Free Essay About Online Education

We people of modernity live in the dynamic world so the form of our education is also changing. Traditional way of getting knowledge is being replaced to online education. As online education has many of the same components and teaching techniques which have traditional education it is suitable for students in terms of time flexibility, availability and doesn’t require attending physically in class. However it doesn’t develop social skills or doesn’t motivate students as a teacher and competitive atmosphere of classes and cause the isolation of participants.
Access to the Internet and World Wide Web gives an opportunity to gain necessary knowledge and skills not leaving people’s home country, family and job places. The whole world in our computer screens. It allows save expenses on ticket and living moreover no need to be involved in all visa process which is usually nervous and time consuming period. Amy Hassenburg (2009) proves that distance education is revolutionary as it is able to provide many freedoms and advantages that were never imaginable in a traditional classroom. So it is one of chances of digital life which really does help people with limited access, mothers, girls who are not allowed to go abroad, and office people who demand improving professional skills at the same time stay in work place.
Each student is different in learning speed and the way of learning. The advantage of online education is that it is possible to relearn the recorded video of the teaching material, pause it if a student need time to rethink lectures that isn’t never affordable to do with a real teacher in the classroom. Mary Thrope (1998) estimates that online education is even better than traditional way as it permits students to learn at their own pace and shy students have better opportunity to communicate via email and come up with thoughtful, meaningful and reflective responses than quick answers in class. Distance education can be effective in eliminating barriers as it provides currency of material, increased convenience, flexibility and feedback over face-to-face experience.
However, as a coin has two sides, online education also has limitations which can be solved only in traditional education. Online education doesn’t develop students’ ability to ask questions, share opinions, debate among students. Teacher can find an individual approach to each student, motivate them and control students’ performance. Anna Ya Ni (2013) thinks that one of the main components of effective education is the social and communicative interaction between teacher and student, and student and student. As it is seen online education can’t provide competitive atmosphere of the classroom and improvement of social skills and critical thinking which are vividly important in real life.
In conclusion, online education is rapidly developing and becoming popular with its flexibility and availability. It has many advantages as well as disadvantages. However it is one of the solutions giving an opportunity to fit dynamic world.

Reference:

Hassenburg, Amy (1999). Distance Education Versus The Traditional Classroom. Berkeley Scientific Journal, 13(1). Available at: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/3859m52h
Thrope, Mary (1998). Assessment and Third Generation Distance Education, Distance Education, 19:2, 265-286.
Anna Ya Ni (2013). Comparing the Effectiveness of Classroom and Online Learning: Teaching Research Methods. California State University. JPAE 19(2), 199–215. Available at: http://www.naspaa.org/jpaemessenger/Article/VOL19-2/03_Ni.pdf