“Do students Need Face to Face

Interaction to Study Better?”

A CONCEPT PAPER
November 05, 2021

I.Abstract
This paper begins with an exposition of the concepts of Face to Face Classes and Blended
Learning and will show the majority of people choosing between two modes of studying. It then
documents what are the advantages and disadvantages of both modes of learning.
This paper argues for a neutral decision making between Face to Face Classes and Blended
learning as a form of studying. We will be discussing about what impacts can Face to Face Classes and
Blended Learning gives to students
It goes on with the impact of both modes of learning to students, teachers and parents.
Evidences in a form of research and tables will be presented. How will the ICT help in this certain issue?
The paper concludes what the majority of people will choose between both of the learning modes.

Keywords: Blended Learning, Face to Face Classes, interaction and students.

II. Introduction
“Learning is not attained by chance; it must be sought for with ardour and attended to with
diligence.” Learning helps an individual to acquire the necessary skills through learning and knowledge so
that he can achieve his set goals. An important fact about learning is that it is a means to improve
knowledge and gain skills that will help in reaching specific goals. But, how did Blended Learning start?
On March 11, 2020, the World Health organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
Following the speed with which COVID-19 spread to all parts of the world, and to contain the spread of
the disease, most governments around the world, including the US, authorized unprecedented social
containment measures to stem the tide. These measures among others required social distancing and the
temporary physical closure of educational institutions. The Georgia State University School of Public
Health, like all other institutions of higher learning, had to create distance-learning opportunities to enable
students to complete the 2019–2020 academic years. The unplanned, rapid, and uncertain duration of the
approach presented challenges at all academic levels. Not much information on best practices was
available to guide such abrupt transitions to college education. The purpose of the study was to collect
data on how the transition to distance learning impacted undergraduate and graduate students taking
courses in public health at GSU. The goal was to identify student academic challenges and the
unforeseen benefits of distance learning, and to use that information to inform practices that can be
implemented during crises that impact university education.
On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities reported to the World Health Organization (WHO),
the presence of numerous cases of an unknown pneumonia-like disease that presented like flu in Wuhan
City, Hubei Province in China (1). After virus isolation and analysis of the viral genome sequence from the
lower respiratory tract samples of infected patients, a novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory
syndrome-related coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2 was identified and subsequently named COVID-19 by
the WHO (1). A month after its emergence, the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and a day
later, the United States (US) declared the disease a public health emergency (2). By May 27, 2020, the
WHO had confirmed 5,488 million cases of COVID-19 in over 180 countries, with about 1.634 million of
those cases occurring in the US (3, 4).
With no successful vaccine or treatment available, and in an attempt to contain the spread of
COVID-19, most governments around the world, including the US, authorized unprecedented social
containment measures. These measures, among others, included social distancing and the temporary
physical closure of educational institutions. Educational institutions had to adopt a digital approach to
instruction and student learning, dramatically transitioning traditional in-person classroom instruction to
predominantly distance learning where teaching is provided remotely on digital platforms. At present,
there are over 300 college and university closures in the US, affecting millions of students (5). While
distance learning is not a new approach to instruction and learning at Georgia State University's (GSU)
School of Public Health (SPH), the unplanned, rapid, and uncertain duration of the approach, is
presenting challenges and taking a toll on students’ at all academic levels. Not much information on best
practices was available to guide such abrupt transitions to college education. The purpose of this study
was to collect information on how the transition to distance learning impacted undergraduate and
graduate students taking courses in public health at GSU. The goal was to identify student academic
challenges and unforeseen benefits of distance learning, and to use that information to inform practices
that can be implemented during future crises that impact university education.
More than 1 billion children are at risk of falling behind due to school closures aimed at
containing the spread of COVID-19. To keep the world’s children learning, countries have been
implementing remote education programmes. Yet many of the world’s children – particularly those in
poorer households – do not have internet access, personal computers, TVs or even radio at home,
amplifying the effects of existing learning inequalities. Students lacking access to the technologies needed
for home-based learning have limited means to continue their education. As a result, many face the risk of
never returning to school, undoing years of progress made in education around the world.
With school closures across 188 countries (as of April 2020), many of them are exploring
alternative ways to provide continuous education using technologies such as Internet, TV, and radio.
However, access to these technologies is limited in many low- and middle-income countries, especially
among poor households.
What solutions or social issues does the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
contribute to this worldwide issue?

