There is no doubt that online education is just as good as classroom learning if not better. This can confidently be claimed due to online education classes offering focused learning opportunities to students which enhances learning among all age groups. Various surveys show that students are likely to learn a subject easier if they are offered focused tuition and guidance. This is due to students not always needing the overall subjects training but simply getting guidance tips in a certain chapter. Online education has made this possible and students cannot focus their attention to improve specific areas which may need development. With access to the internet and digital technology, learning has become much easier with many learners and scholars agreeing that Online Education is as good as Classroom Learning.

According to the Online Learning Consortium, one out of every four students is registering oneself for an e-course. Despite this, many students have a concern regarding online education, and many ask, ‘is online education as good as classroom learning?”.

The following points will lay more clarity on the benefits of online education over traditional education:

1. Growing pattern of online education
2. Exclusive benefits of online education for people
3. Online education vs offline education
4. Best online education service providers

Growing Pattern of Online Education
As per the latest reports, 88% Americans had proper access to the internet until July 2017. This hike in the percentage of users accessing the internet started at the turn of the millennium. Babson survey research group conducted a survey, which revealed that more than 6.7 million students enrolled themselves for online courses. Online education precisely came into the existence in the year 2002. Between 2002 to 2011, it was seen that a significant number of students have enrolled in e-courses. Over a period of time, students feel that online education is just as good as classroom learning. The best part of online learning is that it is not confined to any particular age group. Rather, people, of all the age groups are availing benefits of e-learning, even the working people are also using it to upgrade their skills that help in their jobs. Parents are also understanding how online education is just as good as classroom learning. As more parents build their confidence in online courses, they are enrolling their young children in different online courses as an additional support to studies. Online learning is becoming popular not only amongst students but also among elderly people. They are using these online learning services for enhancing their learning. Earlier they were apprehensive that,‘is online education as good as classroom learning or not?’. However, with time people gained more confidence in this mode of learning. It is a proven and worldwide accepted concept that online learning is gaining popularity.

Exclusive Benefits Of Online Education For People

• K 12 students: Due to the transferable jobs of parents, young children have to change their schools frequently. This causes constant hindrance in their studies and learning, as they have to move from one school to another. Due to which they come across frequent changes in the study pattern, hence cannot concentrate that well on studies. The children who are not able to attend school regularly due to medical issues or disability also suffer similar problems. Online education facilitates all such students to continue their studies as online education is just as good as classroom learning.
• Adult students: Many adult students prefer to pursue a job instead of continuing their studies. Hence, for such adult students, online learning has turn out to be the best and easiest option available. It is seen that online courses offer similar calendar and guidelines as the regular universities offer to their students. This involves writing various assignments and taking exams too. Some of the regular universities do offer a few online courses on their official websites. This way students find online education is just as good as classroom learning. These universities offer quality texts, audios, and videos on a variety of subjects. This is the most successful and useful way of learning, as it is not restricted to any geographical boundaries. This method benefits all in various ways such as no time constraints, no need to attend classes, easy access to study material, and affordability etc.
• Aged students: There is no age to learn if one has the willingness to acquire knowledge on new topics or subjects. However, aged people find it difficult to adjust themselves in a regular classroom setup. In such a situation, online education is the best alternative available to elderly people to pursue their learning. They can choose from a variety of online courses as per their interest. It also helps them in keeping themselves mentally engaged. At a point of time, they always wondered, ‘is online education as good as classroom learning’. However, gradually with time, they realized that this is an ultimate medium to enhance and upgrade their knowledge. Nowadays, online education is the easiest and chosen learning mode by elderly people. It is a very convenient option for them, as they do not need to go anywhere for these classes. All they need is an internet connection and compatible electronic device to study.

Online education V/S offline education
Everything has its positives and negatives, so as online, and offline learning methods.

Some of the pros and cons of the offline education are mentioned below:

Advantages of online education are mentioned below:

