Classroom learning vs Online learning. Which fares better?
I have always been into learning, signing up for many courses ranging from life coaching to analytics, physical training to many other hobbyist types of courses. As such, I will often look up for courses to sign up. It could be online courses, courses from the company or physical classroom learning. Due to current covid situation, most of the physical classes have been moved to online. I definitely miss the times of being in the same room with my classmates but there are both pros and cons in moving to online learning.
The transition of physical classes to virtual classes
Before covid happened, I had signed up a lot of courses especially from my previous company. Before I left the company, my head of department actually told me that I clocked 250 hours of learning which can be more than the total combined hours from my colleagues in my department. I was really surprised when I heard that I actually clocked that much hours for my own self-development.
Most of the classes were conducted in the physical setting as it was the default environment for learning. We have to take some time off from work in order to be able to attend these lessons. Ever since Covid hits, the course still have to proceed but everything was moved to online classes.
Pros of physical class setting
I think I should start off by listing some of the benefits of having a classroom setting.
Opportunities for networking
First of all, you get to have interaction with your classmates, especially during break time when you can chit chat about the on-goings in life. This can actually serve as a form of networking session as you can get to exchange contacts with your peers and help each other in the long run.
In person interaction
Nothing beats having a face to face conversation with someone. There is an intimate connection whenever you are having a conversation with someone in person. You can see their gestures, expressions and feel their authenticity. We, as social creatures, have this need to interact with one another.
More attentive and better absorption of knowledge
I think in the class environment, you are less distracted by the things around you. You will be able to have a better focus on the materials on the board and the speech by the lecturers. This helps in terms of learning because you are able to concentrate better.
Easier to ask questions in class
As you are in close proximity with the lecturers, it is easier to reach out to them whenever you have any questions. It is also quicker and you don’t have to leave any burning questions unanswered.
Cons of physical classroom lessons
You have to be physically present!(duh)
That’s the whole purpose of attending classes in person. You have to be physically around in order to take the lesson. For some people, it is quite an effort to commute especially if you live faraway from the venue. It can be very physically draining. On top of that, you probably have to dress up in order to make your way to the venue.
You can feel pressurized by your peers in class
Ever experienced a very competitive class? I ever attended a class where everyone is asking questions and trying to contribute to the class discussion. It is great to grow in the competitive environment but it does add some pressure to some folks who want to take it slow in class. In fact, some of the students could be less willing to contribute so as not to look embarrassing if they asked a seemingly less intelligent question. Although no questions are stupid, the students may tend to feel it otherwise. This will affect their abilities to be participate more in class.
Benefits of virtual online lesson
Comfort in your own home
What’s best about virtual lesson is that you do not need to travel at all. All you need is a stable internet connection and you are ready to start the lessons proper. In some lessons, you are able to switch off the camera and you can be attending the lessons in your own pajamas.
You can snack all you want!
In most classroom setting, you are usually not allowed to eat in class. However, at home you can snack all you want in the entire lesson. There is no restrictions to how often you want to grab your food or coffee. This is something that I really enjoy because the food is easily within my reach.
Playback is possible
In some classes, the videos are recorded and you can use it to playback the videos to revise. I think this is very beneficial especially if you miss out some concepts in class. You can slow down or repeat the video until you grasp the concepts completely.
Cons of virtual online lesson
Your home environment might not be conducive
Not all homes are the best environment. You may have kids running all around the house or there will be a lot of noise in the background. There are reasons why some students would want to study in the library because it is quieter than their home environment. Furthermore, when you unmute yourself to speak, the folks may not hear clearly as your background may be noisy
Disruption of connection
How many times have you heard this phrase? “Hi, I think you are on mute.” or “Sorry, I got disconnected. ”
This happened so many times that it is very disruptive to every conversation. It is always not smooth and you have to repeat yourself. What’s worse is that you don’t even know when you got cut off.
Debugging or instructing is more difficult online
This is more specific to coding kind of courses because you can only share screen to find out what’s the problem. When the instructor wants to help you, it is easy to point it out on the online setting. I preferred that the instructor is able to come over to my laptop and helped me with my debugging.
Overall conclusion
For me, I still prefer to have an in-classroom setting as I feel that I function better in that environment. I am still much the old-school kind of learner but I believe I can still adapt well with technologies. Hopefully, normality will return to pre-covid levels. Till then, stay safe everyone!
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I have a website known as https://goingmeraki.com which I have published other posts including tutorials. You may visit it to know more about my journey towards becoming a data analyst. Please visit @goingmeraki on instagram for short posts too!
