Choosing Between Traditional And Online Classroom

choosing-between-traditional-and-online-classroom
Summary: Faced with the prospect of choosing between whether to attend a traditional brick and mortar program or to opt for an online degree course? Here are some pointers to keep in mind when choosing between traditional and online classroom.

The Difference Between Traditional And Online Classroom

The day we graduate from our schools is the day we step on to the next chapter of life, our higher education. A phase which gives some of the most memorable memories and lessons for our lives, graduation is very important for any person. But, think about this. What if you never had to run to the college, attend a boring lecture, or dose off at the last seats, or never attend classes in a classroom. Weird it sounds, right? It seems as we do not go to college, the college is going to come for us. It may make you laugh for a while, but such kind of education pattern is making wide popularity these days. And with the internet being available in our daily lives at every step, it is surely easier to study this way. Online learning is an option chosen by many students nowadays.

So what happened to the traditional way of teaching? The one where you have a board in front of you, the teacher explaining all the things and the students listening to him and discussing their ideas? Has it vanished?

No way!

The modern world of education sees a tough competition between the two styles of teaching: Traditional and online learning. What is better? People often wonder. Whether to go to college and be regular or to arrange classes virtually which suit your time schedule.

So, what are the lesser known things that we should consider about our style of education? Read on and using these tips, you can decide the right one for you or your close ones.

3 Reasons For Choosing A Traditional Classroom Learning  

1. Traditional Classroom Learning Offers An Extra Appeal To The Senses.

Yes, this is a benefit where a F2F traditional classroom scores over the experience of online teaching. You listen to your teacher, discuss your doubts with them, write down the notes and tasks for the day, and solve problems you face during the class itself. Such a face-to-face experience cannot be achieved in online learning. This is so because not everyone will be available for you all the time. You may not have an instructor around immediately to clear your doubts, if you have one. Also, the sense of community, togetherness, and the bonds we make with each other during a traditional classroom lecture can help you further in your career and life. You may seek guidance from them later, or become good friends with them.

2. The Traditional Classroom Learning Can Give The Hands-On Practice Experience.

You are being taught about the acids while your lecture. The next assignment requires you to record the reaction of a few chemical reactions listed out by your teacher. What all options can you look for? You can simply go to the lab and work out the experiments yourself, under proper guidance. And if at any point, you face a doubt or go wrong, the teacher is there to take care of that. How easy it becomes then! Can the same happen while online learning class? Probably not. You may end up burning up the table cover lying nearby, and get bashed up by your mom later. The hands-on experience and the practice that certain fields require, such as automobile engineering, nursing, mechanical engineering etc cannot work out well through an online course. Thus, it is a drawback of the online courses that they cannot provide the students with hands-on practical experience.

Online teaching cannot provide facilities required for certain studies. It can provide you the comfort of getting education right at your home without going anywhere, but it will not provide you the facilities for it. There are many courses which require certain tools, chemicals etc which you won’t find lying around in your home. And there are so many of them. Instruments, tools, chemicals, dyes, machines, and what not. It’s not possible to set up everything at home. On attending the classroom at your college, you will have access to all the facilities which are provided by the institution itself. You need not run here and there worrying about them, as you can get them easily just a few footsteps away.

However, this is soon being supplemented with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality experiences in many programs that require hands-on approach.

3. Recognition Is Better Through The Traditional Way.

Even if you do not get a good job on the basis of your hard-earned degree, you still have a proof that you worked for it. All those three to four years of harsh efforts to score in the assignments, undergoing evaluations and other things are all recorded. They never go waster. Ad they end up as your performance during your degree. Even if it is not much good, yet it is trustworthy. On the other hand, online programs may give you the flexibility to choose your own class timings, but many employers still have not put their faith in online degree programs. Accreditation is still a problem in online learning. There are course which cannot be practiced without a proper degree from an authorized college or university. Biologist, engineer, clinical psychologist, lawyer, etc. are a handful of such careers. You need to have a degree with you, which is the proof that you have gone through all the levels of learning to work in that profession. Sitting at home and gaining the information through online courses may not be able to provide you with that. Hence, you must choose wisely, since the degree is all you study for.

These points stated the things that are provided by the traditional classroom learning. It may seem painful to wake up early every day, go to the college at sit and struggle with the lectures there, but it is very important too. The harder you work, the better you achieve.

Yet, the online courses are still quite popular among the people nowadays. Students engage themselves to learn online a course of their choice and take classes at home. The education is merely a few clicks away for them. Surely, the online learning does have some benefits too. Which is why is it gaining interest of many people. Here are a few reason s why you may go ahead for online learning, instead of the traditional classroom learning.

3 Reasons For Choosing An Online Learning Classroom 

1. It Gives You Convenience And Flexibility.

That is the biggest conveniences of online learning. You can schedule the classes according to your time schedules, choose the number of hours for a session, learn at your own pace and learn in your own style. You need not go according to the timings told to you by some authority. You are definitely your own boss here. However that also means that the learners hold the full responsibility for completing these online courses by viewing lectures and submitting the required coursework by themselves on time.

2. Online Learning Saves A Lot Of Your Money. 

And that is another reason why more and more people are turning their heads towards this new aid. It saves quite a good amount of your money compared to a traditional college program. Even the most expensive boot camps also do not cost as much as an average college tuition. It is cheaper than that. Yes, believe me, it is! The fees charged for such a program is usually lower than half of the college fees. Plus it trains you in two to three months, while a classroom teaching schedule would take three to four years, which shoots up the costs really high. So, the ones who cannot afford to shell off loads of money, they can still learn the things through online learning.

3. It Keeps You At Pace With The Current Developments.

Recently, Apple launched a new programming language called Swift, which will be an important one for iOS development. Being recently launched, there are courses which offer online tutorials of the new tool. Thus, online courses can be a great way to be in touch with the latest developments. To learn it in a college programming course, there would be still more years to introduce it as a subject in the curriculum. Another new tool may have been invented too by that time, and Swift become a little old. But, with the online learning courses around you all the time, it does not happen. You can learn the latest skills and techniques in a short course of time easily.

It surely sounds fun to join an online learning course and brush up your skills. But, it is not that easy too. Online courses surely require a lot of self discipline, time management, and effective planning. These qualities are required to be punctual and attend the tutorials online faithfully and understanding them well.

Now that you know the privileges of each of the two methods of education, you can surely choose what will be the best for you. Think well about the benefits of traditional and online classroom before you choose any of the two and work hard in the direction you go.

Originally published on February 9, 2017