Online-Education: An educational pitch or a technological glitch?!

Online-Education: An educational pitch or a technological glitch?!

Online-Education happens to be our only hope in this chaos-ed world of COVID 19. Be that a student of a kinder garden or a Ph.D. candidate everyone is web knit in the world of online classes. So, how far will this mode of study serve our society?! Let’s take a look at it with the goggles of knowledge. 

Hello Eco-Fun Family!!! I present to you another article that has been on my list since this whole CoVID chaos started. The motive of the article is to look deeper into our society and to see what’s really happening. Why did it start, what was the motive, how did it shape our world, and to what extent has our society accepted the drift?

When did it all start?!

History of Online Education

Online studies might seem like a newer concept but its history has dated back the to late 1800s.  The first formal use of the term ‘distance learning’ came into practice when the U.S. Postal Service was developed, back in the 19th century. A healthy trust relationship was established between the students and professors. The belief of quality delivery of education through long-distance correspondence came to be known as ‘Correspondence colleges’.

Online Education might seem like a newer concept but its history has dated the back to the late 1800s. In Boston, Massachusetts the first official distance education course called the “Society to Encourage Home Studies”, was established by Ana Eliot Ticknor in 1873. The University of Queensland in Australia founded its Department of Correspondence Studies in 1911. The University of South Africa, today is understood together of the world’s open distance learning mega colleges, became a champion and innovator of distance learning when it reshaped its mission and focus in 1946.

Web-Learning in the 21st Century

E-learning has created excitement in this century. All that matters in today’s world to build a good career is a good resume with the accordion of degrees. Under such a scenario E-degree certificates seem like a good option. Ivy league colleges too provide analytically and graduate certificates at a lump sum amount. It seems like a good option to keep studying while also pursuing other career options like a full-time job or being enrolled in a formal graduate course. So, does that give an additional edge to these students? Is it, after all, a better option than formal methods?

Why e-Learning?

However, online student retention has been suggested as one of the greatest challenges in online education. The attrition rates for online courses are frequently higher than for their campus-based counterparts. Studies show that the dropout rate for online courses is 10 to 20% higher than for courses in traditional classroom environments. (source: He, W., Xu, G., & Kruck, S. E. (2019). Online IS education for the 21st century. Journal of Information Systems Education, 25(2), 1.)

IVY Leagues that offer online degrees

  • Brown
  • Columbia
  • Cornell
  • Dartmouth
  • Harvard
  • Princeton
  • UPenn
  • Yale.

10 e-Learning World Platforms

  • Udemy
  • Teachable
  • WizIQ
  • Ruzuku
  • Educadium
  • LearnWorlds
  • Thinkific
  • Academy of Mine
  • Coursecraft
  • SkillShare

10 e-Learning Companies in India

  • BYJU’s
  • Dexler Education
  • Educomp Solutions
  • IGNOU
  • NIIT
  • Edukart
  • Simplilearn
  • Zeus Learning
  • Meritnation
  • Excelsoft

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Formal Education Vs Online Education

Formal EducationOnline Education
Education Quality
It is believed that formal schooling provides higher teaching quality. The main reason being the in-person mode of teaching. This helps the brain to understand and retain better.
Education Quality
The quality has always been a matter of diplomacy. However, I do believe a good teacher and a motivated student can have amazing online classroom experience.
Time flexibility
This is no argument that a formal schooling or college requires the students to maintain perfect time management. This in cultivates discipline in one’s life.
Time flexibility
Generally, there is no restriction and rigidity to attend classes at a particular time. It helps a student work and study together. So, this mode of education helps him to be financially independent and also pursue further education.
Course price & Expenses
A private university (school) full time education is expensive. However, public or government-aided education is much cheaper.
Course price & Expenses
Even though it is believed to be inexpensive, some reputed institutes charge a hefty amount for a basic degree. Apart from that, a laptop, internet connection and other necessary stationery shall make it equally expensive.
Career prospects
A full time, formal education is obviously better ranked in a CV.
Career prospects
Even though a formal education is considered better. If a formal education is clubbed with an e-degrees, the candidate has a better CV score.
Exposure
Industrial visits, assignments, and other field activities creates better exposure and build confidence in a student.
Exposure
Lack of exposure. A student can try to take up internship to find exposure himself.
Teacher student ratio
Maintaining a pupil-teacher ratio is important. Ideal pupil-teacher ratio is 30:1
Teacher student ratio
It is very difficult to maintain a pupil-teacher ratio here. However, an introvert might be more comfortable and indulging in an e-classroom.
Learning pace
Class pace should be a student’s learning pace. A slow learner is bound to stay behind and suffer inferiority complexes. A teacher/professor can’t maintain a one to one teaching-learning pace in a formal classroom
Learning pace
Self-pace is the learning pace. This mode of education is best for slow learners as they can take their own time to complete a lesson and move at their speed with education.
Communication synchrony
Since this is a formal classroom, students can get their doubts cleared at the very moment. Additional questions, book references, curiosities can be answered at the very grass-root level.
Communication synchrony
Informal classroom suffers technological glitch and time lags between doubts and answers. However, since mostly informal classes are recorded or doubts are answered through emails, this gives an edge to the students to store the teachings forever and look back whenever stuck again.
Formal Education Vs Online Education