• More affordable –The most prominent aspect of online learning is affordability. Online courses are quite cheap as compared to regular classroom studies. This way students can find online education is just as good as classroom learning at a very affordable cost. There is an exhaustive program offered at the coder camps costing about $10000 for nine weeks. With online course, this amount is hardly quarter of the cost of regular college fees that might be $80000 for four years.
• Convenient and flexible learning – Online learning is available to the people of all age groups. Students who are busy with their prior commitments then there is no need to get bothered about it. Through online learning, they have full liberty of studying as per their time schedule. In online courses, there is no fixed timetable for the day. These are hourly based, 10-20 hours a week and these hours depend upon the intensity of the topic. It lets the students devote plenty of time to their assigned jobs and other important work. The other fascinating factor about online learning is students do not need to commute for attending any class, they can learn from the comfort of their home. The experience of online education is just as good as classroom learning. In online learning services, there are tutors who are available round the clock as per the time or convenience of the students. This way time can be managed more effectively and efficiently.
• Skills improvement is the focus – Usually online courses are completed in a shorter period of time. Through this, online teachers are able to upgrade your skills that can increase your demand in the market. All the tutors are experienced in their fields and can enhance the knowledge in the subjects one wants to improve. They can feed the students with much more information whenever they require. There is an option for practical too, so that students can refine and develop their skills to perform better in their jobs. Majority of people state that they have the apprehension that,‘is online education as good as classroom learning’.However, after enrolling in an online course all their doubts were cleared. In on-campus learning, one has to concentrate simultaneously on various subjects but in online learning, one can choose the subjects as per one’s need. Students can opt any subject to improve their weak area if any. They can learn even the critical topics like digital skills, SEO, content marketing, etc. through an online course. Another amazing aspect is, students can choose the finest tutor on their own. The tutors are capable enough to teach students all the required skills at the ease of sitting at home and even in their busy schedule of working hours.
• More updated curriculum: There is a drawback of on-campus learning that the curriculums are not updated regularly. Any sort of updation in syllabus or learning takes some time to reach to the students. On the contrary, in online learning, any update comes into effect immediately. This way if anybody asks, ‘is online education as good as classroom learning?’, the answer is at times it is even better than traditional learning. This is because; online learning is more prompt and up to date than traditional education.

Disadvantages of online education are mentioned below:

• Accreditation is not assured – One of the major concerns of the students is that some of the courses are not being accredited by the concerned authorities. This way if students do not get a valid certificate from an accredited university, then,is online education as good as classroom learning? As without any authentic degree, it will be hard to get a specific job in the field.
• Lack of personal interaction – There is no one on one communication between the teacher and the students. Although, there is an option of video conferencing still it lacks face-to-face interaction. There are some of the online education service providers who do not offer video chat as an option, students can communicate with tutors only via chat.At times, it gets difficult for students to understand a few topics of a subject due to lack of personal attention. Online education is just as good as classroom learning without any personal attention or clarification of doubts.
• More self-dependent for performing tasks – In case of online learning majorly students have to depend on themselves to perform a task or understand any critical topic without much external assistance. Online learning provides students, facility of online tutors 24/7, still, such facility can only act as a supplementary, not at par with classroom interaction. By opting an online course, students have to devote more time to their tutors, as it is not easy to understand the subjects. They also do not have fellow students to discuss any topic to clarify their doubts. This makes it necessary to spend ample amount of time to study online.
• Needs to study with self-commitment and self-direction –While pursuing offline education students have the assistance of teachers, students around them to do any task, assignments, discussing career goals etc. In offline education, students have guidance at every step, while online education is just as good as classroom learning.

Some of the pros and cons of the offline education are mentioned below:

Advantages of offline education are mentioned below:

• Getting practical experience – learning in college does not only provide a physical place for study but also provides facilities, things, and events that enable one to get practical learning of related topics and life.It provides an opportunity to study with a group of students, making friends, learning different aspects of life, helping or getting help, to participate in curricular activities, industrial visits,and training, etc.
• Opportunity to develop connections with people – traditional education system lets an individual meet many people each day, they can be their friends, seniors, professors, etc. Through industry visits, one also has a possibility of developing and maintaining relations with the companies and increase their chances of being hired by those companies. Networking with people helps in different spheres of life and it goes all through the life. Students learn this aspect in an early age through traditional learning.
• A regular college degree holds more importance and value – a degree of a regular course is more recognized than any other form of learning. However, various sources have validated that online education is amongst the best methods of learning. Still, the degree of an offline course holds more importance and higher ranking in the preference list of the companies that wish to appoint the fresher. It means one has more promising opportunities to get jobs with a formal regular degree.
• Physical access to tools and amenities – students are given all the required equipment and amenities to have a better learning experience. Traditional education makes the learning process more practical and helps students in understanding varied facets of their course. Classroom lectures give a proper insight on the topic and chance to interact with the professor to clear out doubts. Similarly, the practical sessions in the labs give a broader understanding of the subject.

Many professions require a proper degree of a regular course like a lawyer, doctor, teacher, etc. This way traditional education gains a point over online education. However, one can easily get work and excel in various other professions through online education. For instance, if one wishes to become an SEO expert, one can pursue an online course and easily get work on basis of that. This way online education is just as good as classroom learning.

