Essay on Online Learning vs Traditional Learning

Due to the changes in the modern society, there have been variations in the systems of education which has led to the modes of learning among individuals. One of the results of changes in the methods of learning is the introduction of the online learning. Online learning has made it simpler for the society to acquire education hence improved the level of knowledge in the population. However, there are challenges associated with the mode of learning which requires the community to examine the same and seek solutions towards the same. In this regard, traditional learning also had its advantages and disadvantages, and examination of such helps the population to understand both online and traditional education and the effects they have on the population. The topic of focus is to compare both traditional and online learning with attention put on the advantages and disadvantages of both.

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Bias of the article

To summarize, the argument presented in the article is about online learning and how some of the oldest universities in the globe have taken part in promoting this method of learning. The bias of the article is that online education is more beneficial to the population than traditional education. The article has favored online education in its argument. From the article, some of the examples that articulate its support for online education include; online education has its inherent benefits to students, it complements traditional learning making it a holistically useful process of learning. One argument that the article presents is that as much as some of the oldest universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, and relatively new Harvard try to maintain the traditional methods of learning, the inception of online learning is inevitable (Tabarrok, 2012). Another example that shows the bias of the article is that stasis in the methods used in online education has led to stasis in status and the second is that such facts are about to change (Tabarrok, 2012). The article also presents some of the advantages of the online education which include offering leverage to the teachers, and especially the best teachers, it helps in time-saving and provides an individualized teaching and new technologies. Additionally, the other bias that has been presented in the article regarding online education is the impact of online learning on the college experience and submits that online learning has no adverse effects on the college experience but complements the latter (Tabarrok, 2012).

Credibility of the argument

The credibility of the argument that has been presented by the article will relies on the examples of the way online learning helps in creating leverage to the teachers. One of the evidences of the articles argument is apparent in one of the TED talk shows of the year 2009. The 15-minute talk Economics of Growth, was watched by 700,000 times which is evident in the ease with which online learning leads to spread on information to a high number of people within a short period. Another example of the way online learning creates leverage is evident in Ken Robinsons most watched TED talk how schools kill creativity which was watched 26 million times (Tabarrok, 2012).

Another evidence regarding the credibility of the argument is the way online learning has led to the time savings that is evident in the initiative that Tyler Cowen and colleague started to create a new online education platform called MRUniversity.com. Researchers identified that online platforms enabled them to teach the whole content at half the time they would spend on the traditional learning. The article proves that the high number of students in the classroom learning setting negatively affect the degree of absorption as it demonstrates that there are various classes that have more than 100 students making knowledge acquisition to be challenging to the students (Tabarrok, 2012). In this manner, online learning provides a remedy to such challenges. Another evidence is that online education is cheaper according to Coder Camps they charge averagely $10,000 for a nine-week course study, may seem to be a lot but it is not even half of what colleges are charging to educational admission. The impact of this argument is that it has favored online education than traditional learning thus providing biasness in the overall argument. Another impact is that the argument will make the reader to change his or her mind since the argument doesnt get along very well with the topic.

Logic ad reasoning

The logic that the writer uses in the development of knowledge is that as the number of students increases, there is need to create a system of acquisition of education where there is higher flexibility and students can engage in other economic-generating activities while still acquiring education. Moreover, there is the need to use available technology to improve the acquisition of information which is only possible through encouraging online learning in the society. Additionally, the need to improve efficiency in the process of teaching also led to the advancement of the argument which is evident in the way online learning enables teachers to reach out to thousands or millions of people within a short time. Another logic is the need to improve teacher-student interaction where students can have an individualized teaching which has proved to be an effective method of improving absorption of the students.

Weaknesses

The weaknesses of the argument that has been presented in the article are that the researcher failed to explain how online education has resulted in reduction of quality of education in the modern society ("5 disadvantages to consider about online education", 2017). Secondly, the authors failed to examine how online learning leads to the increase in the laziness of students as it scraps the necessity of the students to attend lectures and write notes which are the genesis of laziness of students and teachers in general. The above weaknesses require additional research so as to give full credibility of the each side of the argument.

Personal bias

From my experience I have enrolled in several online courses; these courses are offered by several online platforms that allow individuals to access study materials wherever they are at whichever times. The experience I have had with these platforms have contributed to my bias towards online education as opposed to traditional education systems. The merits of online education such as self-paced learning and extensive resource materials for extensive research make online education the better option for me. Traditional education requires, signing up for classes in a given college/university, class attendance is critical as there are no recorded sessions, time constraints for working individuals and also the logistics of getting to the institution of learning. All the demerits mentioned above of traditional education make online education a much better option. My claim of my alternative argument is that online education is a much better way of learning as opposed to the mundane traditional learning techniques. I make this claim because of the availability of learning content, availability of extra study resources, self-paced programs and accessibility of learning platform from any device in any location whatsoever.

References

Petersons, (2017). 5 disadvantages to consider about online education. (2017). Peterson's.

Retrieved 5 February 2017, from https://www.petersons.com/college-search/5-disadvantages-to-consider-about-online-education.aspxTabarrok, A. (2012). Why Online Education Works. Cato Unbound: A Journal of Debate, 11-32.