III.Advantages and Disadvantages of Both Learning Modes

Blended Learning
The term ‘blended learning’ actually describes the manner in which eLearning is integrated or
combined with a more traditional classroom setup, offering independent study. This particular learning
approach makes sure that the audience remains engaged and their overall learning experience is
productive. The learning strategy is more popular among individuals who have unique learning styles as
this strategy caters to individual needs with more flexibility and convenience.
However, to fully and completely incorporate this learning strategy, there are two basic factors
which you should consider. While some learners prefer a combination of online settings and traditional
classroom, it is important to consider the target segment of catered students. Not every learner is
motivated enough to actively engage in blended learning. For such learners, this particular learning
strategy is not suitable.
Secondly, motivation is indeed a critical aspect of blended learning strategy in addition to
targeted segmentation. Managing this part of blended learning involves planned crafting of the ‘BLENDED’
assessments. The term ‘BLENDED’ here is associated with ‘ASSESSMENT’ to emphasize more on the
non-traditional assessments such as traditional examination and tests. This means that developing
innovative content is a major factor that must be considered here.
However, developing unique and engaging content and creating a productive environment of
blended learning, whether it is on corporate or students’ level, is not always easy and can be quite
challenging for many reasons. The development of this learning strategy involves the integration of online
course software and its basic know-how by both the targeted audience and the content developer.
Similarly, such kind of learning platforms cannot be accessed in the absence of adequate and fast
bandwidth WiFi or internet access. This is imperative to get a complete and easy access to the learning
material and to learn in a blended learning environment.
In extension to that, blended learning strategy involves the use of right software tools to develop
a more engaging and advanced curriculum which is helpful for the achievement of set learning goals.

Blended Learning in Corporate and Academic Setup

An effective learning strategy is not only implemented for the training of students but also at the
corporate level. These advanced training strategies help the participants (both students and employees) to
fully meet their learning specifications. This allows them to formulate more personalized learning
instructions or strategies.
Blended learning allows participants to work with instructors at the facility as well as take
assistance from additional online resources while at home. With that, they can also avail the opportunity to
communicate with their instructors using various online communication methods, receiving advice and
support from the class. The variety of used formats keeps the content engaging and allows more creativity
and space for the participants to dig deeper into the subject.
With that, let’s have a look at both of the positive and negative aspects of blended learning.
Advantages of Blended Learning
Round-the-clock access to training resources
Since blended learning involves online and digital resources, time limitations are simply the
matter of the past, if you do have a good internet connection. The learning strategy is way ahead than
these old limitations. In addition, if your blended learning strategy also offers a public forum, you can also
learn from the experience of others and get your solution without the assistance of an instructor.

A personalized training experience

The strongest aspect of blended learning is the chance to receive personalized training by every
individual, catering to their learning needs. This means that every participant has different learning
capabilities and not all of them are always on the same page in terms of grasping the information. They
may choose the path through specific topic areas as they deem right. Undoubtedly, the face-to-face
interaction and various aids to receive timely performance feedback have made blended learning a unique
training and development strategy. The overall result of this particular training strategy is to enable every
learner to focus on the information and skills they are in need of, without having to attend long unnecessary
lectures or going through piles of unrelated information.

