Will Online Education Outlive the Pandemic?
The pandemic’s direction of a “new normal” has triggered the shift from face-to-face classes to online learning. As learning institutions adapt to the health protocols in 2020, online platforms were utilized to make up for the restrictions. Luckily, technology knows no geographical boundaries. Learning is still possible even in the comfort of our own homes.
Education going online is not a new thing, however. In fact, it’s always excited. But a significant boom was observed especially during the first few months of the pandemic. Now with the rolling out of vaccines and businesses resuming operations, will remote learning die down or grow to be more robust in the future?
Online Learning Before the Pandemic
Even before the pandemic, online education had already had its start. With its modest yet steady growth, language apps, virtual crash courses, masterclasses, and more became accessible online. Even colleges offered virtual education to their students. A setup like this was mostly catered to individuals who were full-time employees or working on their careers.
Other than the surge of usage observed due to the pandemic, educational institutions have gone online too. Although it was for different reasons, conventional education has never utilized technology as much as it has now that it made the move to the digital space. But what does this mean for future e-learning?
Pros and Cons of Online Learning
Although seeing education carving its own online space is a positive development, it has its own limitations too. There might be many who prefer it as it’s more suitable for their lifestyle, there are also others who have limited access to online learning tools and sources. Student learning outcomes are dependent on many things. Many have had mixed or negative feelings towards online learning, while others reported having a positive learning experience. Before getting to the limiting sides of it, here are some general perks people enjoy from online learning.
Learning can be done almost anywhere, as long as the individual has access to a computer and internet connection. These are things that are already available at home. Other than affording students the choice of location, online learning can knows no geographical boundaries. Most of all, and probably the favorite perk, no one has to deal with traffic! Not going to school, or to work on a daily basis. This is especially advantageous to those with physical disabilities, mobile difficulties, or health conditions.
Speaking of access, another that’s worth mentioning is access to key persons like professors, guest experts, and other individuals from different institutions. Additionally, it’s accessible anytime, especially if it’s asynchronous. This gives students the choice of what time of the day they want to take classes in which learning is most optimal to them. This is an ideal setup for those with other priorities such as their full-time job, family, or living in remote areas. This is also advantageous to those who want to take their own pace in their courses.
But even with all its perks, online learning is not without its disadvantages.
For one, having access to technology and resources is crucial for effective and successful online learning. But with disparities between economic backgrounds, it’s a challenge for those to learn online. Having access to the tools needed for e-learning is vital for it to be a viable option.
E-learning is convenient in terms of scheduling and logistics, especially for students who have other priorities. However, this setup requires a level of self-discipline to sit through an entire class let alone show up for it on time. A student must be disciplined and responsible enough to take advantage of the flexibility of the setup by making the most out of it.
Additionally, the courses and degrees may be more demanding tactile or practical-wise than others. For one, a degree in Bachelor of Information Technology online can be viable for remote learning as the content of courses themselves rely heavily on what one can do on a computer screen. Meanwhile, people in the medical field require a different kind of training and teaching that’s best done face-to-face. Teaching English as a foreign language online is another area that has really taken off and can be a terrific means for people to earn money as they study.
Just as there are different learning styles, e-learning might not work for some students, especially those who prefer tactile learning. Another downside to it is the learning space. There must be a designated space at home for learning. It’s important to delineate spaces according to task to make the most out of study and rest.
Does Online Learning Have a Future?
The advancement of technology made flexible learning an option many want as evidenced by a forecast of the online education market reaching $350 billion by 2025.
Although the sudden and heavy shift to online learning in 2020 was difficult due to lack of resources and infrastructure, this is likely to improve as more resources and efforts have been made into improving the bandwidth of web conferencing services, with some now offering it for free. There has also been a significant drive to give students the resources they need to participate in course activities. It is predicted that, rather than drying up post-pandemic, the online learning market would continue to grow.