Laptops and smartphones have been promoted as necessary goods rather than luxury goods.

So, what do you think …. Online education is a playing pitch or a technological glitch?! Tell us your view in the comment section below.

The Difference Between Remote Teaching and Online Learning

The main purpose of remote teaching was to educate rural students located in remote places. It was an effort to reduce the gap between underprivileged students and education. The focus was to develop an underdeveloped economy. Efforts were put to help these youth get a better stand for employment opportunities. 

However, online learning helps students add feathers to their CVs. These students are the most privileged. They can afford laptops, internet connectivity, e-course fee and are also well educated to cope with perquisites of web learning. The main purpose of e-learnings under such a scenario is to boost their CV and career. So, we can wrap up this section by stating that any education (remote or online) helps an individual to enhance and uplift their career which shall increase their standard of living. 

Remote Education- Underprivileged students

Online-education and COVID-19

Corona Virus (COVID-19) is a contentious virus that causes severe respiratory disease. The first patient to be detected was found in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Ever since 2019 the world has seen a global spread of the virus leading to an acute pandemic. This pandemic has changed the entire look of the educational system around the world.

Education is necessary good just like food, clothes, and house. Even though the formal method of teaching had to be prohibited, the world adopted to online education. Online learning has become an important way to deliver education in this pandemic situation. Be that a student of a kinder garden or a Ph.D. candidate everyone is web knit in the world of online classes. Internet-based learning seems to be our savior.

Education during Corona Pandemic

Online-education during COVID-19

As institutions and educators are showing higher interests in web-based education, the quality also seems to improve. There are substantial concerns with the quality of online education compared with face-to-face classes. As the world comes together in an online classroom, interactions in the classroom are observed. It is generally recognized that social interactions make positive contributions to students’ learning. Collaborative e-learning across the earth helps students broaden their knowledge base through interactions with other e-learners from other parts of the world.

Pandemic called for a change. Zoom, Skype, and google classes came to our rescue. The youth is still being educated. The sustainability of knowledge is being maintained. Assignments are still being graded. Kids are still nagging in the morning to wake up for online school. Parents are relieved that their child’s career is not doomed. Guess, the real hero is Online-Education which is preventing our economy from collapsing

So what do you think? Is it an Educational pitch or a technological glitch? (Comment down below)

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Higher Qualification or Job Experience?!

Given the current career scenario, our generation is struggling to find that perfect career option; higher qualification or job experience…?!

Can online delivery increase access to education?

Online technology has generated excitement about its potential to increase access to education,
most research has focused on comparing student performance across online and in person formats.

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12 thoughts on “Online-Education: An educational pitch or a technological glitch?!

  1. Great article… looks like you researched a lot. I believe mostly online education is a glitch. Nothing can beat formal education. If it was possible, robots would had been hired rather than teachers.

  2. Web based courses are good for working people or for summer vacations. Nicely researched! Great work. Keep writing girl 😊

  3. I had no idea that online studies began in 1800. That’s impressive… you always bring enlightening articles…

  4. Presentation is great. I appreciate your work and consistency. But definitely online education is a technological glitch especially if we are talking about young kids. They need teachers to help their brain cell development. Computers won’t be able to do that.

  5. You bring catchy titles 😉 obviously online education has boons and banes. Good work! E-learning is a great way to boost career but again as you mentioned it’s boring and hence high drop out rates!

  6. we gained very good information about online education and formal education from your article but i think formal education is better than online education because there is huge difference between formal education and online education..

  7. Very nicely and thoroughly researched article… content wise, presentation wise and expectations wise it is superb!! Keep going!

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