Online Learning Vs Traditional Learning 

Education can be very important to a person’s life. It can show or teach them new things that they never knew and help guide them in life. Traditional learning was in full effect until the Coronavirus took full effect, killing 2.57 million people worldwide. This virus caused schools to move fully online in hopes of slowing the spread and transmission of the virus. Some students were most likely relieved to be away from the school building and atmosphere, but others were scared, anxious, confused and worried about how this online school system was going to work and how they were really going to learn. This virus was something that the world had never faced before and it took all of us by surprise and turned our entire lives upside. Even through all this some people still ask the question “will schools reopen back to normal or will it still be online.” 

Traditional education and online education have numerous similarities. The main similarity is the education students gain. Whether the class is being taught online or in person, students are given the opportunity to learn and become successful. In both settings, it is mandatory that students attend class, participate, do homework, take quizzes, and take exams, which are all needed to have a sustainable learning experience. Whether you are sitting in a traditional setting or an online setting, students tend to have access to the internet, textbooks, e-books, other online resources, and teachers. These two types of learning depend on an instructor. Whether you are seeing your teacher in person and asking questions, or having an online class where you only get to email your teacher, you still are able to gain contact with them. Meaning, if you were to have any questions on the lesson, you are still getting the help you needed no matter where you are. But depending on the type of online program a student is attending, they may get to view a pre-recorded lecture or a live lecture that lets them ask the same exact questions that they would ask in a traditional setting. If you want to learn applied technical skills, online learning is a great place to enhance them. When studying online, you are challenged to step outside your comfort zone. 

Although online learning and traditional have numerous similarities, they also have plenty of differences. The main difference is that the communication and the lecture style is different. Online courses can be done at any location, which means the student does not have to worry about the transportation, whether they are walking, taking an uber, getting a ride from a friend, riding the subway, etc. For example, “if a student were to wake up 15 minutes after their online class were to begin, they can easily open their computer, join the class, and turn off their camera.” Meanwhile, if a student who attended traditional classes woke up late for their class, they would be a lot more than 15 minutes tardy. They would have to prepare for their class, find transportation to school, and then when they finally get to the school, they would have to walk all the way to their class, now making them 30-40 minutes late. Instructors teaching online can either decide to pre-record their lecture the day before, meaning that the class gets to listen to the lecture but not ask their questions right away, or they can attend synchronous classes which are known as “live online” classes. This is when students and their teachers meet virtually on specific days and times. Live online allows the students to ask their questions while the teacher is giving the lecture, but must continuously mute and unmute themselves. Some students may continuously have to move their cursor around to click and unclick the mute button when they have a simple question which they could find inconvenient at times, but in a traditional setting, the only thing necessary in order to ask or answer a question is raising your hand. 

Online learning may have a negative impact on children and adolescents due to Covid-19. Covid-19 is keeping kids awake at night longer than usual. The kids are being forced to be confined in the house due to strict rules that means less exercise which will ultimately mean kids putting more weight on which can interfere with their sleep school. Students deprived of sleep will result in longer naps during the day disrupting their sleep schedule at night. All that results in students being on their phones later in the night being exposed to “blue light,” which disrupts melatonin, the body’s cue to sleep. 

Students who took online classes have also seen an increase in mental health such as depression, anxiety and stress. An article ran a test on college students in New Jersey and it was shown that there was a high level of depression associated with the difficulties of being able to focus in school. Covid-19 has taken a toll mentally on college students who are trying to learn for their majors and get their life in order but they have to learn online which is an unfamiliar, unorthodox way of learning. 

Students who take online classes do in fact miss out on the “normal” learning experiences that prepare them for any of their careers. There are a lot of skills traditional classes teach individuals that online classes can not. Basic communication skills, even if that includes speaking with classmates and collaborating with them. Although you can collaborate in online classes, it contrasts when you are within the same vicinity as the people you are working with. You can develop a chemistry that will help turn the work that much better, the teacher will be able to see that these students have really worked together. The second learning experience an online student misses is presentation skills, online students are not under the pressure of having to face 30 or more faces and presenting a topic, “they can easily turn off their cameras and give a presentation depending on the class and the instructor.” For example, if a student were to enter the business world and have to give a presentation, if they took online classes their whole college career, they would likely not feel as prepared as a traditional student who has given multiple face to face presentations. Traditional school helped students have a stable and consistent game plan from Monday to Friday.

References 

Becker, S. P., & Gregory, A. M. (2020). Editorial Perspective: Perils and promise for child and adolescent sleep and associated psychopathology during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(7), 757-759. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13278

Iwai, Yoshiko. “Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Scientific American Blog Network, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2020, blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/online-learning-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/. 

Kecojevic, A., Basch, C. H., Sullivan, M., & Davi, N. K. (2020, September 30). The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on mental health of undergraduate students in New Jersey, cross-sectional study. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239696

Tucker, Kristine. “Synonym.” Classroom.synonym.com, 2017, classroom.synonym.com/.