Image by Sangga Rima Roman Selia
Hello everyone, how are you doing? We are finally at the weekend and it is just another time for us to relax and have a good time with friends and loved ones.
Thanks to the coronavirus that the entire world had the misfortune of being plagued with a few years back, the world was plunged into long months of lockdown. Borders were closed, cities were shut down, and markets and shops were under lock and key. It was during these days that a lot of businesses and companies folded, people lost their jobs and a lot of negative things happened all over the world.
And for that, the world had to adapt to the new norm. We all learned how to carry out the majority of our tasks from home and make them work. And of these, the school system was not left out.
Before the pandemic, online schooling was already a thing. It was way cheaper than it is today and did not really have a lot of attention when compared to the traditional method. But with the coming of the pandemic, and when people realized that it was going to be around for a longer time than we had all initially thought, we all had to continue with life by playing to the new rules that Mother Nature had given to us.
And so, during the pandemic, online schooling became a thing. More and more schools began opening virtual classes online. And through that people were able to access their lectures from any part of the world. And apart from lectures, tests and assignments were given, and there were features that helped to make submitting them easier.
So, without having to leave home, many students were able to continue their education.
And now, the world has been able to adjust to the effects of the pandemic and desperately trying to move on. The tough restrictions have been lifted a little and people are now back on the streets. Students are returning to their schools.
But now, there is also the choice of virtual classes.
And now, thanks to the many job opportunities the internet provides, people are able to work from home and school at the same time without having to step foot into any academic building.
And so, my question for the day is, which one is better? Traditional classes or virtual?
Well, getting to make a choice would be a bit difficult seeing as both forms of classes have their merits and demerits. Let me start with the traditional classes.
This involved physically being in the school, sitting in the classroom, and taking the lectures. This is good because the student gets to learn in a conducive learning environment and also does it with fellow students. It is easier to make friends when you have something like school in common and you can always approach the lecturer to help you out when something is bothering you. This makes learning a little easier.
On the flip side, it really limits you. Especially if you are also working while schooling. When you are in school and taking lectures, there is literally nothing else you can do. For some that have to commute long distances, you will spend a considerable amount of money on transport on a daily basis and when you are in school, you would have to eat. More money.
Meanwhile, for virtual classes, you can have them even in your bedroom and with nothing on but your boxers and a clean shirt. All you need is a good device and a strong internet connection and you will be connected to the platform. Thanks to the multitasking capabilities of the computer or smartphone, you can be in class and be running something else entirely, dividing your attention so you can achieve more in the same timeframe. And seeing as it is in your house, food is not meant to be a problem, and you would not have to pay transport fare.
On the other hand, it has some major demerits. First of which is still the internet access that it requires. It will require lots of mobile data, especially if the classes are live and that can cost a lot. And also you will be required to download a lot of eBooks to read on your own. It is possible to be in a virtual class of over a hundred people and still not know a single one of them personally, it is a bit more difficult to make friends when it has to be online. Asking for help from lecturers might take some serious time due to time zone differences and the like.
As you can see, it does not really matter what form of class you decide to use, both of them have their quirks and perks and it is up to you to decide the one you are willing to work with. If you choose virtual classes, the money you do not spend on transport could be used instead on purchasing data for more internet access. And if you choose traditionally, you might not have that time to be able to get some things done on your project so you could deliver to your client before the deadline lapses.
So, how do you go about this?
First of all, study yourself and what you do. Figure out how schooling will affect your work and life and figure out if traditional will work best in the long run or you will just stick with virtual. Your honest answer will determine what you will go with.
My dear friends, as you can see, when it comes to something like this, there is no good or bad one, there are only people’s choices. So what is yours? Feel free to let me know in the comments section.
Thank you for reading, till we meet in the next post.
Borderimage credit: @deimage