The Future of Online Education: Its Impact on Teaching and Learning

The advent of the pandemic halting all the educational processes conducted worldwide promoted the idea of online education. It is a method where students can connect to teachers virtually through unified communication portals and carry on with their academic courses. Online education existed before the pandemic hit the world but gained extreme popularity due to its remarkable benefits. Let us find out where the future of online education is headed.

Also Read: Online Classes for Special Needs Students

What is Online Education?

Online education is the process of teaching and learning where a virtual or digital platform is used to create a communication channel between teachers and students. Students enrol in a course and teachers impart knowledge by using such tutoring portals.

Anything can be taught online from kindergarten to professional levels and school curriculums to vocational courses. A student can access information and educational courses using smart devices and a stable internet connection. This method of digital teaching and learning omits various educational hurdles that students often face.

The Future of Online Education

Many companies and organisations have realised the potential of online education. Many have introduced groundbreaking technologies and innovations to make this mode of learning and teaching accessible to all. Companies and organisations are still working to find out how online education can be improved.

Based on the innovations and implementation of technology observed over the past few years, technology is driving online education to a new level. Interactive classes, exclusive courses, teaching aids, augmented reality, multi-communication channel integration, etc., make online education much easier to access.

These days, subject-wise classes are conducted by using specific technological features. For instance, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning is introduced to young minds at the basic level. They can attend online STEM classes where tutors explain the concepts using exclusive teaching aids. Properly demonstrating new scientific topics with models, concept videos, augmented reality filters, interactive features, etc makes students learn these complex concepts faster.

The only hurdle online education faces is the hands-on experience students need to take advantage of. They cannot hold the teaching elements and implement the concepts they have studied in the virtual classes. Hence, their practical knowledge is developed less via online education. Core subjects taught at the secondary and higher secondary levels of education will need practical exposure to develop kinaesthetic concepts. Offline experiential classes outsmart online education here.

Pros of Online Education

The current online education system offers the following benefits to our learning processes.

Excellent Theoretical Classes

The advantage of online education is the use of technology. As mentioned earlier, interactive digital elements can be used to explain crucial concepts. For instance, a biology student might want to learn how evolution occurred. Rather than relying on his imagination driven by the textbook content, he can visualize the process in the concept videos displayed. Theoretical classes are made more interactive and engaging for students. They tend to learn better and develop the enthusiasm to learn more.

Convenience

You can attend more than one course as visiting a distant location is unnecessary. All you need is a system and an internet connection. This is one of the biggest advantages of online learning. The factor of distance needs to be properly omitted by online education. Courses are designed accordingly offering the best learning modes for students.

Affordable Learning

Due to the optimum use of resources, the online learning process is more affordable than the offline ones. Students can easily coordinate with the tutors. In fact, tutors can also attend more sessions without breaking a sweat. Hence, these classes are more affordable.

Cons of Online Education

The drawbacks of online education that we must focus on are:

On Campus Experience Vs Online Learning

Exposure to a group of peers on campus makes students socially smarter. Their daily interactions and physical handling challenges make them more skilled too. Online education hinders physical interaction and makes individuals lose their interpersonal skills to some extent.

Collaboration Difficulties

Collaborating with peers and teachers is sometimes difficult when a student needs the proper devices or system. Also, communication online is less effective than the physical one considering the need for knowledge transfer and education.

Adaptability of Online Education

Another drawback of online education is the capability to the adaptation to this new technological advancement. Online education's popularity has peaked in the past few years. Despite this fact, students often feel reluctant to join online classes when they consider the learning mode's knowledge delivery and efficiency. Even though online tutorial portals are more than enough to teach new subjects and topics, students fear not being able to adapt to this new mode of education.

Online Education’s Future is Bright

Remote learning or online education has outweighed its cons with pros. With the new technological innovations, students can now access smart devices and an internet connection at a low price. With such inventions and innovations, students worldwide can add the advantages of online learning to their academic curriculum. They can learn anything they want and even focus on developing extra-curricular skills. The freedom and flexibility offered by online education will be the prime driving factor for its better development. It will become a major mode of learning in the near future.