Online learning vs. traditional in class learning - Essay Example

Online learning or e-learning has been gaining popularity especially now that almost everything can be done online. Online learning is also gaining acceptance from the education sector as an acceptable and productive method of getting an education. Of course, the traditional classroom learning is still the mainstream method for learning. But as the online learning is gaining a place in the education industry, people are starting to wonder which method of learning is better. Although both online learning and traditional classroom learning aim to educate students the needed skills and knowledge for a good career or better future, the methods are different in such a way that they adopt different teaching styles.

With online learning, you don’t have a physical classroom. Your classroom is in cyberspace, in forums and in chats. Your classroom is the website and your account where you can download all the lessons and the exams that your teacher gives you. Sometimes, you don’t even know what your teacher looks like. Although yearly, there are upgrades in online learning as the technology improves website interaction, through web-based videos and streaming, there are also improvements on the methods used by the online educators (Rudestam).

When compared with the traditional classroom learning, having a classroom in cyberspace looks more appealing, especially when the student does not need to spend a dime travelling from his home to his school. With a click of a button, you are transferred from one classroom to another unlike in the traditional classroom setting where you would need to walk from classroom to classroom or even building to building, which can be a reason for tardiness. In online learning, there is no excuse to be late in class.

Online learning has a more personalized approach compared to the traditional classroom learning (Rudestam; Joyes). Although both learning methods group students together within a class, online learning has the tendency to be more personalized. Online educators would have the opportunity to do one on one session with their students more than a traditional professor would have. Because of the many tasks and the number of students they are handling, traditional classroom educators have the tendency to teach in route, or based on the yearly lesson plan they have to the entire class.

Although online learning also has the same tendency when the lessons are not customized but are given with predetermined mode and route (Pan & Hawryszkiewzyc). Since online educators have the capability to segregate their students, or have separate discussions with them through PMs and email, they can give a more personalized approach according to the student’s level of interest or understanding. But this can also be seen as dehumanizing interaction as the interaction is done through technology and there is no real human contact such as in the traditional classroom learning, where you can see, hear and feel the sincerity of the teacher when talking to the students (Nash).

But because of the improvements in online learning such as the web-based videos, online learning would look more humanized than before. It will provide the same interaction level as the traditional classroom learning.Since online learning is based on the use of the cyberspace, there is no exact way of determining whether the student understood the lesson or not. In the traditional learning setup, educators can combine different styles of checking their students’ comprehension through spot exams or oral exams or recitations, something that can’t be done online.

With online learning, you are not really 100% sure it was your student who answered the exam or it was another person since you are not seeing them taking the exam like in the traditional classroom learning.Both online and traditional classroom learning have their respective advantages and disadvantages. But what is important is that the student is learning. All that is needed is to determine which method would help the student understand better. Works CitedJoyes, G. “Personalized online learning: Exploiting new learning techniques.” Pp. 141 – 154. Ed. Spencer-Oatey, H. (2007). E-Learning initiatives in China: Pedagogy, policy and culture.

Hongkong: Hongkong University Press.Nash, S. (2006). Leadership and the e-learning organization. NY: Texture Press.Pan, W. and Hawryszkiewycz, I. “Facilitating knowledge construction by providing individualized services.” Pp. 603 – 610. Eds. Mizoguchi, R., et. al. (2006). Learning by effective utilization of technologies: Facilitating intercultural understanding. Netherlands: IOS Press.Rudestam, K. and Schoenholtz-Read, J. “The flourishing of adult online education: An overview.” Pp. 1 – 29. Eds.

Rudestam, K. and Schoenholtz-Read, J. Handbook of online learning. (2010). CA: Sage Publications, Inc.