E-Learning vs. Traditional Schooling

E-Learning vs. Traditional Schooling

Persuasive Essay by: Seth Meyer

The debate between E-learning and traditional schooling has never become more relevant. Now more than ever, during this time of coronavirus, we should have a meaningful conversation about which is better: e-learning or traditional schooling. This relevant question of whether e-learning is helping has become highly controversial. Just looking up information on Google alone, there are many articles that come up with opposite opinions. One article would say, “E-learning: why it’s bad,” and another would say, “E-learning:  Why it’s good.” In this essay, I will tell you the useless and somewhat detrimental effects that E-Learning has on our education. 

Traditional schooling should be a priority over e-learning, simply put, because of the learning divide. Now don’t get me wrong, I am loving this time off as much as the next lazy high schooler, but have you wondered how it is affecting our education? You take information in so much more effectively with traditional schooling than what you do when e-learning. E-learning creates a social and interactive divide that is needed when taking in our education efficiently. Without the physical teaching and classroom l, we can become lost so much more easily. With this extra time off at home, we become pretty lazy. We become lazier and very much more likely to succumb to procrastination. 

Traditional schooling does have some advantages. Traditional schooling gives us not only the much needed physical interaction with teachers, but also with friends. You’ve probably heard this on the news a ton, but humans need other humans. With traditional schooling we get real interaction and physical socialization that you don’t get with e-learning.  With traditional schooling, the learning environment that is created is much more productive knowing that we are eager to learn. When you are e-learning in your bedroom or living room, you can easily become distracted with the things around you: your siblings, phone, rest, etc.

An article from Activia Training lists the disadvantages of e-learning. The first is a lack of self-discipline. The reason they put this in here is for the purpose that we don’t have that much control of our procrastination and discipline. As the homework piles up, we only become more overwhelmed and aren’t forced to act on it even though we could. This is solved by having a schedule in traditional schooling. The second disadvantage is the lack of face to face interaction. This is a disadvantage because there is no substitute for interacting with another human. The final disadvantage is slow evolution. Slow evolution occurs when you watch and take in information from your device but it does not register and becomes effective half of the time it would be compared to a normal face to face interaction. This disadvantage is harmful to our overall learning and education as it ruins our thought process.

In conclusion, traditional schooling is the more effective and efficient way of learning because of physical human interaction. Just like we miss our friends we should miss our school for the same reason of not getting the much needed interaction. The way of teaching e-learning can be somewhat beneficial but it is not going to sustain our minds the way traditional schooling will. I am so glad this virus is temporary and we have a God that will look after us and things will hopefully go back to the way things were before.

Sources:

James, Jordan. “8 Disadvantages of e-Learning.” Activia Training, 28 Aug. 2015, www.activia.co.uk/blog/8-disadvantages-of-e-learning.