Technology development has changed our way of living, as well as studying. Some people debate over online learning programs can never be better than offline courses. In this essay, I will discuss both opinions to make a conclusion.
Distance-learning programs only became possible thanks to growing technology, therefore it’s continuously developing. There are a lot of advantages in this field like time-saving, cost-effectiveness and much more flexibility than in-person classes. Firstly, time is one of the most valuable things that we can never replace or retake, hence internet gives us the opportunity to connect with teachers and learning a more effective way. For example, stay-at-home moms now have an extraordinary opportunity to develop themselves through online courses and gain experience from home while taking care of their children. Secondly, in-person lectures are expensive due to their availability to take a limited number of students, and costs like school facilities, accommodations, electricity etc. In contrast, internet-based education only will need teachers, computers and the internet, also can teach a large number of students from anywhere. Lastly, obviously because of the reason above it gives us extreme flexibility to learn from anywhere, anytime we want.
On campus, classes are classic learning ways inherited from ancient times. It has a lot of advantages like the availability of gaining experience from other students, meeting new people, networking and live interactions with teachers. Studying is not only about learning a piece of new information, but also gaining life experience and social skills that will last our lifetime. For instance, research workshops or group activities with classmates are exciting learning atmospheres where we gain knowledge from each other.
To conclude, internet-based education has a lot of benefits time-wise and economic-wise. However, I think it can not replace university in-person classes, since we gain memory and knowledge from the people we live with.