The assertion that many universities are changing face-to-face courses to online ones has received considerable attention. From my perspective, it is a negative trend, since it may lead to cheating and a lack of communication between students and teachers. In this essay, I will elaborate on this topic.
One significant drawback of online learning is the rise of academic dishonesty. Since online courses provide limited supervision, tests and assignments rely almost entirely on students’ honesty, which makes cheating easier. A case in point is Yonsei University in South Korea, where a major scandal occurred this year. Approximately 190 students used artificial intelligence tools, such as Gemini and ChatGPT, to cheat in online exams, making the results unfair. This example clearly shows how the lack of face-to-face monitoring can encourage dishonest behaviour.
Speaking about the second disadvantage, online courses do not provide enough communication between students and teachers, experience, and social life. This downside makes students’ social skills, which are cruicial, deteriorate. For instance, during the COVID pandemic, my school switched to remote learning. We had virtual classes where we had only lectures without any discussion with professors. Immediately after that period, I found it complicated to communicate with teachers one-to-one. This instance demonstrates the importance of normal courses, which prevent the loss of social skills.
To summarize the main points presented in my essay, switching from face-to-face education to a remote one has a detrimental influence. I would like to consider predominantly real classes that have numerous benefits in comparison to online ones.