In recent years, the teaching mode in the colleges has changed tremendously. More univerisities are offering programs which are taught online. However, some concerns such as the lack of face-to-face timely interaction and academic integrity have been discussed as potenial issues. This essay argues that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
It is undeniable that the timely interaction between the students and the lecturer will become less when comparing to the face-to-face teaching mode. However, there are a variety of online platforms which encourage interaction, such as Kahoot and Nearpod. Students can easily access to those applications and answer the questions promptly. Moreover, even though the diminished academic rigor is a potenial problem, there are still some solutions to prevent students from cheating. For instance, some websites such as Turnitin can easily check if a student copied information from other resources without proper citations. Therefore, the interaction mode and academic integrity will not be diminished, instead, these are all the necessary changes in order to adapt to the technology development in today’s world.
On the other hand, the benefits are more significant. The development of online programs are more convenient to those who have long working hours. Many adults need to work in daytime, and they are not able to attend the face-to-face classes. Even though there are some evening courses for them, they might still find it challenging to complete the courses, as they might need to balance the time spending on their work and family. Therefore, online programs are flexible for those who are really passionate in learning. They can simply choose the course schedules which are convenient to them. Therefore, it is more flexible for them.
In a nutshell, although there are some potenial risks in offering online courses, the flexibility of online programes cannot be overlooked. Therefore, the drawbacks of online courses are overshadowed by the benefits.