Schools are not something new. They have been around for over hundreds of centuries, and they are what shape us into intelligent human beings, capable of solving different tasks. We may be used to brick-and-mortar schools, to dedicated teachers who give tests on paper, to presentations and to socializing with our classmates in a real medium, not on Facebook, but it seems that more and more students and teens are ditching real school and enrolling to online schools.
Why is this? The answer is quite simple. Technology has seen an extraordinary evolution in the past few years, and it is now possible to learn everything you need to know online. You can even take part in webinars with a teacher and feel as if you were in the classroom.
The truth is that online learning can be very effective, and it has a lot of benefits, but are they enough to make you quit a public school? Let’s compare the two learning possibilities, and maybe the decision will become easier for you.
- Traditional Schooling
No matter how much technology advances, there are some things that it cannot replace. Real life interaction is one of them. By going to school, you have the opportunity to make new friends, create strong bonds, and learn new things that are not school related. Furthermore, by going to classes you can also establish a relationship with your teachers, and this is something that can rarely happen online, especially considering that most processes are automated.
Another thing that I find relevant to traditional schooling is the strict program. Many people may not like it, or agree with it, but at some point in your life you will have to work, and it is good to learn some discipline before that happens. While we are at school we learn how to interact with society, how to organize our time, and how to meet deadlines. Home and online schooling aren’t that strict.
- Home and Online Schooling
Home Schooling can be a viable solution in various cases. The first one would be the case of a person who has to work on a schedule, and who can’t afford to go to school. Home schooling is very flexible: you can choose when to learn and how to learn. Furthermore, there are many students who suffer from illnesses (like diabetes), and it can be very difficult for them to remain unattended. In case something happens complications may appear. Online schooling will make sure that the person learning will not have to make great efforts, because he will be learning from the comfort of his home.
I have recently found a website which is dedicated to managing systems and processes of schools and colleges. It is basically an open source project, a school management tool based on the Ruby on Rails framework that contains various elements pertaining to student details, user management, timetables, attendance and examination. It is software like this that will make e-learning extremely efficient, especially because it offers the possibility to customize settings according to different needs.
In conclusion, I’m not saying that E-learning is better than Traditional schooling, but it is definitely an alternative worth considering, especially in these troubled ages where our schedules are so cramped. It is important to make the most out of the time you have, and if you can save it by learning from home, why wouldn’t you?
