Online Education: Is It an Effective Alternative?

During the pandemic, online education has become a critical necessity to continue education. Many educational institutions engage in online education techniques such as synchronous or asynchronous sessions, online quizzes, and tests. However, the effectiveness of online education is questionable. Online education provides various opportunities to increase the quality of education. On the other hand, its effectiveness is low due to the difficulty of developing communication with instructors and classmates and meeting technical requirements. That is why online education may not be an effective alternative to face-to-face education.

Thanks to the increasing development in education platforms and technologies, online educational content sources such as YouTube videos, interactive exercises, scientific articles, and online libraries become available for many students and teachers. They can benefit from this wide range of sources. For example, instructors may upload materials such as documentaries, movies, and books about specific subjects and discussions, and students can study those materials whenever they want. Zounek & Sudický (2013) stated that various study materials could exist on personal computers; thus, students can easily access them for searching and information retrieval. Students can access these materials via different channels such as e-mail or web publishing sites. Additionally, students can personalize their learning process and be flexible while studying or determining their schedules. Instructors organize course materials and deadlines; however, students’ success depends on their planning and time management for the rest of the course. (Zounek & Sudický, 2013). Students’ autonomy in online education may help increase their time management skills, critical for their business or academic life. In the personalization of the education process, students can choose which learning method is beneficial, such as listening to lectures, reading materials, or taking detailed notes. Therefore, by studying the lesson more effectively with their methods, they can get high grades and increase their success.

Compared to traditional education, developing effective communication with instructors may be more difficult in online education. Students may need one-to-one interaction with their instructors about their progress or questions and personal feedback. However, when the only way to communicate with instructors is to send mail, this can be demotivating students to communicate with the instructor. For instance, when students want to talk to their instructor via mail, this will be a more formal communication method. On the contrary, in traditional education, students develop their relationships and communication with their instructor easily via spontaneous conversations and asking questions. According to Appanna (2008), “Online education can appear to be an impersonal exercise, which leads students to feel “eSolated” from instructional staff and classmates.” Moreover, the interactions with classmates reduce in online education because of the difficulty of socialization. In face-to-face education, students may help each other by sharing study notes, important announcements, and studying for exams together. Cooperation among students is critical because peer learning may help them increase their engagement and achievement. They can both socialize and sharing knowledge in campus areas such as the canteen or library. Those interactions are low in online education because making friends on online platforms such as WhatsApp groups may not be easy, and some students may be hesitant to ask for help from each other.

Meeting the technical requirement for online exams or lessons is another problem for both students and instructors. Many students may not have enough financial capacity to buy well-equipment such as personal computers, cameras, microphones, and full capacity internet connections. Low-income families and some students living in areas with inadequate internet infrastructure may face internet connection issues. Therefore, they cannot follow and participate in lessons effectively. Such problems can negatively affect equality of opportunity in education and reduce the efficiency of education. Appanna (2008) argued that compared with those exposed to advanced technologies in many different environments, students, children, and adults who do not have access to computers and electronic technologies could not use computers and electronic technologies outside of the classroom. Hence, their inability to access these technologies finds them at a competitive disadvantage. Additionally, when students or instructors face a technical error, they may not solve the problem by themself due to a lack of enough digital skills and knowledge to handle it, which may cause problems in the teaching of the lessons, the administration of the exams, or student’s participation.

In conclusion, online education is an important discussion topic for the effectiveness of education. It may have both negative and positive dimensions. Online education provides accessibility to a wide range of sources and personalization of the education process. On the other hand, online education has several ineffective dimensions. The difficulties of developing effective communication with instructors and classmates and meeting technical requirements decrease the effectiveness of online education. For these reasons, online education could not be an effective alternative to traditional education.