Online Courses Vs. Classroom Courses
With the vast realm of cyberspace available at our fingertips, more and more colleges and universities are offering students the opportunity to register for either traditional classroom courses or online classes. Each format has its own benefits as well as disadvantages.
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Convenience
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With classroom courses, you are subject to lengthy commutes, traffic jams and unpredictable weather conditions---all of which are eliminated when you opt to take online courses. For example, being snowed in may cause you to miss an important exam if you are not taking that exam online.
Scheduling
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Unlike classroom courses, online courses offer you the opportunity to acquire all learning materials and complete your coursework from the Internet. You are not required to adhere by a fixed class schedule and you can schedule completing and submitting your coursework around your other commitments.
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Accessibility
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Not owning a computer poses the ultimate obstacle with online classes. You are confined to using public computer labs at your college or library, which may or may not have computers available for your use. In addition, most are not open 24 hours, so you must complete assignments during their hours of business.
Compatibility
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Accessing required materials that can only be found online may also pose a problem. Audio and video files that are not compatible with your computer may not load properly or, worse, crash your computer.
Group Work
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Classroom courses allow you to collaborate with classmates on projects. With online courses you are likely to work alone to complete online assignments. While you can have discussion forums and social networks to share ideas and opinions, in-person communication remains an important component for developing and utilizing social skills.
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References
- "The Chronicle of Higher Education;" Whether Online or in a Classroom, Courses Take About the Same Amount of Time to Teach, Study Finds; Dan Carnevale; March 26, 2004
- "MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching;" Integrating Online Multimedia into College Course and Classroom: With Application to the Social Sciences; Michael V. Miller; June 2009
- Heidi Hansen: My Story of Taking Online Courses versus Classroom Courses
