THE NEW NORMAL EDUCATION
Distance education, also called distance learning, is the education of students who may not
always be physically present at a school. Traditionally, this usually involved correspondence
courses wherein the student corresponded with the school via mail. Today, it involves online
education. Online learning will involve in-person interaction between you and your students on a
regular basis. This is because online learning is used as a blended learning technique along with
other teaching strategies. Online learning has a lot of benefits and advantages that make it really
a strong and prospective option over traditional education especially in the pandemic.
This type of education has gained its growing popularity with the development of the Internet, as
students can easily communicate with their teachers and exchange learning materials over the
net, even living in different parts of the world. Attending a distance course, learners can study at
their own place, time and speed, choose individual and flexible schedules, and combine different
activities simultaneously. The internet allows you to communicate with anyone around the world
with just the touch of a button. By using online classes, students will no longer be obligated to
have social interactions with their peers on campus. Yes, students will be able to access the
information given by the instructor at any time they want. But, without their instructor face to
face, students will have to come up with their own method of processing information. The cost of
distance learning may eventually be significantly less than the face to face learning. Classrooms
require students to buy school supplies like notebooks, books, pens, binders, and many others.
The transportation going to school and the actual expense of the school’s tuition are also
included. Online learning rules out all these expenses. Books are now available, modules and
lessons very easily could be taken using any word processor, and the school electricity fees are
eliminated as both students and [rofessors could log-on from the convenience of their home. It is
not time-consuming, from waking up hours before to preparing to go to school, traveling to and
fro, and the only excuse for missing class is not getting online. Although there are many
advantages in online education, there are also some disadvantages. The fact that you are working
independently could very well be one of the major cons of taking online classes. Students and
educators must have computer literacy where the major success of an online environment is
needed. Both should be knowledgeable in using a variety of search engines and familiar in
navigating technology tools to help succeed in an online program. Another factor is the lack of
interaction. You are not in a classroom and don’t have the opportunity to hear questions and
discussions from other students. Although, this isn’t always an issue, depending on the subject
and your accessibility of the online course you are taking. The gadgets per se have numerous
problems that could limit the learner's access. Lastly, the limitation of technology can be
inevitable at certain times. Breakdowns with the system can unexpectedly happen at any time.
The server could crash which will cut all participants off from the class. One may not have a
stable connection every time. Internet connections could fail and be very irritating especially
upon taking your online classes. Educators hosting the connection could become bogged down
with users and either slow down or fail altogether. In fact, the internet speed here in the
Philippines is very slow so it could sometimes cause interruption during the online classes.
Given these situations, technology is not 100% reliable that can hinder the learning experience.
Online classes and Modular Education are the options that provide students to learn amidst this
pandemic, but let us be realistic at this point. Not all of us are privileged enough to sustain our
needs technically and financially.
Online class is difficult for those students and teachers who are living in an area where internet
connection is very slow and sluggish which cannot sustain the needs to proceed to online classes.
Pandemic is not an excuse for those who are lazy to go to school and wake up early in the
morning. Sorry, but we also have dreams. We have dreams to graduate, to get a diploma, to get
enough education.
