Our education system adapts to the complexity of our situation amid the pandemic. So, we’re introduced to new forms of student learning. One is e-learning which brings classes online. The other is distant learning that uses modules.

The divided opinions of people have created an important question. Online class or modular class: which is a better form of student learning?

What is Online Class?

An online class is a form of learning that takes place on the internet. The instructional materials and exams are accessed online, while interactive discussions are held via chat groups, video call rooms, and e-mails.

 

Advantages of Online Class

Here are reasons why taking the class online proves to be beneficial:

1. Lesser Cost

We all know getting an education is expensive, especially attending a physical school. Aside from tuition fees, the daily commute, meals, and miscellaneous fees add up to the expenses. If your children study in a different place, monthly boarding rentals have also their weight.

Now, online classes remove the need to attend a physical school. Not going to physical school also eliminates these additional expenses, leaving only tuition and other school-related fees.

2. More relaxed

The whole schedule of classes takes different forms and efforts. It includes showing up on time regardless of where the students come from and enduring hours of various teaching styles with all distractions nearby. Rests and socialization also occur in between subjects. These can be exhausting.

Online classes, on the other hand, reduce these activities at some level. The whole day of studies takes place in front of your screen, in the comfort of your home, and far away from the intensity that physical classrooms give.

3. More flexible attendance

The travel from one’s place to a school sometimes can be a hassle, especially for heavy traffic jams or natural phenomena. Online classes spare you from heat, sweat, rain, or illness ruining the day. The student can also do other tasks quickly without the worries of going late to the classes.

4. Comfort at home

Going to physical classes requires students to dress well in either school uniform or smart casual clothes. There’s also a challenge in choosing the best food during lunch breaks and behaving in public.
However, online classes just ask the students to be present on-screen, without demanding too much about attire or behavior. A student can attend the class with sweatpants while sitting comfortably on the bed. Since at home, food and breaks each day bring comfort.

 

Disadvantages of Online Class

Meanwhile, these are the drawbacks of a virtual class:

1. Limited access

We agree that the digital era has gone full bloom as schools and businesses have adapted to the change. However, in the Philippines, internet connectivity doesn’t fare well. Aside from the speed that needs improvement, the majority of Filipinos cannot afford or access the internet. This puts online classes not convenient for all.

2. More prone to distractions

There’s no classroom atmosphere, just a home too familiar. No pressure to listen to the teacher or participate in the lesson. Staring on-screen during online classes may be less inviting than family conversations, entertainment shows, or sunshine outside the window. Without discipline, homey comfort can dissolve a student’s focus.

3. Inactivity and lack of socialization

On the other hand, if a student focuses his time on online classes, it can also result in lethargy. The student will be on screen all the time, without any physical or social activities. It can negatively impact the health of your children and their mental state.

4. Additional training for teachers

The sudden shift of classes from traditional to digital may not be favorable to some teachers. Elders and those who are not exposed to technology will have to take extra steps in using digital platforms. This can affect the quality of their teaching performance and student’s learning experience.

 

What is Modular Class?

A modular class is a form of learning where references and instructions are summed up in handouts. These printed lessons are then distributed to students for them to study and accomplish on deadline.

Advantages of Modular Class

Let us look at the benefits of having modules:

1. Flexible schedule

With modular classes, students are still away from a physical school. It allows them to have a flexible schedule, lessons they can study at their own pace, and freedom on how to finish them all.

2. Equal access to resources

Everyone in the class has equal access to learning materials, unlike the lessons taught in online classes. These resources are printed and distributed to students in the community. By these, students also get inventive with how they’re going to study the lessons or answer the tests.

3. Summarized and simplified lessons

Because you can find the lessons in print, all the pieces of information undergo intensive abridgment and simplification. Students get to learn the massive and complicated branches of knowledge into simple chunks that are easy to digest.

4. Costs less

Like online classes, modular class eliminates the need to travel to school, and so, it saves you from spending on daily transportation, food, attire, and other things. Students receive the modules, which are already printed by the school.

Disadvantages of Modular Class

These are the demerits that a modular class has:

1. No sense of pressure

The whole class experience works through the use of handouts. These printed lessons have exchanged the more interactive learning mechanics into something that relies on student’s self-discipline. There’s no pressure to finish it in one sitting, and this lack of pressure makes the students lose focus.

2. Subjected to procrastination

The student has the freedom to finish the lessons at his own pace. But sometimes freedom from pace and comfort at home results in procrastination. Either the students may work on the modules right on the deadlines or not work on it at all, since there’s “much time” to use.

3. Can be done with less effort

The modular class makes students exert less effort. For grade school students, there are reports that it’s the parents who accomplish the handouts. Moreover, for intermediate students, the modular tests can be finished as quickly as searching the internet without prior reading of the reference handouts.

 

Online Versus Modules: Which Type of Class is Better?

Now, let’s do the verdict:

1. Students learn in a more interactive setting like an online class.

A class setting that requires students to be more participative results better than working alone on modules. The online class is a streamlined form of a traditional class, wherein students and teachers can interact.

2. Multimedia media content attract more attention.

People are already used to getting information and accomplishing tasks through digital platforms, which are quick and easy. Online classes do these well, unlike modular classes, which require more effort. There’s more fun in watching colorful slides than reading plain pages of letters.

3. Online learning demands less time.

There’s so much a person can do in a day, and it is more realized in having online classes. Students need not worry about going from a classroom to another as switching classes is as easy as one click. Aside from that, as lessons are short and snappy, students can split their time to do other things.

4. Regular online assessment encourages productivity.

While modules are checked only on the passing date, there’s no way to evaluate how a student behaves before the deadline. Online classes have real-time assessments from teachers and so impose focus on the student.

5. Online classes are better.

With these things said, online classes are better. It is a form of learning that fits to our ever-changing world – an education that works remotely and quickly without compromising the student-teachers experience.