Have you ever wondered what it's like to attend school without actually leaving your house? It seems that nowadays, some schools offer distance learning as an option for students to attend classes from home by way of online or video conferencing. This may either be a temporary or permanent way of learning, depending on the case of the school and student. Although many people may view this distance learning opportunity as a good thing, I see it as negative to the learning experience. I do not think students would benefit from being able to attend classes from home because the bond between teachers and students would be lost, cheating would become far more easy for students to accomplish, and students may be too easily distracted in a more familiar and comfortable environment.

In school, teachers are able to test the knowledge of students by giving them assignments and checking them, however, with online classes it is impossible for a teacher to know and understand if a student is learning. There also seems to be a bond that is broken between students and teachers, as teachers can help with more than just schoolwork. Not only do students lose the opportunity to address questions in person but they also lose someone they can talk to if they need help in their lives. Although at times it may not seem like the bond between teachers and students is one that can be important in a students life, certain teachers may be people who students are able to look up to and are inspired by to continue putting effort into their work now, as well as in the future. Without actually ever seeing your teacher, a student may forget why they are doing the work they do, as they may prefer to begin doing something else that they believe will benefit them more, for example, focusing more on their chores at home rather than their schoolwork. It seems that a certain part of effort in school comes from the student wanting to make a teacher proud and with introducing online classes, not only is the bond between teachers and students broken, students do not have a reason for submitting hard work to a teacher they have never met in person.

Another reason why I believe students are not benefiting from online classes at home is because cheating becomes a lot easier for students to achieve. For example, in school a teacher will often collect students' phones and place dividers between them before tests and quizzes in order to limit cheating. If a test is online, a teacher will often check a student's online web history to make sure they did not open other tabs during the time of the exam. If a student is learning from home, what is stopping them from opening another tab online and finding every single answer to a test or quiz? When there is no limit to how a student can use the internet from their home, they could use it to cheat by doing many things like looking up answers as well as sharing answers with friends in the same class; furthermore, students learn less from home as when students cheat on exams, it shows that they did not necessarily learn anything beforehand and they do not learn anything while taking the test as all of the answers can simply be looked up.

Also, you cannot expect that students will care to remember the answers to the questions they happened to search.

As for the schools that do partake in online classes from home, I am sure that the students are still able to benefit in some way. Students may prefer to learn in an environment that is more comfortable and accessible to them and also learn in an environment where they do not have to live in constant fear of being wrong or bullied. Students may also be happier in the comfort of their own home, as it seems that many students who must wake up with the purpose of going to school are not motivated or prepared to learn, possibly due to the environment of certain schools. However, there still remains the case that students will become distracted too easily and will begin to focus on other things besides school. Students learning from home could also have a hard time not entertaining themselves by playing video games, watching movies, or even inviting friends over. Students may feel happier and safer in their homes, although the amount of distractions that are offered will cause a student's focus to eventually stretch away from school and the student will become less and less knowledgeable.

In conclusion, it seems that with the introduction of online classes in schools, there happens to be another way of learning that is offered. However, I do not see this way of learning as beneficial as it causes students to put less effort into their work and education. Students will not only have a hard time finding motivation to work, but will also learn less in general. Overall, this lack of effort can be exemplified by the fact that a student does not receive any motivation to learn or advice from a teacher, it is easier for students to cheat in ways such as looking up answers or sharing answers as no internet regulations are placed on them like they would be on an exam during school, and students are easily distracted at home, whether it is through their television or games. I do believe that one day, all schools may offer online classes, however, by then I hope there is a way to further motivate students, as well as more regulations placed on their online home learning experience.