Hi
everyone..What are you doing now? I hope everything goes well for you and
people around you. I think it's been a while since I've updated any important
information on this blog.
As everyone knows, starting June 24, 2020,
schools have been open to allow students that have to sit for important exams
such as (SPM) to conduct a school session. However, there are some students,
especially university students who are not yet allowed to return to their
colleges and continue to study online distance learning (ODL) in their homes.
So today I'm going to talk about "Online Learning vs Face to Face
Learning". I also will state which want that I prefer and the reasons of
my choice. So, let's start!
Firstly, I will define the meaning of
online learning. Online learning is education that takes place
over the Internet. It is often referred as “e- learning” among other
terms. However, online learning is just one type of “distance
learning” which is a learning that takes place
across distance and not in a traditional classroom. From this simple
definition comes an almost infinite number of ways to teach and learn outside of
traditional classrooms and away from college campuses. With online education,
students can turn anywhere with Internet access and electricity into a
classroom. It can include audio, video, text, animations, virtual training
environments and live chats with professors. It’s a rich learning environment
with much more flexibility than a traditional classroom.
If we want to make a comparison between
the two options we must know what the differences of them such as its
advantages and disadvantages. With knowing this things, it will make us easier
to make a choice. So, next I will explain about the advantages of online
learning and the disadvantages or difficulties that may be encountered by
students that have to study online learning or e-learning throughout this
semester.
There are some advantages of online
learning such as give comfort to you. Why I say online learning will give you comfort is because we can learn no
matter where we are. you don't have to attend classes for hours, sitting in an
uncomfortable chair, and suffering from back pain by the end of the day. You don't
need to get up early in the morning to get ready and take the bus to go to
class that far from college. You also don't have to rush to buy food that you
need to get in line that will make you waste your time there. You also don't
have to think about time if you want to do something because you worried that
you don't have time to go to the next class.
This is because, if you undergo online
learning you only have to open your laptop or phone then access to the class
you want to attend. However, online classes also have the time you need to
attend but it's easier and safer because you don't have to queue to buy food or
take the bus. All lectures and needed materials are provided via online
platforms, so you’ll easily access them from the comfort of your home. The list
of conveniences will goes on and on.
The other advantages are lower the cost.
The fact that online programs are cheaper when compared to the ones held in a
traditional campus setting. This is because the fees is not include the charge
of the public equipment or the facilities that we use at the university. For
example, if we want to go to class we will use bus even though the bus we took
was free, but actually we was paid the charges for the bus because it was
included in the university fee. Other equipment such as gym, library and more
are included in university fees. Imagine if we were study at home, we wouldn't
have to spend the money to pay for that equipment since we didn't use it. The
fees will be lower as students will only have to pay for lectures and notes.
As we know, the university does not
provide many places for students to stay in college. So there are some students
who have to rent outside of university. This will increase the budget needed
each month as they will have to pay for rent, electric bill of rent house and
even for transport to go to class. So, if learning is conducted online, these
students don't have to rent a house near college to go to class because they
just need to study at home that the live with their family.
Next, the advantages of online class are
it more flexible. This is because you can study any time you want. As I said above,
you also have the lecture time that your lecturer has set, but if you study by
online learning, you can record the lecture that give by your lecturer so you
can listen again if you don't understand about the topic. This is because, the
example of online learning platform is google meet, zoom, Microsoft team, webex
and the others that allowed you to record the live. If learning is done face to
face students cannot ask to repeat what they have learned as learning in the
classroom is limited to the time frame as the class will be used by other
students as well. So, studying online makes it easier to listen to a lecture
given.
You can also manage the time at your convenience.
This is because, you don't have to wait at the faculty to go to the next class,
but you can use the time between classes to help parents at home and spend time
like eating with them. However when it comes time to start class you should
always be ready to go to class but you only need time if there is a class that
you need to attend if you do not have the time for class you can use the time between class to complete the tasks yourself.
