TeleLearning

Most students wish to distance themselves from school, uncomfortable chairs, boring lectures, repetitive schedule, and a bell that tells you when to go from class to class and when to eat. Now what if there was an option to bring your class to the comfort of your own home so you can set the schedule for when you are comfortable to learn. Fortunately in today's world, if there is a will there is a way. Many schools offer distance learning so students can learn online or using a video conference. Students now have an opportunity to benefit from the online classes provided to them, saving them time, energy, and not stressing them out. This new way of learning brings many benefits to all the students using it.

Imagine you are a student that has moved away during your first and second year of high school to go study elsewhere because of your parent's occupation. You have now moved back and are just about to start junior year and then you notice that some of the classes that you need to take to pass high school, you never took in the school that you previously moved to as it was not needed there. You now have to repeat those classes which are all mostly filled with freshmen, when you are just a junior yourself. You could have taken that new elective that you actually enjoy learning about, but now you have to take a class designed for eighth graders as a eleventh grader. That was the exact situation that I was in, moved back to a new area, behind on the requirements needed to pass. I believed I was all out of luck and had to repeat what I was taught in the seventh grade because I did not take it in high school. When all my hopes were low, my counselor told me about online classes, I no longer needed to worry about repeating a class as I could take it online over the summer or during the year, saving me time, and opening up a block for me to take any class that I actually enjoy learning about. My situation was just one of the many examples of the ways online classes could benefit a student. A student may not even have to miss two years like me, they could have missed a week as they were on vacation, but with online classes they could easily catch up to the rest of their peers.

The internet provides a plethora of potential for schools to connect to their students, but most schools are failing to take advantage of such an advanced and new way to learn. Learning on the internet has already advanced our schools to the 21st century, but using the internet to learn and assist us in class is very different from taking an entire class online. Online classes have worked wonders for the schools already using them, granting students extra credit, studying over the summer, saving time, keeping students in the comfort of their own home, and improving their grade from the grades of the students taking traditional classes. Some students like to push themselves to collect extra credits before graduation, this may be an issue as in schools there are a limited number of classes they can take, but with online classes, extra credit is made an option. We all know that when students go on summer break, they mostly forget a large chunk of what they have taken in during the school year, if they were to take some online classes over the summer, this can help them refresh and not to forget all they have been taught during the school year, making them more prepared for the upcoming year. Online classes can also cut down on transportation, freeing up traffic, pollution, and time taken to commute. Most students do not have an issue with their commute to school, but for those living in rural areas, their commute may take up to 45 minutes. If students were to take online classes, it will save the time and money of transportation to and from school. They could also choose what time they would like to start and finish, giving them that flexibility over their own time. Students also dislike the lack of freedom they have in school, a bell telling them when it is time to go from class to class, when to eat, and when to leave. Students should be given freedom over their time which is exactly what they get on online courses. If students are placed at home where they are comfortable, paying attention to the lesson will become easier as they will not be distracted by the discomfort they are placed in at school. Research lead by psychologists at MIT have shown that those students taking online classes do better than their counterparts in traditional classes.

Although online classes are proven to be beneficial to those taking it, there are some people who are against classes being taken online. They claim that it is harder for the student to stay focused, easier to cheat, may be costly, and not taken seriously. If students are having a hard time staying focused at home, where they could be in a room all by themselves, how do you think those students will behave when in class with a some of their friends. Students in class with fellow peers and friends are more likely to be distracted by those who are alone at home. Cheating is a issue that attacks all schools everywhere, but with online classes, locked mode on tests and open note exams are an option. Open note exams are more realistic to what students will encounter in real life as in real life you will always have access to a device which you can search the internet with. Online classes are not cheap, mine could have cost me up to 600 dollars, but luckily there are plenty of benefits in place to help those that may not be able to pay full price. If students were not to take the course seriously, they would suffer the consequences such as failing exams or not passing the course.

As you can see, students have one of the best resources present to them, and if more schools and more students were to use these online classes provided to them, we would see an increase in grades, and participation in school resulting in a better overall society for us.