Learning Process: Online vs Traditional

The debate between online and traditional education continues to take the center seat with every passing day.

The debate between online and traditional education continues to take the center seat with every passing day. The past two years made it more relevant with online teaching as the only option to impart education amid the pandemic.

Interestingly, the reopening of schools in recent months has reignited the debate if online learning will edge past traditional classrooms. But is the online learning process an absolute alternative to traditional learning? Let’s find out.

All About Traditional Learning

Traditional classrooms revolve around a brick-and-mortar setting. It involves a physical infrastructure setup with students being instructed by a teacher. Such a learning process is time-bound. That is, classrooms operate during a stipulated time of the day and cease to function beyond a period.

Understanding Online Learning

Any learning process that takes place over the internet is simply referred to as online learning. It could also be understood as a form of distance learning. The entire process of learning is conducted using a learning management system. Online learning makes it easy for students to access shareable resources, with no dependencies on physical interaction.

Comparing Online and Traditional Learning Processes

Picking Between Online and Traditional Learning

While the debate between online and traditional learning might never end, the former does have an edge over the latter. Online learning offers much-needed flexibility to students to learn according to their own pace. This may not be the case necessarily in a traditional classroom.

Besides, the online learning process has the potential to rid the education system of infrastructure shortfall. Students can access knowledge without any infrastructural hindrances. Moreover, they can reach out to teachers easily for any queries in studies at any time of the day.

Ensuring Better Learning Outcomes

It is a fact that students encounter multiple doubts while studying. The size of the classroom in a physical setup stops several students from getting their doubts resolved. Moreover, it is nearly impossible for teachers to answer the questions of every student in the class.

Here’s when online learning becomes impactful. For instance, online doubt resolution platforms like Toppr Answr help them get unstuck from doubts. It enables students to connect with an expert within a minute and get all their doubts resolved instantly.

Moreover, students can enhance their learning outcomes by accessing a rich repository of question papers on such platforms. Previous years’ question papers and mock tests help them understand the exam pattern and question formats.

Way Forward

With the integration of technology, the online learning process has made education seamless and accessible. Though physical classrooms have reopened, educators and students cannot simply ignore the benefits of online education.

Going forward, a more integrated approach involving online and traditional learning processes is needed. A mix of both online and offline processes, i.e. hybrid learning is already being adopted by several institutions. Hybrid learning indeed looks like a promising prospect and holds the key to education in the near future.

(This article originally appeared in India Today.)