If there are advantages then there is
definitely have disadvantage of this option. So if you continue reading this
update you will know the advantages of online learning that I will explain in
more detail. The first disadvantages of online learning is make you easier to
procrastinate your work. Procrastination will chop you to bits in an online course.
There is no one to tell you to get to class on time. There is no one reminding
you that assignments are due or that exams are coming. There is no one to
preach to you, beg with you, plead with you to stay on top of your coursework.
It's easy to put off reading and assignments in the online environment. Before
you know it, weeks have gone by, you haven't done any homework and it's exam
time. Scary bad. Creepy anxious. Too real.
This procrastinate habit also influenced
by the environment. If you are in college or university you will have a
learning environment that will make you eager to complete you work on time but
this home environment will make you become easier to procrastinate your work
because you do not have friends who will stay up together until late night to
get the job done. As usual doing individual work will make you bored and lazy
to start the work that needs to be completed.
The next disadvantages of online learning
is internet connection problem. This is one of the biggest problem of online
learning. I think if you have internet connection problem at your home area,
this online learning is a difficult or impossible lesson for you. This is because,
online learning is a platform learning that requires good internet connection
to be able to stay connect with your lecturer. If you faced this problem it will
make you miss out on learning.
The other disadvantages of online learning
are it requires a good grasp of tech skill. Learning from a website, blog or whichever
online platform requires you to understand online technology. It is not just
about knowing how to start your computer and getting to the site. You need to
know how to navigate the screen. This is very easy for people who are always
online on different sites. They can figure out how to manage around a video,
task or text. Without such skills, online learning becomes stressful.
Lacks the warmth of face to face interaction also one of the disadvantages of online learning. As we
know, learning in a physical classroom is interesting and more involving as human interaction is present.
There are classmates to connect with and an instructor to consult for immediate feedback. If you have
any problems in the classroom there will still be lecturers who will walk from table to table to see and
check if you have any problems with the topic then help to solve it with you but if you have any problems
during online learning you should feel free to ask the lecturers. If you have shame to ask you will have
trouble understanding the topic. This is because, lecturers in online learning can only help you if you are
aware of the problem you are facing if you are silent the teacher will come to the conclusion that you
already understand the topic.
Next, the
disadvantages of online learning is making it necessary for
students to manage their time between work or social media. This is because as
we know, online class is done online and also used internet which is also used
for social media for example instagram, twitter, youtube and so on. If students
are not good at distinguishing time for doing work and playing social media, at
the end of the day you can learn that online learning is not effective because
more time is spent playing social media than completing work
This
is all about the advantages and disadvantages of online learning. There are
actually many advantages and disadvantages but for now I think that is enough
explanation about online learning. I will continue this essay with the explanation
of face to face classes, its advantages and its disadvantages.
Face-to-face learning is an
instructional method where course content and learning material are taught in
person to a group of students. This allows for a live interaction between a
learner and an instructor. It is the most traditional type of learning
instruction. Learners benefit from a greater level of interaction with their
fellow students as well. In face-to-face learning, students are held
accountable for their progress at the class’s specific meeting date and
time. Face-to-face learning is essentially a teacher-centered method
of education, and tends to vary widely among cultures.
There many advantages of face to face
class. For example, able to have 1-to-1 if any problem arises. Every learner
will be different, some are very independent in the sense that if they have a
problem, they will eventually solve it themselves with no problem. However,
there are a lot of learners who need to be shown or have something explained
because they do not understand it. So, if you have problem during online
learning it will forces you to become independent and explore the problem and
solve it at your own but if you learning by face to face you can simply ask the
lecturers if you have problem to understand the topic.
Next, the advantages of face to face class are you will be able to concentrate harder on your learning
because there will be less distraction than if you were at home. For example students who have younger
children at home, they will have a lot of distraction such as their younger sibling interrupting them by
pressing the keyboard. As we know, kids like to play with something that they have never seen. This
will make it difficult for the students to prepare the assignment that given by the lecturers. You also
will become distract if you have baby at your home. This is because baby usually cry if they do not get
what they want this will make you hard to focus during live lecture or when doing your work.
