23 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF STUDYING ONLINE - TECHNOLOGY - 2024

Studying online has advantages and disadvantages; It is cheaper and you can do it from anywhere, although the training is done alone and requires more self-discipline. In this article we will list all the pros and cons.

Nowadays, thanks to new technologies, it is possible for us to study whatever we want from our home. This is a new way of receiving training that is little by little gaining ground over traditional face-to-face training.

Advantage

1. It is comfortable

Simply by having a laptop / laptop and an internet connection we can begin to learn online about the subject or field of study that we want no matter where in the world we are or when we do it. Therefore, distance is no longer a problem for learning both academically and professionally.

On the other hand, this has eliminated the problems with the number of students per class of the traditional method since with online learning, the capacity of the number of students is unlimited, this being beneficial for both students and training organizations.

2. It is flexible

Since we do not need to travel to any center and be governed by any time of entry or exit to it, learning becomes simpler and easier for the person who uses it.

This makes it possible to learn autonomously following our own pace and at the times that best suit us, combining it successfully with our personal and professional life from the places we want.

At present, this has been one of the main reasons why people who have always wanted to study but who, due to their family and professional situation, have never been able to do it in person, have opted for this type of learning.

3. It is profitable

As if that weren't enough, we also save money with this type of learning. Thanks to online training, we do not have to travel from our home to go to study centers, so we can save money on travel and even food.

On the other hand, it will not be necessary for us to say no to a course that we would love to do due to lack of money for accommodation in another city. If that course has the possibility of doing it online, we will also save that money.

In addition, it is no longer necessary to print the notes of the subjects as before if you do not want, since the content that is used is reusable.

4. It adapts to your needs

Online learning platforms try to make all their users learn in the best possible way and through a multitude of multimedia resources the contents that are being worked in an easy and fun way.

For this reason, they thus have a range of materials with different formats, for those students who find it difficult to understand the information that is being worked in written format, they can also do so through videos or podcasts, among others.

It does not matter by which method the student learns best: visual, acoustic or kinesthetic; e-learning makes it easy for everyone to have access to information and learning thanks to the wide variety of learning methods and tools that can be used to support learning.

5. It's immediate

Gone are those days of anguish that students suffered when they wanted to know the grade they had obtained in an exam. This teaching method not only provides immediate content learning, but also offers the possibility to see the results of the activities and the tests that are carried out in an imminent and different way.

So in this way, students can have constructive feedback on the activities and tests they are doing throughout the course. In addition, if they need to expand the information on a certain topic just by clicking on the multimedia materials, they will be able to answer their questions in record time.

6. New forms of communication and interaction

In traditional training, the only way we had to receive training or communicate with our teacher to resolve doubts was through the word, that is, attending class and asking questions in person at the same time.

Thanks to the incorporation of new technologies in the educational environment, it is possible to use tools such as: videoconferences, chats, email, among others; both to resolve doubts and to work collaboratively with colleagues and with the teaching staff.

7. Highly qualified teachers

On many occasions, teachers who were unable to dedicate themselves entirely to face-to-face teaching, this happened mostly in university environments where they can now combine both face-to-face and online teaching with their other responsibilities without problems.

On the other hand, this methodology has forced teachers to be trained in new technologies and to recycle since, as we already know, ICTs offer many advantages and great successes in teaching.

At present, if a teacher does not know how to handle them, he cannot give his students a quality class, so what he is teaching will not reach them in the same way.

8. Gratuity

Not only the training that is compulsory can be studied online. There are also many free training courses that we can take both with and without a degree.

This has generated a multitude of platforms that are dedicated to teaching and that allow their users to train even if they do not later obtain a certificate, such as MOOC courses.

9. Has no restrictions

As we have pointed out previously, thanks to online learning we can study from anywhere in the world. Therefore, it has not only eliminated the learning barriers that existed years ago but also those of culture and nationality.

It is no longer strange to see how while we are doing a distance course there is the possibility of translating the material into another language or even clicking a button to make it appear in this way. This has meant that people who previously did not have access to a quality education or simply to it can do so.

10. Immediate updates

If there is something different from traditional teaching, it is because of its speed to update given the format in which it works, which is continually changing and improving, further facilitating learning thanks to the wide variety of applications and tools that are emerging.

11. Contact with teachers in real time

If there is something that makes online learning different from all the others, it is that it allows you to solve your doubts in real time with the teachers during the day thanks to its instant messaging such as chats.

On the other hand, if you prefer, you can also make videoconferences or ask your questions in the forums available to carry out the activity or even do it by mail; Well, you are not only in contact with the teachers but also with your classmates, who can also solve them at any given time.

