There are often debates regarding which method is the best among in-person interaction in a classroom or online learning. Both of them have their own merits and drawbacks in terms of accessibility of resources as well as interactions with the teacher, but I believe in-person interaction is more productive and efficient when it comes to learning.
Classroom learning allows a student to have a good understanding of concepts. This is possible due to the presence of a teacher with whom students can interact and resolve their doubts within the classroom. Moreover, a teacher also gets a better understanding of a student’s level of proficiency in concepts that they taught. Additionally, classroom learning also allows students to make peers, and hence there is circulation of ideas, debates on those ideas, as well as peer learning. This makes students more social and a motivation for students to go to the classroom. For example, when I was preparing for JEE in my high school, I spent one year learning in a classroom. This allowed me a better grasp of concepts through discussions with my friends as well as interactions with my teacher. However, when COVID struck the world, classroom learning was replaced by online learning. Here, I was not able to have interactions with the professor, thus hampering my learning.
However, online learning has its own advantages. Firstly, it allows a vast amount of resources on any field or subject which are easily accessible through the internet. This is tremendously helpful when students lack a staff of teachers or materials that can help them learn some rare topics they are interested in. Moreover, the constant progression in technology has allowed the introduction of 3D animations that make visualisation of arduous topics uncomplicated and easily understandable. For example, BYJU’s methods of online leaning consist of experts in teaching staff that are able to reach a global audience. Additionally, their way of animating and visualizing complex topics like the structure of matter and atoms or components of a computer makes such topics highly comprehensible.
In my humble opinion, I am fond of both ways of learning, but classroom learning is superior. Firstly, it makes me motivated to go to the classroom since online learning can cause a lot of easy distractions like picking up my phone frequently or watching movies. Besides, I find it better to learn in a classroom as I like to interact with the teachers more during the lectures in the classroom.