Pros and Cons of Online Learning: A Balanced Analysis

Introduction: The Rise of Online Learning

Since the advent of the Internet, online learning has increased exponentially. It is utilized by K–12 schools, public universities, and colleges, and there has been an explosion in for-profit online schools as well. Twenty years ago, the industry did not really exist — distance education was usually some form of correspondence course. In 2014, Forbes estimated the industry to be worth around $107 billion in the United States alone, to say nothing of the rest of the world (McCue, 2014). This makes sense because all the world's information is essentially at our fingertips every time we go online, and structuring that information in a meaningful way is fairly easy to adapt to the online environment.

The industry has come under some criticism, in particular for its model with respect to student loans and the high default rates thereof (Taibbi, 2013). Yet such business practices are by no means indicative of online learning as a whole. Indeed, such situations may reflect a case where regulation has not kept up with technology, and this should not reflect on the nature of online learning itself. Stripping away the fallacy of conflating a few bad actors with an entire method of learning affords us an opportunity to understand the pros and cons of online learning on their own merits.

Cost and Convenience Advantages

The booming popularity of online learning speaks to the fact that it offers many advantages. These include lower cost of delivery, flexibility and convenience, and time savings. Regarding cost of delivery, complex educational systems can be developed with the knowledge that development costs will be spread among thousands of students each semester. Thus, there are tremendous economies of scale available in online learning, especially if schools pool their resources. Even when they do not, larger online institutions can achieve significant economies of scale on the delivery of key programs without compromising quality (Bradshaw, Chan & Clarke, 2014). Theoretically, such economies of scale should translate into cost savings for students, though that is not always the case in practice. The biggest cost savings in online learning actually derive from the convenience factor.

Convenience is a critical benefit of online learning. It can be conducted whenever the learner has free time, rather than at a fixed schedule as in a traditional educational setting. This means that the learner can typically continue to work — something that often is not possible for students in a conventional setting. Along with convenience comes self-pacing. Students are able to work at their own pace, meaning that some can move ahead of the class while others take more time as needed. This allows students to fit education into their daily lives instead of pausing their lives — and especially their careers — in order to learn.

The financial benefit of this arrangement is clear. Someone who continues working while enrolled will not only earn money during their studies but can use their online education as a springboard to a promotion. By contrast, someone who must quit work to attend school may accumulate debt, derail their career path, and be forced to start over after graduation. Thus, the financial benefits of online learning stem not from differences in tuition fees but from the ability to balance work and school far more effectively — and this balance is one of the primary reasons online learning is so popular.

The Interaction Critique

There are meaningful critiques of online learning that deserve consideration. Many within the educational community believe that one of the main positive attributes of traditional classroom learning comes from interaction with peers and instructors, as well as the professional contacts made in that environment. The argument is that learning is not merely about reciting facts and memorizing concepts — it has a human, interactive dimension (Fedynich, 2014). Online schools understand this argument, and the structure of their courses reflects it. Online learning platforms typically incorporate the concept of a virtual "class" in which students are divided into cohorts, participate in discussion boards and message boards, and have the opportunity to interact with instructors as well.

While such interactions may be viewed by some in the educational establishment as inferior to face-to-face contact, the blurring of the physical and virtual worlds is entirely normal in today's society. Students do not consider remote interactions inferior — they are quite accustomed to forming relationships and holding meaningful dialogues with others in virtual forums.

Conclusion

If online learning is not for everybody, that is perfectly reasonable. But there are good schools and bad schools both offline and online, and that reality should not drive the broader debate about online learning as a method. Online learning is a popular form of education because it offers specific advantages over traditional education that many students find compelling — among them convenience, cost savings, and flexibility.

References

Bradshaw, D., Chan, W., & Clarke, C. (2014). The pros and cons of online learning. Financial Times. May 11, 2014.

Fedynich, L. (2014). Teaching beyond the classroom walls: The pros and cons of cyberlearning. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, 13, 1–7.

McCue, T. (2014). Online learning industry poised for $107 billion in 2015. Forbes. Retrieved April 29, 2015 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2014/08/27/online-learning-industry-poised-for-107-billion-in-2015/

Taibbi, M. (2013). Ripping off young America: The college loan scandal. Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 29, 2015 from http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/ripping-off-young-america-the-college-loan-scandal-20130815