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Q. Online education is becoming increasing popular. Many university students are choosing to study online instead of face to face. Do the advantages of distance education outweigh the disadvantages?

E-learning is becoming increasingly famous. Studying online is preferred by many tertiary students compared to offline study. In my opinion, I think that online study brings about more benefits compared to any disadvantages it might bring.

Despite the minimal drawbacks below, I believe that the benefits gained by online study are extremely useful. Firstly, online learning has flexible timings which really ease the process of acquiring knowledge. Due to this, one can learn according to preferred time regardless of having a feeling of being in a bond with fixed timings. Take part time working students, for instance, they do not need to manage their work because of this. Secondly, online lessons are generally recorded and students can repeat it as many times as they need it by just logging in to their portal in case, if a learner missed a lecture because of any emergency. Furthermore, this way of learning also helps during exam preparation.

Admittedly, there are some issues involved with online education. One problem is that due to less interaction, student-teacher bonding suffers. This often results in teachers forget their favourite students. Moreover, as students study by just sitting at home, it leads to loss of classroom atmosphere. Another negative aspect is that, this form of education requires internet connectivity. Therefore, it is susceptible to failure. Although live streaming is possible but, it requires good data rate which is still a luxury in some developing countries.

In conclusion, because of flexible timings and recorded sessions, benefits far outweighs any of the minor drawbacks of distance education.