Advantages And Disadvantages Of Online Learning

I’ve experienced a lot of things during my lifetime, but this Coronavirus Pandemic is incredibly unique.

The situation is so serious that schools have been forced to shutdown indefinitely until there’s an easier way to stop the spread.

Moreover, many school, most especially higher institutions have rolled in Online Classes to keep lecturers and students together as well as bypassing the menacing effect of the Pandemic on teaching and learning by continuing the syllabus through online platforms.

So far, students in Nigerian universities have began their e-learning programmes, receiving lectures, materials, assignments through WhatsApp… It is not sure that most of the students enjoy this newly-introduced style, but they do not seem to have much of a choice. In this article, we’ll outline the benefits and possible disadvantages of Online learning in Nigerian Universities.

 

ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE LEARNING

 

1. FLEXIBILITY

Truth be told, some students have never been exposed to receiving lectures on the internet, or even communicating with their lecturers on Social Media.

This recent online practice means students are forced to do so and this goes to the lecturers also, they now see that it is possible to pass out valuable information and tasks to their students without seeing them face to face.

It is very clear that after this whole Pandemic issue lecturers will make use of online platforms to pass information to their students a lot more than they used to. Skipping or missing of lectures can be countered by e-learning and this is a good step as teaching can now go on in two ways, physically and online.

 

2. SAVES TIME AND MONEY

Believe it or not, online learning saves us a whole lot of time and good amount of money. For one, you won’t need to pay for transport to your hall of lecture as you can receive lectures from the comfort of your homes.

Also, it doesn’t necessarily stop of from doing our jobs or going to our work places, meaning we don’t have to take a leave just for classes. Some may say buying of data takes away money but we all know that data is used for so many other things and the online lectures will most likely be the least among them.

 

3. EASY RETENTION

E-learning helps you as a student to easily retain what you’ve learned.

Most of us pass through the stress of going to classes and listening to lectures that could probably be boring us to sleep, but online, through videos and podcasts it is easier to have those details stuck in ones head as it is arguable that most students will prefer to watch a video that read a 20-paged material.

But this depends on the lecturer though, the better they take the online classes, the better for the students. Also, the lazy students like us may not have to write on our books the moment the lecture is being given as it will automatically be saved to our devices, meaning we can easily return to it and get out some details.

 

 

DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE LEARNING

1. LACK OF MOTIVATION

In face-to-face learning, a lot of factors push students to appear in the lecture room.

Sometimes it could be as great as the level of discipline that could force you to attend lectures, or as little as the need to see a coursemate, or showcase fashion (lol)… All the same, these things push one to go to classes. However, a lot of folks tend to abandon online courses because of lack of self-motivation.

If you don’t attend an online class, it’s very likely that no one will notice or query you, students are too comfortable in their homes without the urge to learn, and there will be poor management of time as the average youth is likelier to want to read a WhatsApp message first, something some students do in physical learning how much more online.

The solution to this would be a laid down disciplinary action by the lecturer and also self-discipline by the student.

 

2. THERE SHALL BE CHEATING!

After online learning comes online assessment, imagine your lecturer in Delta State giving you a test of 15 marks which you’re expected to answer while in Lagos, with a strong 4G Internet connection, 100% phone battery and three educated elders in the next room.

That’s a sure pass for the average Nigerian student who needs to boost her CGPA. A big solution to this will be the establishment of video feed during test and this still won’t be up to 50% effective and the University may not have the facilities.

 

3. MORE THEORY, LESS PRACTICALS

Online learning focuses more on theoretical knowledge rather than practical activities.

There are some disciplines that e-learning just doesn’t touch and this is a major draw back. A chemistry teacher can demonstrate volumetric analysis in a lab but the students won’t have the opportunity to try the entirety of the practical out as they don’t have instruments and facilities in their homes.

 

In Nigeria, the level of efficiency as well as the quality of online learning isn’t as high as that of a lot of developed countries, therefore we’re very much limited. However, it is a good step and as time passes, there will be improvements. For now, let us make do with what we have and share academical information as much as possible.