In the contemporary era, offering qualifications through online learning rather than through teachers in the classroom is now widely applied by educational institutions. This essay will elucidate the reasons why this should be regarded as a positive trend.
Opponents of online learning argue that this form of studying reduces students’ focus. Specifically, facilities of technologies, including games and social media, can attract students, which reduces their attention to the lessons. This, in turn, negatively impacts the academic performance of students engaging in online learning. Furthermore, they contend that deficient interaction between teachers and students is attributed to the inability to monitor directly, resulting in no guarantees in students’ comprehension and acquisition of lessons. In other words, this comes at the expense of the reputation of universities and colleges, and the quality of students’ outcomes. For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic period, there was a significant decrease in students’ academic performance, triggering a barrage of criticism for educational institutions. These factors have collectively influenced the academic achievement of students.
However, I firmly believe that online learning engenders significant advantages, particularly convenience. To clarify, students only need digital devices like computers, smartphones, or laptops; they can easily have access to valuable knowledge through the internet, which, in turn, facilitates counterparts from remote places to broaden their horizons. This might secure the quality of educational students as well as the amount of well-educated labor. A pertinent example of this is Australia, where universities and colleges apply distance learning from the internet, which secures knowledge for rural students, thereby ensuring the quality of the workforce for the nation. Moreover, distance learning from the internet helps educators engage with students more effortlessly through vibrant lessons with the aid of modern software and vivid images and videos, thereby stimulating learning motivation for students to study more effectively.
In conclusion, although the criticism for learning distance from the internet is directly linked to reducing students’ focus and lack of interaction, I maintain that associated benefits, including convenience and easier education, overshadow those concerns.