Better communication and collaborative learning

Even though with blended learning strategy, a participant can access the resources in the
absence of the instructor, it still improves the communication and interaction amongst the participants and
also with the instructors. Such online learning solutions offer a great variety of communication tools such as
email, news announcements, instant messaging, online grading tool, online discussion, drop boxes, or
more. All of these communication tools offer great flexibility in terms of ensuring timely communication.
May it be any concern or feedback/evaluation, all of this is now possible instantly and without any time
constraint. Similarly, unlike traditional classroom, blended learning offers a good collaborative environment
for participants. This substantially increases collaboration amongst the learners and between the instructor
and the learner, which makes blended learning strategy one of the best online training platforms. As the
learners use many collaborative tools such as blogs, online discussions, instant messages and others, they
are able to collaborate with each other in a better way and in fact, in or out of the training room.

Track participants’ skill and performance development

If you have incorporated right tools into your blended learning course, you can easily track down
the data in terms of participants’ eventual performance improvement. This learning strategy makes data
tracking a lot more convenient and quick. It helps in eliminating the cookie cutter approach of grading
exams. Instead, it offers a better evaluation option of online assessment that comes with a built-in grading
rubric with an additional benefit of immediate feedback.This modern learning strategy can easily track the
material accessed by a participant. It also shows at what time and for how long they reviewed the material.
All of this, especially in a corporate setup, can easily be done digitally and this provides the track record of
employees which are then further used to take their promotion and development decisions. In fact,
nowadays many organizations use this opportunity to determine activities which are more effective and the
ones which need improvisation or modification to fully meet the objectives or performance goals.

The Disadvantages of Blended Learning

Here is the list of things that can be challenging as you incorporate blended learning into your
training program.

High maintenance cost

Incorporation of advanced technology in your blended learning projects such as infrastructure
setup and devices are at times costly. In a corporate setup, this is especially true for bigger organizations
having various departments or a large workforce. But if you compare this cost with all the other benefits
that come with blended learning, this is not only a short-term expense but it will eventually be quite
beneficial in the long run.

Technological dependence
In order to achieve the learning objectives of your blended learning program, the content
developers use the technological tools and resources that are easy to use, reliable, and up-to-date. All of
this is possible if participants have strong internet connectivity as this has a meaningful impact in terms of
overall learning environment and experience. That is why incorporating this learning strategy depends on
technological feasibility, and in case of technical issues or inadequate technical accessibility, the objective
of this advanced learning strategy is unachievable. Also, since blended learning is about technological
dependence, there is a limitation with regards to technical skills of both the instructors and the learners.
Students and instructors who are not tech-savvy can face a great barrier in terms of smooth interactions.
The participants will face difficulty in accessing the course material; therefore, this learning strategy must
come with adequate technical support.

Wastage of offered Resources

This is in connection with the limitation discussed in above point. That is, if the learners or
students are unaware of technology used in the online learning course, there is a chance you won’t get the
desired results. Similarly, if the provided technological tools are inadequate and not in relevance to the
course material, then this will also be a wastage of resources without improving ROI.

Face to Face Classes

Face to face learning is how we’ve historically been learning. It usually takes place in a
classroom and most times is centered around the lecturer. There are of course other ways to organize the
classroom like group learning, learning with a partner and/or a mentor.
 Face to face learning requires that you are at a specific location at a specific time. It also usually
requires interaction or participation at times. For most people, going to a specific location, at a specific
time, is what puts them in the learning mindset and helps them concentrate. For all of these reasons,
students prefer classroom learning over virtual. This is the reason for the wide popularity of face to face
learning. It continues to be the default learning method in most institutions are there are plenty of reasons
why.

