Introduction
Due to technological advances, online learning takes the lead in most learning institutions today. Transitioning from tertiary education in a few selected units to elementary education for all subjects raises many concerns about the expected outcome. Societal problems have prompted various ideologies, article reviews, and critical sector evaluations just with the seemingly unstoppable adoption in institutions. This topic is a concern because education is regarded as a fundamental and central institution in society, defining the future structure of future generations. While some community analysts support and embrace the entire transition in the education sector for convenience, others advocate for a paper and physical education system, or at the very least, a hybrid form. Authors have documented the benefits and drawbacks of an entirely online writing system for the educational system. Because the action is still ongoing, there is still time for authors to share their perspectives. This essay proposes a case for and against online learning for students. The report focuses on the potential outcomes of the education system for learners and the entire economy from the e-learning system, assuming a rationality approach to all concepts captured. The supporters emphasize convenience, while opponents focus on the health consequences and associated costs.
Online learning is flexible.
Different schools have majorly adopted online learning across the globe due to the rise of the pandemic. Nevertheless, the real question is, what happens after the pandemic? Will schools change the system from the old face-to-face? Most schools, students and lecturers have adopted the new education system. Compared to the traditional system, E-learning offers flexibility in the learning process. Although learning online seems hard to handle, students who actively engage in online education enjoy it. The students who engage in other activities, such as work, have the freedom to balance work and education as they can handle both activities at once. Not only the students enjoy the benefit of online learning but also the teachers as they can set up their own class time depending on students’ agreement and the public school. The students can set their own timetable and learning objectives that go with their schedule. It is an added advantage for some adults who are always busy with work and still want to pursue education (Sanongdej, 2021). They can only attend part-time courses, but they can still find time to visit and download some of the coursework notes posted by the lecturer for those students who did not manage to attend the lecture. The notes and video provided by the lecture can be sped up by students who understand some parts, look for the complicated parts that need clarification, and repeat the video as much as possible for proper understanding.
This saves the student time instead of listening to the whole video. For instance, some students may avoid unnecessary explanations and guidelines during the exams and go directly to the question that needs the answer to minimize time wastage. In addition, e-learning is flexible because a student can attend class anywhere and just by a click of a button, the student can get required feedback immediately without delay. For instance, in some learning systems, exams are marked immediately after the submission of the answers. The other students who are far from the institution, such as students from other countries, can attend courses and exams without physical attendance (Swan, 2019).
COUNTERARGUMENT AND REBUTTAL TO COUNTERARGUMENT
It is very accurate that online learning is flexible and has helped students and lecturers maintain their schedules and balance other activities while learning. However, out of the 100% of the students and the lecturer that enjoys this learning system, about 27% would like to be more comfortable with this learning system. One of the vast issues worrying about the system is the quality of education offered to the students. Usually, there are different types of students with different learning capabilities. Some students have a high level of understanding and quickly grasp content without help from the lecture, and some need a deep and cohesive explanation to understand (Nasution et al., 2021). Those who need quality explanations greatly suffer because they need help to get the best out of online lectures. Again there is a question that experts have raised about online learning. Are the course and teaching online enough to produce a top-quality employee?
Online education’s effect on education cost
It is undeniable that online education has minimized the cost associated with education acquisition. Genuinely, some people have sufficient money to attend top-quality colleges around the world, and for such people, online education seems like a waste of time to them. Since several professors worldwide teach different courses online, such individuals can ask for anything without paying. Online learning should indeed be integrated into the education system for individuals who come from poor backgrounds and cannot pay for expensive colleges (Bosch et al., 2019). For instance, there has been research conducted by the University of Tokyo. Students have been retiring each year due to a need for more sufficient funds to cater for their education. Therefore, to help such students continue learning, online learning should be used to minimize extra costs associated with learning, such as transportation costs, textbooks and other learning resources.
Compared to traditional learning systems, online learning costs less when compared to face-to-face learning. Therefore, this learning system has dramatically helped students willing to learn but lacking enough funds to pursue education (Nasution et al., 2021). The poor have benefited from this system since they can continue learning without difficulty. Moreover, this education system has also been helpful to those who have money because they have also used it to save on extra costs that can be wasted in traditional education.
