There are advantages and disadvantages to teaching and learning online. This article looks at the top 5 advantages on an e-course, from the perspectives of both the lecturer and the student. Each of the following will be demonstrated to show that an online course has incredible benefits relative to the typical face to face meeting.
Convenience
It speaks for itself that from the perspective of the student it is incredibly comfortable and in fact favorable to take a course in the confines of their home as opposed to a classroom. Additionally, travel and boarding costs are eliminated. Along with that, so is cost to driving from the apartment to the classroom or center for a face-to-face session. One might even take note of the time saving aspect. Commuting to the physical classroom requires putting together oneself, getting properly attired and heading to (and from) the meeting’s location – those clearly take time.
From an instructor’s perspective, an online course in also convenient for some of the same reasons as mentioned above in reference to students, but in other ways as well. Some are laid out below.
In general, an e-course presents an opportunity to teach/share knowledge/learn at a self-paced yet effective and comfortable manner.
Learning Environment
It may be argued that more students will feel that learning is easier face to face. This may very well be the case. So how does the online environment serve as an advantage? From the instructor’s perspective there are multiple reasons.
Instructors are now able to utilize digital whiteboards in delivering a lecture. With the onset of screen sharing technologies built-in, several technologies exist which allow a lecturer to make the learning experience more visual and impactful to the set of students to are visual learners. One might argue that in the physical classroom, the use of a projector and screen may be just as effective. It is however dramatically easier to have multiple presentations from multiple resources queued up on full screen display, alongside a small video of the instructor, all ready to go with the flicker of the fingers.
More emphatic of an advantage though is that these digital learning experiences, in their entirety, may be saved to digital files by students (if allowed) or by instructors who may send to students. For example, in 3 minutes, an instructor may flip between a few PowerPoint slides, a diagram with some handwritten notes, a snippet from a YouTube video, some practice problem and a solution of one of these problems. And all of this may be saved. The entire lecture may be screen recorded. In some cases, the instructor will have to give permission but in all cases the instructor can record these sessions and share thereafter.
With the continuous growth in technology, students (and instructors) are now able to write on their screens using digital tablets. Instructors can have students solve problems from the comfort of their seats (whether that be in an office during lunch at work or the home office) and write to solve a problem, in their very own handwriting. Similarly, an instructor may give feedback, effective and timely, on the screen. All of this is done without having to leave their seats. The costs of tablets have come more and more affordable in the years following the onset of the pandemic. My favorite is the Wacom Intuos Creative Pen Tablet. It may be found on Amazon and costs are well below $80 – a bargain value!
Reusability & Portability
Once an online course is created it may be used again for the same or a different cohort. This benefits the e-course creator for the most part. Still, it is an enormous advantage. Just about every subject is offered every other semester in face-to-face classes. Instructors do not go about using a different course outline and lesson plans each time they teach the course. Amendments and adaptations are made but that is about it. However, with an e-course, the delivery of the lecture itself may also be reused.
How is this concept of reusability beneficial for the student? Consider the scenario where a classroom is filled will some 40 students. Student A is a bit shy but extremely attentive. The ability to record her instructor would work all sorts of wonders for her later when she reviews her notes, or when she attempts to answer a question that is very similar to a scenario that was covered in class. What an advantage. Instead (or in addition to) of relying simply on the notes taken or memory, students are now able to record or get recording of sessions; in most cases students can do one better. They can pause and even rewind a session. This is even better for those students who believe in getting the concept the first time around so they can do something else with their time when the rest of the class is reviewing or trying to teach themselves at home later.
The concept of portability is remarkable. Instructors may create and deliver lessons from just about anywhere, providing they have all the key elements necessary for an effective e-course. Students also benefits from the fact that online learning is portable. Students may learn with their devices and headphones on a flight or during lunch breaks at work.
The Global Classroom
The blossoming of online learning as a viable option for educating/learning has solidify the concept of the Global Classroom. With a device capable of going online and connectivity, anyone around the world can benefit from the online education movement. The thought of physical distance preventing one from learning a new skill or subject is a thing of the past.
Additionally, it can be seen then that sharing knowledge is now easier than ever. Someone in Denmark can set up an effective e-course and share their skills and knowledge on the other side of the world in real time.
Sitting in a (virtual) classroom with students or various backgrounds and origins is an advantage worth talking about as well. Firstly, communicating with each other is optional but the benefits of working with and learning from other classmates from around the world is extremely eye opening of an experience – it grows our mindset and appreciation for the world around us. Teamwork is an important asset in growth. Developing this skill with others from around the world is nothing short of an asset and a feather in the cap.
Discipline & Dedication
Discipline and dedication are required for any instructor in creating an online course. An online course must be fully structured and completely planned out for execution to be effective. This requires dedication and of course, discipline. It also requires a full view of the starting and ending point for the course, as well as the journey. Upon completion of creating an online course, an instructor will have exercised a lot of discipline and demonstrated an immense amount of dedication in that project.
The same applies for students of the e-course. An e-course is generally more compact than a face-to-face course. As such, time management is incredibly important. Students are expected to have and/or build discipline throughout the course. Online courses will usually have quite a bit of self-paced aspects where students determine when to start/stop/pause a video lecture. This requires dedication. At the end of such a course, students will have matured along the way, benefiting from having taken an online course.
Conclusion
There are several advantages to taking an e-course. I have listed the top 5 reasons an online course is advantageous relative to face-to-face sessions. Use the comment section to share your experiences with online courses, as well as any advantages you feel may have been left out of this article. Also be sure to share this article with a friend/colleague who may find this type of article interesting and beneficial.
If you are interested in reading about how to create or identify an effective e-course, refer to article on this site about the characteristics of an effective e-course.