Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Education

[The following question is often asked in exams these days. I have always found my students struggling to write a good answer to it. Here I have written an answer in well-composed paragraphs as a model for the students to read and learn from.]

What are advantages and disadvantages of online education?

(The answer to this question can generally be written in three ways: in numbered or bulleted points, making a table and writing about each in opposite columns, or in paragraphs. Since it is often asked as an essay-type of question, it is better to answer in paragraphs.)

Answer:

Online education has both advantages and disadvantages. First, I will mention the advantages, and then, I will mention the disadvantages.

To begin with, online class can be taken right from our home. We don’t need to go to school or college to attend the class. We don’t need to meet our teacher physically. We don’t need to worry about our uniform. And even if we are ill and taking bed rest, we can join our class, for it is completely online, which means we can get connected to others via internet from wherever we are.

Secondly, various teaching materials including audio visuals can be easily shared and used in online education. Many Word and PDF files to read can be instantly shared either via chat messages or emails. PowerPoint Presentation, pictures, and audio visuals can be used to teach more effectively. Links for several YouTube videos and internet readings can be easily and instantly shared in online class, which is certainly not possible to do in physical class. Online classes can even be easily recorded and used and reused in future as an effective teaching material.

Thirdly, online education is the only safe means of education during the pandemic. We can easily and effectively remain safe from contagious diseases, since in online class we don’t have to meet each other in person and so physical touch or contact will be completely avoided. 

As I have already mentioned, online class has disadvantages too. First, not every student does have laptop or smart mobile phone and internet facility necessary for the online class in a poor country like Nepal. The parents of poor students can find it really hard to bear the cost of online education. However, the educational needs of the children and the demands of the school cannot be ignored, and so, it will only add a burden to these already burdened parents.

Next, for the same reason, the participation of all the students may not be ensured. Even if the students have compatible devices, poor internet connectivity or frequent power-cuts can disturb the online class. So, online class is very much unreliable in terms of students’ participation.

Lastly, controlling students’ behavior is very difficult in online class. The teacher may not be able to monitor the active presence and participation of every student. The students can simply put the video and microphone off and be gone away. If the present students are few, it might be possible to keep calling each participant’s name and effectively involve them in class activities, but in a large class, it is almost impossible. The young students can even misuse the internet and explore the unsuitable or harmful contents rather than their course matter. So, online education is not the best option for children and young students.

There are more advantages and disadvantages of online education, but I have listed above only three most common things for each. As many advantages as there are, there are just as many disadvantages of online education. The important thing is online education has increasingly become a need of modern and global education; therefore, its advantages should be promoted, whereas, its disadvantages should be minimized.