Online Classroom Is Better Than Traditional Classroom Essay

Technology is constantly growing, changing, and improving at a high rate, and it affects every aspect of our lives. Technological advancement has enabled students to be able to learn, and attain their education in an online rather than depending solely in a conventional classroom setting. The two methods can be considered to be effective ways of receiving education, and they both strive to achieve the same purpose, which is to impart students with knowledge that will make them be job market ready in the future in relation to their career aspirations. However, online education is better than traditional learning due to a variety of factors such as flexibility, overall cost, convenience, its accommodating nature, and others that will be discussed in this essay.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

According to a 2014 report by the National Center for Learning Disabilities, it stated that only 41 percent of students with learning disabilities graduate from college, or university, in comparison to 52 percent of the general population. One of the reasons behind the huge disparity in the graduation rates between students with learning disabilities and those who do not have learning disabilities is the accommodation capacity of the traditional brick and mortar colleges(Burdette, et al. 45). Students enrolling in such institutions may have a wide range of disabilities such as learning, physical, developmental, and psychiatric disabilities. To accommodate students with a range of disabilities is expensive in the case of a traditional-based form of institution, and it may not have the necessary resources that are needed to employ specialized teachers, software, textbooks, visual and hearing aids for the students. Online education allows students with disabilities to log into their classes at the comfort of their home, or anywhere they feel it is convenient for them to learn, and therefore attain academic success. Online classes can be designed to accommodate the individual needs of every student, which will help him or her be able to understand, advance their learning, and eventually graduate from the academic institution that he or she enrolled in. For instance, for students with learning disabilities, they can be able to learn at their own pace, and this will be beneficial for their educational advancement(Cavanaugh, et al. 6). This may not be possible in a traditional classroom set up because other students may feel that they are lagging behind, and also the teacher's schedule to complete the syllabus within a certain period of time may not allow him or her to teach at the pace of learning of the student with a learning disability. In addition to that, for students who have severe anxiety, they may feel more comfortable to learn at the comfort of their home rather than in a large classroom setting whereby a question and answer session may act as a trigger for panic or anxiety attacks.

For students who have a tight schedule due to other commitments such as family, work, or both, taking online courses is beneficial to them due to its flexibility in scheduling of classes and examinations. The traditional classes require a fixed physical location and schedule for learning and teaching. It not only restricts the number of students that can learn at a particular time but also the accessibility of these learning institutions. The students have to commute using various available transport means (or walk) in order to get to school and learn for a fixed amount of hours. Even though there are evening, and weekend classes for students who have other commitments it may still be considered to be located, and time rigid(Cavanaugh, et al.8). The reason for this is that students in traditional classes have a responsibility to show up for a specific number of classes in order to meet the attendance requirement, which will determine whether they will pass or fail that course. This may not be convenient for full-time workers who even though may want to advance their classes may not have enough time to attend the required ( which is usually two-thirds of the total number of classes) number of lectures to pass a course.

On the other hand, online classes allow students to study from anywhere, and at their convenience. The only requirements are accessibility to the internet, and the logging details of the class they are attending. This will allow them to access the classes, discussions, and even allow them to contribute to these discussions, and even schedule their examinations at their own convenience. It also allows an unlimited number of students to learn at the same time because it does not restrict the teaching and learning process to a certain physical location, and number of hours. Therefore, students from different geographical locations and time zones may attend the same lectures, and classes. In most online courses, they are designed to follow a weekly format(Guzer and Caner 4600). The students will be expected to log in, read the available course materials, make contributions and follow class discussions, and complete their assignments before the beginning of the following week. A point to note is that the students in online classes will have similar assignments to the students in traditional classes. However, they will have enough and flexible time to complete their assignments.

Online classes offer a less expensive, yet effective way of learning. The reason for this is that the students are not required to pay for the facilities that they are using at school, and also the additional cost of traveling to, and from school. As has been noted before, they are able to study from anywhere as long as they have a computer and internet access(Suen 21). This is not the case for the students in the traditional brick-and-mortar schools as they have to pay for the use and maintenance of the different institution facilities such as classrooms, libraries, laboratories, gym, dining, and also residence halls.

