Distance learning is becoming more and more popular as the rise of technology continues. It is now possible to take classes from the comfort of your bedroom, rather than having to go all the way to school. At first thought, this may seem like a brilliant idea; get the same education you would in a classroom without the need of actually going to the classroom. However, there can be many drawbacks to this design of learning. Although distance learning offers a source of education from the comfort of your home, it can impede on your learning and ability to recieve a quality education.

The first reason why distance learning should not be implemented is due to the fact that there are too many distractions for this system of education. At home, you are able to have your TV, cell phone, and all other sorts of modes of technology that can distract you from your learning. This is in contrast to school, where you are not allowed to have your cell phone and there are not many things that can distract your learning. It has been statistically proven that students do not do as well on exams when they have their phones on their desks as when phones are put away and out of sight. It is very likely that if you have these types of distractions at home while you are taking online classes, you will be drawn to the distractions and will not be able to learn as well as in a classroom.

Another reason as to why distance learning doesn't benefit students is because of the social aspect of school. At school, you are exposed to up to hundreds or even thousands of other students that you can interact with and become friends with. Students are able to talk to each other in between classes, at lunch, before school, etc. But with distance learning, this social aspect becomes limited. At home, students are isolated and do not have the ability to talk to or communicate with their friends. School is not only about learning; school is also about being able to work collaboratively with other people and learn valuable teamwork skills. These skills are able to help you in the future, whether this is in the workplace, or just a hobby that you enjoy that involves other people. With distance learning, you cannot easily collaborate and work with other classmates as easy as if you were in a classroom with them.

The final reason for the downside of distance learning is the limitation of classes that are available. In learning online, there are just some classes that you aren't able to take as opposed to as if you were at a normal school. This would include gym, tech ed, and home ec just to name a few. Students are not at the disposal of the equipment and supervision to do what is necessary to complete the tasks needed for this class. Take home ec for example; in the classroom, there are many ovens, pans, blenders, and other cooking supplies that are needed to learn how to cook that a students may not have at home. In addition, there are teachers at school that are there to watch over the cooking process to make sure that a student won't burn or injure themselves while making food. At home, there is not this type of supervision that is required for home ec.

These are just some of the reasons that distance learning may seem to good to be true. Another is the fact that with online learning, you are not able to have that face-to-face, 1 on 1 interaction that you can have in person with a teacher while at school. Yes, distance learning is helpful for some people that cannot travel to or do not learn as well in a classroom environment. However, the negatives outweigh the benefits for this type of learning. If there are advancements in the future that enable a more interactive and socialized way of online learning, then maybe it should be implemented. But for now, this is not the case and distance learning is not as beneficial as classroom learning for students.