Is Online Learning the Right Choice for Us?
Since the last few years, a new way of learning has emerged due to the increasing technological development. This new learning system that has been implemented in various countries in the world is called online learning. Online learning is defined as a learning system in which the distribution of class materials by teachers to students is carried out using the help of the internet. Today, online learning has been increasingly recognized and has become another option from the conventional learning system that has been applied for hundreds of years. However, there are arguments for and against the application of online learning in the current pandemic situation. Some people argue that online learning has many advantages, while others say that it should be stopped immediately and we must continue doing offline learning. I believe that online learning is no better than conventional learning due to the ineffectiveness of the student learning process.
Proponents of online learning applications argue that online learning has lots of advantages for students. However, offline learning also has many important and valuable benefits for the student’s learning process. In offline learning, students and teachers have face-to-face interaction so that students can always discuss their problems about the materials they do not understand directly with the teacher. The teacher’s presence and direct interaction in class can help students focus and concentrate during the learning process, which also allows students to understand the material better. Besides, in offline learning, students tend to be more disciplined and structured because they have a fixed schedule and must stick to it. It also enables them to manage their time better. Moreover, offline learning also creates a competitive environment that can motivate students to be active in class and to study harder. While the people who support online learning believe that the implication of synchronous learning is far more affordable as compared to offline learning. Online learning merely requires students to study from home so that they do not need to pay for transportation, meals, or boarding fees. Online learning can also reduce the cost of purchasing textbooks because students usually only need to download digital material books instead of buying physical books, which are usually more expensive. Besides affordability, people believe that online learning is way more flexible. Students can study and do online learning wherever and whenever they are. For example, we can do online learning during shopping at the mall, when visiting tourist attractions, or on the way to our relatives’ house. Apart from flexibility, people believe that online learning can improve digital skills. In fact, to do the learning process and access learning materials, students require to have the ability to use some digital applications, such as Zoom, Edmodo, and Google Classroom. Therefore, they need to learn how to use those platforms and the features in them. It enables them to improve their ability to utilize digital media to follow the learning process.
On the other hand, people who are opposed to the implication of online learning argue that online learning is ineffective. They believe that online learning makes it difficult for some students. As we know, students need to have digital tools for the online learning process, such as laptops, computers, or smartphones. In fact, there are still many students out there who do not have any of these types of digital tools. Besides, people also believe that students tend to have difficulty concentrating during the learning process. For example, students who have many family members who live at home often find it difficult to focus due to sound distractions from outside, such as the voice of their sibling crying or other family members doing activities. Likewise, when they have internet connection problems, they tend to lose focus or even panic. Apart from the inability to concentrate during the learning process, people also believe that the interaction between teacher and student in online learning is way more ineffective than offline learning. In online learning, students are not able to hear the teacher’s explanation and give feedback directly. Besides that, students also often have difficulty understanding the material. It takes time for them sometimes to study new materials because most of their time is spent working on assignments. However, offline learning also has some drawbacks, such as the cost required that is more expensive, classroom atmosphere that sometimes makes students dull, and the lack of independence. Nonetheless, I think these drawbacks are still tolerable.
It can be seen that there are some benefits of online learning, such as affordability, flexibility, and the opportunity to improve digital skills. Besides, it also has some drawbacks, such as difficulty to do learning process due to the non-ownership of digital tools, lack of concentration, and lack of interaction between teacher and students. After looking at the benefits and drawbacks of online learning, I still believe that online learning is less effective than offline learning.
