Did you ever think of taking classes in the comfort of your home, rather than sitting in a traditional classroom back in the early 2000s? Could you believe that even after havoc like Covid-19, you're learning process won't stop? No, right! But look at the world today. From getting groceries to grasping trigonometric concepts, everything is digital. Now you need not miss out on any lesson because of any injury or illness.
With the advent of the internet and its increasing wave, people first started teaching basic things online for free. Gradually, it was recognized that this can flourish as a working option for teachers and a great learning opportunity for students. Parents and students have started understanding that more than the medium of instruction, what matters is time and mindset.
The digitalization of education has opened the doors for people of any age group, background, and region to access knowledge. Through online learning classes, not only can you avail academic knowledge but anything in this world. From new languages, cooking classes, and knitting to a degree like MBA, everything can be learned online if you have the willingness to do so. In this article, you will get insights into the importance of online education, the challenges that are faced by both students and tutors and the future of the online education industry.
The eminence of online classes
The wave of online classes has changed the life of students and teachers. The vision of people regarding education has evolved, and they have started accepting this mode of education. Online teaching confers a lot of benefits to both students and teachers. Some of them are mentioned here.
1. Abundance of resources
Earlier, one has to search libraries to find a book or any piece of information. Or they were supposed to wait for the tutor's response regarding any query. With the digitalization of the education sector, one has gained access to study material and tutors from any corner of the world. Not only can they refer to different books, but they can also take help from recent advancements happening in various fields. A variety of research papers and news snippets can be studied to enhance knowledge.
2. No time boundation
Conduction of offline classes has to be done in a particular time frame, and one has to abide by that. In that process, some concepts of students get missed due to absenteeism. Every student has different active hours. Some students prefer studying at night and have better productivity. Such students have benefited the most from online study as they can get their lessons customized according to themselves. This flexibility is the most admired benefit of online classes.
3. Time saving
Any subject or skill can be learned through online classes. It is easy to sit back at home and surf the internet and find the best classes and tutors as compared to actually going here and there for the same. Online classes not only save time in finding good institutes but also saves regular going to and fro for the classes. Students struggling with time management must try joining online classes.
4. Convenient
All of us have been to school and coaching in scorching heat, heavy rains, and freezing chills. Online learning opportunities have brought the convenience of attaining knowledge sitting at home. External climatic factors now have no role to play in the education cycle. Students from even remote areas can access online tuition classes conveniently. There is no need to sit at a fixed place to study.
5. Personalised learning
Online classes give you an opportunity to study without any distractions and at your own pace. A personalized learning experience in online tutoring can be a great one, especially if they use technology like visual learning and interactive multimedia.
Challenges faced by students and teachers
No technology comes without any challenges attached. The shift from offline classes to online ones, especially during covid times, was not an easy one.
Problems in understanding the new medium
Initially, it was difficult for students as well as teachers, to acclimatize to seeing each other through screens. But gradually, they found their way. Teachers learned to handle technology, but sadly, some students misused this medium. They took it as an opportunity to join the class, but instead of studying, they engaged in other activities. The searches like “online teacher near me” increased, but the condition did not improve. It was quite tough for teachers to decide who was actually studying and who was not. Not only in the classes, but some students also took undue advantage of the online medium during tests and exams.
Non-availability of essentials
The biggest challenge in online education is the availability of the internet, electricity, and cell phone or laptop. It is impossible for some students to afford these gadgets, while in some places, the availability of electricity and network is the issue. Apart from these challenges, some students felt very isolated because of online classes. Extracurricular activities and socializing became a matter of Zoom calls only. This hampered the development of students other than the academic part.
Fraud activities
Fraudulent activities and entries in online classes happened. Reported cases of data breaches were quite low, but if we talk about notorious activities, the internet is filled with such videos where students misbehaved in online classes by creating fake ids. All these factors led to a disturbed study flow and attention. To add to this, technical issues were also faced by students and teachers, which further wasted time and concentration.
Despite these challenges, some students managed to fix their schedules and make the best out of this opportunity of online learning and are continuing to do so to upskill themselves.
Role of online learning in future
Online learning has fixed its roots and will continue to be a medium for the transfer of knowledge in the future as well. It is difficult to say if it will be the only medium, but it can definitely be said that the education system will exist in a hybrid mode. People can avail benefits of online classes while traditional classes will continue to exist. There will be unparalleled footfall on both platforms. Some of the other roles that will support the existence of online learning classes in the future are mentioned below:
Continuous learning opportunities
With the advent of online mediums for education, the saying “learning has no age bar” has come true. People nowadays strive to keep themselves updated with the latest happenings of the world and are willing to work hard to keep on adding new skills. By joining online classes, a person of any age group can learn anything they want.
Global connectivity
With digitalization and globalization, there are no parts of the world that seems actually far apart. There has been connectivity among people from different regions. Online classes will break the barriers of geographical distance and time zone.
At last, the future of education can be seen in hybrid mode. Both mediums will offer their own benefits and challenges but will co-exist. The presence of online classes has surely increased the accessibility and adaptability of education for students. As technology continues to advance, the educational sector is at the forefront of transformation.
