Getting in Line for Online Education.’ District Administration, 46.7: Jul. 2010. Web, 14th Oct. 2012, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=983b2bc3-94a9-43a7-a23a-c6506ba407ec%40sessionmgr112&vid=1&hid=107&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGNwaWQmY3VzdGlkPXM4ODU2ODk3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=52957216
Serhan, Derar. ‘Online Learning: Through Their Eyes.’ International Journal of Instructional Media, 37.1: 2010. Web, 14th Oct. 2012, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=ef1a3888-f61e-4e13-b860-5bb41b0f4a5f%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=107&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGNwaWQmY3VzdGlkPXM4ODU2ODk3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=49837923
Trotter, Andrew. ‘E-Learning Goes to School.’ Education Week, 21.35: 5th Sept. 2002. Web, 14th Oct. 2012, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=0720e3af-f8d9-41ae-8cbb-9dd7a8c23a57%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=107&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGNwaWQmY3VzdGlkPXM4ODU2ODk3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=6953208
