In this era of the internet, many universities and other educational institution now offer traditional in-person classes as well Online courses. In my opinion, this is a welcoming development, which benefits a wider demographic, it can help those who would otherwise couldn’t access to higher-level education. Although there are some downsides regarding to the quality of the course and the level of training learners receive.
Evidently, online course has offered more opportunities to a larger number of people, especially to those who are currently taking part in the job market or those who live oversea wanting to study from top universities without leaving their countries. The need for academic education among the full-time employees is huge; Not only this cohort need to keep a job to provide for themselves or their families, but many of them have desire to pursuit a university degree for better career prospect. Studying online, likewise, offers a low-cost option to students who can’t afford the high cost of living within the campus premises. So, with the advancement of modern technology, online courses provide an ease of access that wasn’t possible a few decades prior.
However, this poses concern regarding the evaluation method as well as limited teachers’ support. Due to the nature of online interaction, the traditional testing method might not as suitable to evaluate students’ grasp of their studying materials, this could lead to false testing result due to educators not able to supervise the test in-person leading to cheating. Furthermore, unlike students who attend to classes in campus, if online students want to ask their professors for a particular question, their only choice is to contact them via email, which in many cases, takes a very long time to get a reply. These limitations can result poorer performance among those take online course
Overall, while online courses have a few limitations, the benefits are much making up for it, allowing millions to entry university and get their educations.