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Study online vs face-to-face

Kerikova Aiym

EAP 220: Academic Writing & Composition

English Language Program, University of Calgary

Cristina Constantinescu

Argumentative essay

May 29, 2024

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After the pandemic people around the world started to learn again how to interact

with people outside their screens and houses. Online studying was a nonsense in 2019

where we could stay at home in our pyjamas and at the same time attend the classes

and work. However, when the pandemic was over, some people already forgot how to

communicate with people in real life, while other younger ones, did not know how to

behave in the classrooms. While it is true that online learning is more convenient, face

to face learning has much more benefits including structured learning, time

management, and social interaction.

Students in a face-to-face learning can receive immediate feedback from their

teacher about the topic and ask questions during the class. Additionally, they can stay

after classes and ask them questions directly and personally. Furthermore, they acquire

more practical experience through laboratory work and participating in conversations.

According to Chiasson et all (2015) participants reported the problems with clear

explanations trough online studying. They indicated that connecting to the professors

was difficult since it took time to wait to the response. Furthermore, in face-to-face

classes, students are increasing their critical thinking skills by answering question in real

life. On the other hand, in online courses there are variety of programs that teachers

could use to interact with students. However, in online learning there are a few

advanced-level course available which influence the quality of the knowledge (Jacob B.,

et all.,2016). Many students reported higher academic pressure which could be one of

disadvantages of in-class learning. Since they sit in the classroom and under control of

teacher they have higher stress level. It is obvious that taking tests in classroom is
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stressful; however, by better understanding and focusing on the class could increase

students’ confidence during the exams. The quality of the studies is the most important

part of the learning process. Aside from benefit of structured learning face to face also

provide a time management benefit.

Compared to the online learning, in classroom learning, they have schedules and

responsibility of doing tasks on time. If they will not do the task on time, their work will

be not accepted by teachers. Some people procrastinate more and have weak self-

discipline. They cannot organize their time properly and could miss the deadlines for the

assignments. According to Jacob (2016) one third of the students in the classroom were

late with submissions of the assignments due to lack of time and poor planning. On the

other hand, in class learning has less flexibility compared to an online class. Since it is

already scheduled, it is not possible to change anything and should follow it. It is

convenient to search information from the internet immediately when you study online,

compared to the classroom. Students in the study reported that it was easier to cheat

during the online classes since teacher is not looking at them and they have less

pressure. I think that in a face-to-face learning people acquire more experience in the

course they take and have a better understanding of how it works by visual examples.

They also develop important skills that will be helpful in their future such as critical

thinking. Students by interacting with the teachers in real time pay more attention to the

lecture and try to be active in the conversation.

Face to face learning increases social interaction, which is another important

dimension of an important period in young person’s life. People could easily talk to each

other, because sometimes students are feeling awkward talking to each other through
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the Internet. Collaborative learning. They could create a group where they will discuss

different topics and ideas. Furthermore, they can go to a laboratory and see a

processes, do an experiment. For some introverted people communication in the

classroom could increase their level of anxiety. Sometimes people start to talk to each

other during the class which bring to a distraction of the students. As an extroverted

person, talking to others and exchanging opinions in real life is very important for me.

To conclude, face to face classes have a larger impact on the quality of knowledge

of the students as well as a supportive factor both from the peers and teachers in a

school environment. Compared to the online classes, sitting in a classroom with

classmates increases engaging environment, includes immediate feedback and better

structure of learning process. In a developing digital world, face-to-face learning

demonstrates the importance of connections and interactions that technology cannot

replace.
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Reference

Chiasson, K., Terras, K., & Smart, K. (2015). Faculty perceptions of moving a face-to-face

course to online instruction. Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 12(3),

321–240. [Link]

Jacob, B., Berger, D., Hart, C., & Loeb, S. (2016). Can technology help promote equality of
educational opportunities? RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social
Sciences, 2(5), 242–271. [Link]