Online classes or courses can be completed in a shorter time because of their specificity. The teachers focus on the subjects of the course and provide the students with the required and relevant information in relation to this course. The teacher can also engage the learner in terms of conducting practicals in the online class setup. This helps the student to be able to polish and also develop the required job-related skills, which will make him or her more marketable in the future in terms of getting a job in the line of his or her career. This may not be possible in the traditional classroom setup. The reasons for this is that the students are required to study other subjects along with the main ones for diversity purposes(Guzer and Caner 4597). In addition to that, it is highly unlikely for a teacher to have a one-on-one session with their students because of time constraints, and busy schedule.

The society is becoming digital, and therefore it is only essential for learning to also be provided in an online platform. In today's society, nearly all people use a mobile device that is connected to the internet at all or most of the time. In addition to that in most of the workplaces, they rely on digital technology to achieve and maintain a competitive edge over their business rivals. Most of the companies today are in need of employees who have digital skills such as SEO, SEM, and Content Marketing. Students who learn in an online environment have the appropriate tools that will help them learn and acquire these skills effectively. In the traditional classroom set-up, they may need to have computer classes in order for them to be tutored these skills, and they will attend these classes for a limited number of hours. This limitation in traditional classes means that the students may not acquire the skills that are required to ensure that they are highly productive in the job environment even if they have the educational skills that are needed(Guzer and Caner 4597). Companies may choose students who attended online classes in such cases because they do not want to incur the additional costs of training the new employees and interns the digital skills that will make them be more effective at the workplace.

It is also easy and less expensive to update new information in online learning than in the traditional environment. New information and concepts can be provided by editing the learning materials that they had been provided with earlier. They will be informed of the changes and the learning process will go on. This is not the case in relation to traditional learning. The reason for this is that the main learning material in traditional classrooms is textbooks, and they are provided to students in a certain grade. Therefore, if there is new information, or the teachers note a mistake in one of the textbooks that is being used, there will be the need to print new editions to correct, or include the new information(Burdette, et al. 82). The students will be required to purchase these textbooks, and it will be costly for them.

In a majority of the learning institutions, they are beginning to introduce blended learning, a combination of the traditional and online classes. This is in order to ensure that the students can cover the school syllabus within the shortest time possible, and be provided with much more information that is the case in traditional learning. Students who are in the traditional classes are provided with login details to access notes, be involved with discussions after school, and question and answer sessions in an online platform(Cavanaugh, et al. 5). This is meant to enhance the learning process of the students making them have access and understand more content. Needless to say, blended learning cannot exist without online education.

Conclusion

In conclusion, online education is a better choice than traditional classroom education. It allows more students to access learning regardless of their geographical locations. Students numbers in a specific class are not limited to the class size as is the case in traditional classrooms. It is also important to point out that it accommodates students with different learning and physical disabilities as it can be designed in accordance with a specific student's needs. Students also gain more digital skills through their constant use of computers, which are the most sought-after skills in the job market today. Although traditional classrooms can still be considered an effective method of learning, online classes provide both the teachers and students more options to facilitate the learning process. Also, technological advancement has made learning easier, and both the educators and learners should change with time to make the teaching and learning process easier.

Works Cited

Burdette, Paula J., et al. "K-12 online learning and students with disabilities: Perspectives from state special education directors." Online Learning, vol. 17, no. 3, 2013.

Cavanaugh, Cathy, et al. "Online Learning for Students with Disabilities: A Framework for Success." Journal of Special Education Technology, vol. 28, no. 1, 2013, pp. 1-8.

Guzer, Bayram, and Hamit Caner. "The Past, Present and Future of Blended Learning: An in Depth Analysis of Literature." Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 116, 2014, pp. 4596-4603.

Suen, Hoi K. "Peer assessment for massive open online courses (MOOCs)." The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, vol. 15, no. 3, 2014.