Advantages and disadvantages of online learning

A whole year has passed already since the education sector switched to a new learning format - online studying. At first, online learning seemed only a temporary measure and something new and experimental, but today, it has become anorm - especially for thestudents who entered the university at the beginning of this academic year. Anyway, both students and teachers had to learn a lot and adapt to the new reality in order to make the educational process effective. This caused some difficulties - together with a difference of opinion about the format. We have interviewed our classmates to findout what they think.

As many undergraduates combine studies and work, the main advantage of online learning for themis the opportunity to save time and organize the day more effectively. The online format makes studies convenient and accessible from anywhere in the world. Now, even when away or not feeling well, students can still attend classes, which means they receive all the necessary knowledge. Learning online has become a new life experience for many students, so they have mastered new skills and learned how to work with various online platforms and resources. Also, the new format has significantly expanded the learning opportunities for students. The range of courses at HSE campuses has increased, so everyone is able to enrol in what is interesting for them. Online learning has fascinated some of our students so much they can hardly imagine what offline classes willlook like when we all return to the university classrooms. We can see that for many people, the online format turned out to be much more convenient than the traditional one. “Best.Format. Ever,” - as one of our students put it, but it is not without disadvantages.

Among other things, technical problems were named that arise during classes and complicate the learning process.Some also noted that such a format of education requires self-discipline and time managementskills as during an class conducted in a “non-classroom” environment it is quite difficult to focus and tune in to the wave of work because any external factor can distract you. To add to that, there is a thought that the online format is not suitable for all types of classes, as well as the fact that the hoursspent in front of computer screens negatively affect eyesight. Finally, the most important disadvantage of online learning, which was mentioned by all undergraduates, is the lack of live communication and interaction with classmates, which is why the feeling of student social life is lost. Seeing the face of your classmate through the screen is not the same as meeting him in the flesh. In quite a short time, the students of our group have become friends, but now online classes do not allow us to spend time together. "And this is very important...", our students believe. After all,studentship is not about getting high-quality knowledge only - it is also about communication, building strong ties and participation in university events. All this makes this periodof lifetime special.

There is no doubt online studying has its positive aspects, which make the learning process easier and more effective, but at the same time it has disadvantages as compared to the offline format. That is why, at this particular stage, it is unlikely it can completely replace the formatwe have always known. However, one thing can be said for sure: the online format has great prospects - at least because it does provide a great alternative for the traditional form of education.