The Reality of Distance Learning

Have you ever taken the time to consider how much technology dominates our daily lives. The worldwide increase in technological advancements have changed people's lives drastically in the past few decades. Like almost all other aspects of society, the education system was also majorly affected by this spur of innovations across the globe. Online resources such as e-textbooks and file sharing has made it possible to replace almost all physical assignments in our school system. While some technological advances do make education much easier and efficient, this doesn't mean doing everything regarding schoolwork online is a good idea. Schools are starting to offer distance learning as an option for students to work from home through online conferences and tools. This may seem very beneficial at first, however, distance learning has certain negative aspects that should not be overlooked. Being able to attend classes from home would not be beneficial to students because this will cause a decrease in student productivity, increase chances of cheating among students, and deprive students of the discipline and social skills that a regular school environment teaches.

Students are scientifically proven to be more productive while working in places they associate with said work. A regular school environment helps students be more productive by eliminating outside distractions and helping students focus better on their work. These are conditions that simply cannot be replicated in a house environment for the student. A house is associated with relaxation, sleep, safety, and nourishment. Being in an environment like this simply doesn't help students be productive and focus. An example to this is my uncle who works in the I.T field. He used to work from home for a long time, giving advice to companies about their online systems and programs. He switched to working in an office two years ago and saw a major increase in his productivity. He said having a designated place to work helps get in a working mindset which directly translates to more work being done. The working environment a school provides for its students is an essential part of education and shouldn't be eliminated through distance learning.

Cheating and plagiarism are major issues that are being fought against all over the country. Every school district wants to combat cases of cheating as much as they can. Many guidelines and regulations are put in place in an attempt to end this widespread phenomenon. However, offering students to attend classes from home goes against everything that's being done in order to prevent cheating. Without a teacher to supervise them, students who work from home will be much more prone to cheating on test or other assignment, which would give them an unfair edge on their peers. Last year, my math teacher gave us a take-home quiz. Her goal in doing so was to give us more time to work on it so we can work at our own pace. She did this in order for us to be more successful on the test. At first glance, it seemed like her plan was working since everyone in the class got very good scores on said assignment. However, we later found out that most people were looking up the answers online when the class average for the real test came out to be unexpectedly low. In a case like this, having students take the quiz assignment in class would've led them to actually learn the material instead of searching the answers up online and taking the easy way out. Most students don't put an effort to seeking out ways to cheat, but when given an easy opportunity, most of them will be prone to do so instead of trying to challenge themselves.

Along with all the academic advantages schools have over distance learning, they also provide a social environment that school age students need to be exposed to in order to develop necessary social skills. A school is the best place for students to make lifelong friends, share memorable moments with people, and go through so many more social experiences that will prepare them for adulthood. A friend of mine, who was home schooled until ninth grade, always talks about how much better a real school environment is compared to being educated at home. Because of this, he's very socially awkward and anxious around people. A distance learning program, where the student can stay home all day and isn't encouraged to go outside and socialize, is destined to result in students suffering from similar consequences.

In conclusion, technology has been useful in many aspects of our education system. This, however, doesn't mean our education should be completely dominated by technology. Schools offering students a distance learning option where they can study from home results in many problems such as lowering students' work productivity, and having them be more inclined towards cheating. On top of this, distance learning eliminates the advantages of a school environment such as providing better focus and teaching students necessary social and disciplinary skills. The distance learning option may seem like a decent idea at first glance, but in its roots lie many problems that would have to be solved in order to make it beneficial.