COUNTERARGUMENT AND REBUTTAL TO COUNTERARGUMENT
However beneficial this online learning is, there are some adverse effects it has posed to the students and the whole education system. It is no doubt that online learning is cheaper and saves the cost of learning compared to the traditional learning system. However, there is some side effect that students who enjoy the affordable education offered by this system are exposed to. This education system is addictive to some students (Pei & Wu, 2019). They cannot attend class and enjoy themselves as before because they are addicted to online learning. They find themselves enjoying learning using technology compared to traditional learning.
Students addicted to online learning learn a little and waste time. They are also on the verge of wasting their potential because most of the lessons online are theoretical and not practical, which is not enough to equip a student for a prosperous future career. Assuming that more is needed, online learning is prone to mistakes and false information. At times the resources provided by lectures for further research by students need to be corrected, more precise or easier to understand without explanation (Nasution et al., 2021). The other side effect that can affect those poor students who cannot attend physical lectures is eye problems brought on by continued screen staring during the lesson. Computer light has a severe effect on the eyes of the screen viewer. The minimum period of an online class is about 45 minutes. A student will be attentively staring at the screen all this time to get all the information provided. This will seriously affect the student’s eyesight because, in a day, there can be about three online lessons with a minimum of 30 minutes.
Accessibility to other valuable learning resources
Online education helps students access various supportive learning materials compared to traditional learning systems. For instance, students studying online can easily access and view library resources whenever they want to (Muxtorjonovna, 2020). This benefits different groups of individuals who cannot afford expensive learning resources such as textbooks since they are easily accessible online for free. Individuals with children, students who take care elderly and those who work part-time can easily manage online education as they can read on their own time without pressure.
COUNTERARGUMENT AND REBUTTAL TO COUNTERARGUMENT
For some people benefits of online learning are not helping them. A group of individuals argue that online learning should only partially replace physical learning. They argue that physical learning helps students organize their tasks and time well enough to help them organize their work in future (Lim et al., 2019). Although this argument may be meaningful, it can only sometimes be true because there is some proof. Information from severe and reliable research sources claims that more than 5 million students in America are preferably engaging in online study. This means that even after the pandemic is over, the regime of traditional learning might be over since it will be less effective than before.
Conclusion
To sum up, online learning is highly beneficial to every student around the globe, although it has yet to spread to other countries as it is in America entirely. It can solve a different problem that traditional learning cannot solve, such as expenses associated with physical learning. It dramatically helps the poor and other groups of individuals in the world who cannot attend their desired course due to some reasons such as tight schedules. However, this student can be helpful to other students but meaningless to others because not all people can enjoy the benefits. However, with the continued expansion and growth of online learning, it will soon become the best system of education that can accommodate all types of learners worldwide.
Reference
Bosch, C., Mentz, E., & Reitsma, G. M. (2019). Integrating Cooperative Learning into the Combined Blended Learning Design Model. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 11(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijmbl.2019010105
Lim, D. H., Morris, M. L., & Kupritz, V. W. (2019). ONLINE VS BLENDED LEARNING: DIFFERENCES IN INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES AND LEARNER SATISFACTION. Online Learning, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v11i2.1725
Muxtorjonovna, A. M. (2020). Significance Of Blended Learning In the Education System. The American Journal of Social Science and Education Innovations, 02(08), 507–511. https://doi.org/10.37547/tajssei/volume02issue08-82
Nasution, A. K. P., Surbakti, A. H., Zakaria, R., Wahyuningsih, S. K., & Daulay, L. A. (2021). Face to Face Learning vs Blended Learning vs Online Learning (Student Perception of Learning). Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1783(1), 012112. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1783/1/012112
Pei, L., & Wu, H. (2019). Does online learning work better than offline learning in undergraduate medical education? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medical Education Online, 24(1), 1666538. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2019.1666538
Sanongdej, W. (2021). Investigating Learning Process Factors Related to Online Learning and Physical Examinations Among Nursing Students. Archives in Neurology & Neuroscience, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.33552/ann.2021.09.000721
Swan, K. (2019). RESEARCH ON ONLINE LEARNING. Online Learning, 11(1).
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