Networking or relationship with people also
the advantages of face to face classes. Students who have good bonding with
friends and teachers will be more prepared for the work environment. This is
because, students who study online intend to make individual work. They will
work on their own without interacting with other students. This will make it
difficult for this student to work later because as we know the teamwork is
very important for work environment. If in your study days you have prepare
yourself to work with people it will make you easier and know how to resolve or
handle problem with the coworkers later.
As
usual after I explain about the advantages, I will continue with the
disadvantages. So, the disadvantages of face to face class are higher cost and
travel time. As I said earlier on the advantages of online learning, it saves
you time and costs. So it's the opposite for face to face classes. For face to
face class you need to get up in the morning and get ready to go to class. You
need to manage your time wisely because if you get up late and don't have time
to get ready you have to skip the class because you have to get on the bus so
you need to get down earlier than the actual time the class starts.
Face to face classes will also make you
physically tired. This is because if you have a short class time you cannot go
to college and have to stay in the faculty to attend the next class because you
will waste time if you want to go to college because if you go back to college
you also need to get on the bus. So, if you have to stay in college you need to
rest at a student lounge that mixes with men and women. So, you cannot sleep as
you sleep at your own room.
Students who rent out of college need more
cost to pay. They required to pay for rent, electricity bills and transportation
expenses. Rental students also need to be prepared ahead of college stay so
they do not get stuck in jam during morning hours. Therefore, face to face
class will make students required to allocate their time and cost higher than
online learning.
The
next disadvantages of face to face class are attendance times can be
restrictive or inconvenient. This is because you need to be on time to class.
If there is a bus left that causes you to miss class you may not be allowed to
enter the class. This will make you miss the lesson that day for not being able
to attend class. You may also get a letter from the faculty for skip the class
but if you are studying online class, you don't have to miss the bus or get
stuck in the jam as you just need to get up then open the phone or laptop then
join the class. So things like skipping class or not being allowed to join the
live class do not always or cannot be happen when you study online.
So once we have figured out what
face-to-face and online classes really mean and the advantages and
disadvantages of online learning and face-to-face then we can decide which from
this two option that I prefer. Before I say which one I prefer, I want to
emphasize here that this is my opinion. So you can also make your own decisions
by giving your opinions based on the advantages and disadvantages of both
options.
I
want to emphasize here, I prefer face to face class rather than online
learning. This is because I am a student who always needs face-to-face
instruction to better understand a lesson. I'm also a student who likes to talk
and study group with friend because for me this is a more effective way of
learning because I can exchange ideas with friends. Learning like this can also
help me to see if my understanding is wrong or right. If I was doing online
class learning, I might feel that I had mastered the topic and not asked in
depth which ultimately led to my misunderstanding of the topic.
In addition, online learning also requires
that one people to be proficient in technology because online learning requires
students to study on the platform provided. Therefore, the student should be
good at exploring the function and advantages that we can do for example how to
record, how to make presentation to ask the questions that we want to ask and
most importantly when we want to sign and install the platform that we need to
use.
Imagine if we were not good at using
technology, this would make it difficult for us to study throughout the
semester. But if we learn face to face, we don't need to have this skill
because face-to-face learning in the classroom means that your lecturer will
give lecture in front of the class and will help you to understand the subject
more by guided you in the class. You just have to raise your hand if there are
something are not understood and you just have to jot down those notes in your
respective books.
I
think I also prefer face to face class over online learning because I need a learning
environment at college where we can see students struggle together to complete
their job or assignment given by a lecturer. When studying at home, the
learning environment will decrease which will allow us to start to
procrastinate our job and do the work just to get the job done, not because we
want to delve deeper into knowledge.
To conclude, these were just some points
as to why face-to-face learning has many clear advantages over e-learning but
e-learning is still a newly formed method and will continue to grow and maybe
will improve to such a point where it succeeds compared to face-to-face
learning. That all for today i will update more information about teaching and learning after this. Stay tuned🥰
