With the advancements of technology, online classes are becoming more prevalent than ever. Many people believe this is why they will soon replace lecture halls. However, I strongly disagree with this statement because each method has its target audience and cannot be eradicated.
I believe lecture halls are the most effective way to educate a large group of students due to various reasons.
Firstly, this teaching method saves resources for both educational institutions and students. For example, most online classroom platforms, like Zoom, will charge institutions for student accounts, whereas lecture halls are university properties, and their maintenance costs, when divided among students, are cheaper. Secondly, lecture halls are better for classes that require direct communication between students and professors. For example, discussion-based courses, like writing or philosophy, have proved to go better in lecture halls because students can build personal relationships among fellow students and the lecturer. Classes involving doing experiments would also benefit from this teaching format.
However, that is not to say that online classes do not offer any benefits at all. One of their main advantages is that they are suitable for people with strict schedules, like working students. Attending online non-synchronous classes can benefit them because it is significantly easier to work or travel and still catch up with course materials. Another advantage is that online lectures are usually better than face-to-face ones at helping students to review the materials. Students can re-watch lecture videos and read slides to prepare for exams. On the contrary, when attending lecture halls, students have to diligently take notes, since few lecturers allow recording in classes. Moreover, when reviewing online lectures, students can speed up these videos to save time on content that they feel confident in.
In conclusion, I believe that both face-to-face lectures and online classes have their advantages to offer both students and lecturers. As a result, I strongly disagree that one will be replaced by another, at least soon.