Online Classes vs. Traditional Classes

Online classes and traditional classes are both great ways to receive an education during college. They both strive for the same purpose, which is to help the students reach their goals during their college careers. Although both class settings are great, they do differ in some ways. The three major differences between these classes are the pace of the classes, the student/teacher interaction, and the success rates. The pace of the class affects how much information the student receives throughout the course. Traditional classes often take a slower pace rather than online classes only because online classes have more assignments compared to a traditional class setting. In traditional classes, the students have the luxury to receive the assignment, have time for the teacher to thoroughly discuss the assignment, and have additional time to complete the assignment. On the other hand, students that take part in online classes get a brief, but also detailed description of the assignment and are given a due date to complete the task by. The student/ teacher interaction also plays an important role in between these two class settings. Students in a traditional class setting have the ability to listen to the teacher talk about a lesson, ask any questions that they may have, and take part and watch any demonstrations. Online classes however, may be able to achieve the same things as the traditional classes, but do not get the full effect of the lesson. Teachers also may be able to explain things better in person to person contact, rather than going through a computer to try to solve any questions or concerns that the student may have. The final major difference between these two are the success rates of the classes. Students have a higher risk of failing and/or withdrawing a course taking it online rather than in a traditional class setting. For example, In 2005, the student success statistics for online classes were slightly lower than that of the traditional classes. Students in online classes often procrastinate and put off the assignment where in a traditional classes they would be more obligated to complete the work they are given on time rather than put it of until a different time or day. Also, some students often could be distracted from their work and tests by things in their environment at home, where as in a traditional classroom the teachers try to minimize the risk of a distraction as much as they possibly can. Although both classes have pros, they also have cons that go with each of them. Online classes basically enable the student to teach themselves with minimum guidance from the teacher and traditional classes enable the student to learn from the teacher. It mostly depends on what is better for the student and how the student is interested in learning.