12. Personalized learning

It allows you to learn in a personalized way, as it adapts to your needs. On the other hand, the teachers will support you during your learning individually by giving you feedback on the activities you carry out and even solving any doubts that may arise throughout the training.

This immediately eliminates the shame or fear that exists in traditional teaching when asking questions in front of your classmates or even the teacher himself in person. With this methodology, everything becomes something more impersonal, so you will have no qualms about asking as many times as you need to solve them.

Disadvantages

13. Solo training

Although it has countless advantages, it is true that online learning is something that you do alone. This affects the motivation of students who choose to take a course in this modality.

Sometimes this disadvantage is transferred to the exercises that are carried out in the forums or in the online discussions, since it can cause them to hesitate to participate.

They may not even regularly connect to the platform, do not follow the thread of the conversations and therefore are missing learning opportunities.

On the other hand, there are people for whom it is impossible to learn using this methodology, since they need the concepts to be explained to them in person and by the teachers in order to understand the material properly.

14. Can be impersonal

Some people dislike this type of learning because it is too impersonal and they may actually be right.

As much as we try not to, we are studying and learning using a computer.

15. Excess time in front of a computer screen

One of the great disadvantages of online learning in my opinion is the amount of hours you have to spend in front of the computer to learn. This exercise, if performed continuously, can lead to health problems in visual or physical as well as muscular ones.

Therefore, a good idea would be for all distance learning platforms to take into account the possibility of incorporating a manual of good postures and hours of connection to alleviate these possible health problems.

16. Self-discipline is required

In traditional teaching, just by going to class it seems that we are already fulfilling that requirement, however in this type of learning modality you do not have to get up to go to class.

In other words, you have nothing or anyone to motivate you and "force" you to connect in that sense. For this reason, you are the one who has to do it and you have to force yourself to sit in front of the computer if you want to finish what you have started.

17. Possible lack of control

There is also the possibility that students do not get the best of what they should get from the platform and its tools.

On many occasions, teachers post a lot of material and even many tools that we believe may be useful for our students in terms of solving doubts or expanding information. However, they never actually click on them, instead they bypass them.

This often happens a lot in virtual teaching environments, so teachers must have the ability to know exactly how to place the material to attract the attention of their students and thus prevent this type of thing from happening.

18. Possible technical failures

We all know what we mean when we talk about the possibility of technical problems. These can be transferred from complications with our laptop or with the internet connection, to failures in the platform itself or in the content that the teachers have uploaded to it.

They do not tend to happen very often, but they can greatly hinder our learning since sometimes, it takes a lot of time and effort to solve them effectively.

19. Some conferences have schedules

It is not the usual thing but it can also happen that even if it is a distance training you have to "attend" an online seminar that is held at a certain time in which you cannot be at home due to work.

Everything will depend on the course or training you are taking and, unfortunately, not viewing the seminar in real time may affect your final grade for the module.

20. Cannot be generalized to all fields

For many advantages found in online study, we all know that there will always be disciplines that need practical support for the theory we are learning online.

With these we refer to fields such as health or science, although there are already a multitude of tools that reliably simulate certain environments such as laboratories, at the moment it is not enough.

21. Requires associated tools or programs

It may also happen that in order to access all the contents of our course we need specific programs that are not incorporated into our laptop.

This can sometimes be a serious problem because when trying to find said program it may be paid or we simply cannot get hold of it because it is not sold or because there is some incompatibility with our equipment.

22. Requires laptop and internet connection

Although at present we think that this cannot be a significant disadvantage, there are still some countries that do not have an internet connection everywhere or even people who do not have internet at home, for whatever reasons.

On the other hand, it can also happen to us at a time when our laptop stops working or has a problem with the internet connection that prevents us from accessing our course.

23. Feedback and understanding problems

With this learning methodology we don't have our teacher physically to smile at us and say good job!

With distance training, it may be that we do not feel as good when our teacher sends us an email and congratulates us, since it may be late or that simply not seeing it does not cause the same effect on us.

On the other hand, some topics can be extremely difficult to deal with and understand online for both teachers and students. This can be solved with explanations through videoconference although many times it is not done.

In summary

Today, online learning has allowed us to access quality training from anywhere in the world and adjusted to the needs of the student, who self-manages their learning.

Therefore, it is a very comfortable and flexible method that has allowed many people to resume their training successfully and as an alternative to traditional learning. However, there are still many important aspects that must continue to be worked on to increase its benefits in the teaching-learning process.