Disadvantages of offline education are mentioned below:

• Not everyone can afford the fees–usually, the fees of the college to pursue a regular course is quite an amount. This is one of the major reasons of worry for many students and their parents. Affording high fees of campus learning is not possible for everyone. To get an admission in campus students take education loan that brings them under the debt of a substantial amount. Along with other study related pressures, this is an additional stress; a student needs to deal with. The only way to avoid the burden of huge fees is performing extraordinary and getting selected for a scholarship.
• No guarantee of a job–no matter how fascinating a regular degree sounds but it cannot give any sort of job assurance to anyone. Every year a new survey or report reveals the new number of unemployed graduates, which is increasing each year. Similarly, many reports have already stated the huge number, which reflects the number of graduates doing the jobs that even do not require a bachelor’s degree. Many experts have named this state of poor employment status as ‘underemployment’.
• Required skills for the job may not be given – there is no certainty that an individual may attain all the required skills through a regular course. Traditional classroom set-up may give you all the equipment and amenities but this cannot assure students of providing the right set of required skills. The prime focus of these courses is to assist students in acquiring critical thinking attributes in general, but may not provide the real-life experience in the field. This is the reason why most of the students find a major disconnect between their studies and professional life. The students find it difficult to understand the challenges involved in the tasks of their profession. While, in contrast, an online education facilitates the students in gaining the required set of skills on the subjects, which proves to be more useful for the students in their professional life.
• Travel is required for learning– Unlike online education, offline education does not facilitate students to study from their respective places, hence it requires traveling. These regular programs are bound in a set timetable that all the students need to attend the classes as per that only. One may also need to travel to far off places for regular studies. While in online education, one can study from anywhere irrespective of any geographic limitation, one can attend classes from home or office. Additionally, students can also schedule the classes as per their convenience.

Best Online Education Service Providers
Today, being an acknowledged fact that, is online education as good as classroom learning, the benefits of it are also known by all. Following is the list of some of the best websites that ensure online education is just as good as classroom learning.

• Coursera – it is the most appreciated and trusted online learning service provider website. This website offers a number of courses in various subjects. The best thing is it has collaborated with many renowned universities from all over the world. This means the student will get a leading university’s certification on completion of the course from this website. The website ensures the experience of online education is just as good as classroom learning.From data science to musical theory, an extensive range of courses in varied disciplines is available on the website. Students may avail many courses at absolute no cost or minimal price on this platform. An important point to note is, the certification of the university will cost a little higher.
• Khan Academy –it is a well–known online learning website, which provides a wide range of educating free micro-lectures. This aim of this academy is to provide the best of information on the traditional subjects. One can learn at length on the subjects like Math, Science, Humanities, etc. with the help of video and text study material. Before proceeding to advance studies in your subject, you should master your knowledge by using free lessons from this website.
• Udemy – despite not being free, it is still a very popular name in the field of online education. This is one of the most prompt websites in online education, as they add approximately 800 new courses each month. This means that you have an extensive range of courses to choose, the one that suits your needs. The fees charged by the website also vary from $10 to $500 depending upon the course.
• MIT OpenCourseWare–it works under the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The website offers plenty of courses to select. The relevant information and credible knowledge are provided to the students through text, video, and audio tutorials.
• Code Academy – This website provides the best of courses in coding. This gives free access to all. With the help of supportive groups and gamified point system, this website makes the students learn the concepts of coding like PHP, Python, Ruby, etc. at a very fast speed. By the end of the course, students are capable of developing programming project on their own.
• National Geographic Kids –this is an ultimate platform for kids to learn while having fun. The website provides an informal environment for kids so that they can learn more quickly and without putting much effort. Kids learn various academic topics by solving quizzes and games. The fun videos and photographs keep them engaged in the whole learning process.
• University of Oxford Podcasts – podcasts learning is very effective. This website gives the opportunity to learn subjects from Journalism to Economics through podcasts. The podcasts are the series of public lectures or visiting professors lectures, one needs to subscribe for the lectures. It provides detailed knowledge on the topic and runs for a longer period.
• General assembly – it focuses on teaching designing, business, and technology. The office of this website is based out of New York, that also offers on-campus classes in different cities. They offer a number of famous lectures via live-streaming. This gives a realistic feeling of the actual classroom, where one interacts with other real-time students.
• iTunes U Free Courses – it is an app to facilitate the students to learn the concepts on their iPad, iPhone or iPod. It is very easy to download and start learning instantly. The app offers many courses on varied subjects. Free podcasts and video tutorials on a variety of subjects are available on this platform. Some of the content is available on the paid basis. Being an Apple app, it is not available on Android, Google or Windows phone.
• Alison – the website provides free online education service. Different aspects related to business, technology, medical are available on this website. In addition, they also offer different language courses. This website provides a certification the completion of the course that validates your learning and assists you in getting a job.

It is clear by now that, how is online education as good as classroom learning! These online educations are preferred over offline by many smart students.