Advantages of Face to Face Classes

You can share and compare notes with your classmates.
You get answers and feedback in real time
Discussions
You don’t have to worry about the schedule
Disadvantages of Face to Face Classes
Face-to-face tuition can be quite expensive.
You will have to pay for your textbooks
Commuting
Scheduling
Organizing and managerial costs
Professor cost

Impacts of both learning modes to students

Learning styles affect learning outcomes through learning motivation in economic subjects,
meaning that students who have a visual learning style accompanied by learning motivation will have high
learning outcomes, compared to students who have auditory and kinaesthetic learning styles.
Research results show that there is a correlation between learning and teaching styles. ... Using a
learning-styles based teaching is useful to differentiate instruction: the identification of students' learning
approaches can help teachers to implement different strategies for the benefit of different learners.
Your learning style influences the way you understand information and solve problems. Visual
learners prefer to HEAR information in order to learn. ... Many people use a combination of learning styles,
whereas other learns best by using just one. It is also important for educators to understand the differences in
their students' learning styles, so that they can implement best practice strategies into their daily activities,
curriculum and assessments.
Understanding your learning styles can help you understand your weaknesses and strengths. ...
seeing and appreciating that others may learn differently. Matching and seeking out ways to learn best. being
aware of the importance of creating opportunities for reflection.

V. How will the ICT help in this certain issue?

 It enables students to learn at their own pace: Due to the flexibility of blended learning and the
ability to access internet resources allows students to learn at their own pace, meaning a teacher can help
speed up the learning process or give more advanced resources if necessary.
One of the main aims of ICT is to help students to become competent and confident users who can
use the basic knowledge and skills acquired to assist them in their daily lives. It is also supposed to prepare
students for the world of tomorrow. It aims to help learners to have an open and flexible mind.
ICT enables the use of innovative educational resources and the renewal of learning methods,
establishing a more active collaboration of students and the simultaneous acquisition of technological
knowledge.

IV.Conclusion

Different people have different learning preferences. There are many models which are used to
describe these preferences. Learning styles is one that accounts for learner differences, which can be useful
in understanding the different ways we learn. It can also be useful to know your strengths and use them to
enhance learning.
Style refers to a student’s specific learning preferences and actions. One student may learn more
effectively from listening to the instructor, while another prefers to take notes. Another learns more effectively
from reading the textbook, while another student benefits most from charts, graphs, and images the instructor
presents during a lecture. It’s important to note that people don’t necessarily have a single style. Students can
use different styles in different situations, but they often tend toward specific preferences.
Learning style is important in college and university. Each different style, described later in more
detail, has certain advantages and disadvantages compared with other styles. None is “right” or “wrong.” You
can learn to use different styles more effectively.
Instructors also have different teaching styles, which may or may not match up well with your
learning preference. Although you may personally prefer a certain style of teaching, you cannot expect that
your instructors will use exactly the style that you prefer. Therefore it is important to know how to adapt to
teaching styles.
It is important to note that there are many criticisms of the learning styles model. Some
researchers purport that there is no evidence that identifying a learner’s learning style
and then teaching to it accordingly results in increased student outcomes. Another
criticism is that identifying one single learning style or method of learning and focusing
on it alone can result in ignoring the other learning modalities, and this could ultimately
hamper learning. It is much more useful to think of it like this: if you recognize a learning
strength, then use that strength by adding more of it to your learning strategies. But
don’t stop using the other modalities. For example, if you discover that listening is a
strength for you, then it would be useful for you to add listening activities to your
coursework, such as downloading lectures and re-listening to them while you are doing
other activities (riding the bus, going for a run, or doing the dishes). But listening to
lectures on your phone should not replace attending classes, practising concepts by
doing homework questions, or working together in study groups – as these are all things
that can enhance your learning as well.

In my opinion,in this kind of situation we're facing it's ready hard for all the student to
learn and get the knowledge they need.But we should understand the situation where
we are today. As a student we should do our part.It doesn't matter if you're taking
modular,online class or blended,if you want to learn something you should know how to
listen and cooperate as simple as that, complaining about things you didn't try to do
can't help you, remember that.We are facing different problems but we can choose to
keep moving forward.It is true that the degree off education can't define a person but it
is also true that the "education" can bring you somewhere good in the future.Learning
isn't based on "what kind" and "when"it is "how" we are working hard to learn.