ONLINE EDUCATION IS

BETTER THAT TRADITIONAL

EDUCATION

By- Avni Dahiya

VIII C
ONLINE VS. TRADITIONAL
 Educational institutes have been practicing the traditional teaching method since
ages. Most of us are familiar with the traditional model where one teacher is
teaching fifty students at a time. No-one knows if those fifty students are able to
understand what is being explained or if they are even paying attention to the
lecture. This style of teaching is not considered very effective today.
 Students have access to new technology which helps them learn and retain
information in a far better manner. Which means, it is time for educational institutes
to bring some changes to its teaching methods. A popular alternative to traditional
education is online education or eLearning.
 The online education model is basically trying to overcome the disadvantages of the
traditional education system, while also providing additional benefits. In a
traditional teaching model, students listen to long lectures, take notes, and usually
resort to rote memorization.
 This leaves little or no room for active interaction in the classroom. Online
education, on the other hand, encourages participation in classroom activities and
peer-to-peer collaboration. With the availability of various forms of online study
resources, students are able to engage with their courseware and gain knowledge in
a much more engaging manner.
 FEW WAYS HOW ONLINE EDUCATION
IMPACTS TRADITIONAL EDUCATION:
 Students Can Learn at Their Own Pace:

 Students have complete control over their lessons. Meaning, they can now learn as
per their own pace and learning capacity. Each student learns and memorizes
differently. Some might be quick learners, while some might take time to understand
a certain topic. In a classroom environment, the teacher explains concepts and
answers doubts, but there’s only so much that they can do.
 There could be students whose doubts remain unanswered. Some students might feel
that the teacher’s pace of teaching is too fast for them. It’s not possible for a teacher
to pay individual attention to each student.
 Online education addresses this issue by offering additional information and
explanations via eBooks and other forms of online resources. Students do not have to
wait for the teacher to start/finish a chapter, they can do it themselves.
 Online learning allows them to take control of their own learning process. They can
go through the content, re-read chapters, listen to audio-books or take help from
external links. This helps them undertake courses as per their learning capacity and
convenience. Online education helps students in becoming active learners, rather
than passive learners while taking full responsibility for their own studies.
REDUCES DEPENDENCE ON TEACHERS

 When students have an online learning option available to

them, the dependence on teachers for more information or
notes reduces. They can get additional information all by
themselves with the help of online libraries. With easy
access to the internet, students can browse through
thousands of online learning content.
 This would better prepare them for their examinations, as
they have access to not only their own courseware that the
institute has recommended but also external and additional
information. Online learning thus reduces dependence on
teachers for notes and explanations.
COST EFFECTIVE LEARNING
MATERIALS

 If you compare the cost factor, you would find that online education is
way more affordable for students than traditional education. This is
because of the difference in the creation of online course materials and
printed textbooks. A paperback book is costlier because it involves a lot
of process in its making. From cutting down trees to the production of
paper, to printing, packaging, and shipping.
 All these processes add to the cost of each printed book. Whereas
 eBooks are created on an online software and is digitally published and
distributed. Hence, the cost of eBooks is always cheaper than the
combined cost of traditional textbooks for the academic year. Moreover,
you get all the learning materials at one place. Students do not have to
buy different books for different subjects, unlike traditional education
demands. Thus, online education is environment and student friendly.
STUDENTS CAN REVISIT THE CLASSES THAT WERE MISSED:

Students sometimes tend to miss out on a few lectures, either because

they are unwell, or they find it too dull and boring to attend. In either
case, it is not possible for the teacher to conduct the same lecture
again for a couple of students. Because doing so would be unfair to
the other students in the class.
 But, with the help of online courses, students can go through the
courseware at their convenient time or when they feel they are in an
attentive state. As online notes can be shared with peers, students
would also have access to any extra information provided by the
teacher in class.
 They no longer have to fear missing out on topics and chapters.
Because even if they miss out on a few topics, they can catch up with
the help of online tutorials and other links. Some universities also
record their lectures for students to view later. Online education, thus
ensures, that students never miss any topics covered in the classroom.
INTERACTIVE CONTENT
 While online education promotes classroom interaction, it also
enables students to interact with their courseware. With features
like drag and drop and click and reveal, online learning allows
students to engage with their learning material.
 The courseware is designed in a responsive fashion so that
students can easily access them on any platform and device of
their choice. And the content is also embedded with multiple
interactive elements such as external links, videos, audio etc.,
for better engagement.
 Educational publishers and institutes also include gamification
and interactive quizzes and assessments to make the course
module more challenging for the students. When the course
contents become interactive, it helps students to retain
information faster.
ANALYZE THE LEARNING PATTERN

 The traditional education system has no means to gauge

the interest levels of students. You can’t really tell if the
students have finished reading a particular chapter. An
 analytics tool can give an in-depth report about every
student’s performance. It enables you to measure the
engagement level of the entire class.
 Teachers can look into the course delivery and
consumption patterns, such as the number of chapters
read, progress rate, tests attempted etc. This information
helps teachers to design their classes as per the learning
patterns of students.
CONCLUSION
 Traditional teaching has been around for thousands of
years. We don’t recommend shutting down schools and
colleges and conducting only online courses. The
traditional method has its own benefits like face-to-face
interaction and developing interpersonal skills and group
learning, which are essential skills for the overall
development of a student.
 But, it can’t be denied that technology, if used wisely,
can play a powerful role in teaching. So, instead of
replacing formal education with online education, they
can be merged together to create a more effective,
efficient and interactive learning experience.
THANK YOU