Can online education methods replace traditional education methods?

    "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world"(1)

                Modern societies are characterized by rapid social, cultural, political, economic, and technological change. Education is a key element for our society's progress, development and advancement. Traditional education methods have been proven to have many problems and issues. Are modern methods such as online learning going to replace traditional methods as our technology advances?

                Online education has both advantages and disadvantages. In order to determine which method is more suitable for our society we need to examine the positives and negatives of both methods. Firstly, online education is not limited by location or time, since anyone from any place in the world at anytime can access the internet. Secondly education can be offered for free since there are other ways to gain money online without students having to pay any tuition. Advertising online is a great way to finance teachers. Lastly, serious issues such as bullying, inequality and financial difficulties, will no longer exist in this new educational system. 

             On the other hand, there are some issues that will arise if online education replaces traditional education completely. One of the issues could be that some students might need a more structured environment in order to focus and be motivated to learn and study. Furthermore, if students no longer need to leave the house to go to school, they will end up all alone for hours, since their parents need to go to work. And finally, socializing will become more difficult. Going to school "forces" students in a way to come in contact with other people, study with them, play with them and that makes socializing come naturally. 

                  Traditional education methods have been criticized over the years, there are however arguments that support them. For example, in school, students have the opportunity to learn how to work with and respect others. Also, students can ask their teachers, questions directly and even begin a discussion about a subject that would help them understand it more in depth. And lastly, school offers a variety of physical activities and games, such as exercising, playing football, basketball etc, that benefit the students physically and mentally. 

                  The disadvantages of traditional education include, large number of students in each classroom which results in teachers neglecting the unique learning abilities and needs of each student. One of the biggest problems that students have to face in schools is bullying. Because of the large population of students in schools. teachers are not able to respond to these issues and resolve them successfully. Also the strict timelines and schedules turns learning into a chore instead of being something that students can enjoy and appreciate. Therefore a percentage of students show lack of interest in lessons, fail their tests and even drop out of school.

                In conclusion, both methods have positive and negative aspects. Online education has issues that could be resolved if other aspects of society changed, such as the working hours of parents or if other institutions were created that can resolve some of the problems that we present in this essay. While it is very difficult for online education to replace traditional education methods, a combination of the two would be a good choice since both have valid points.

(1) Nelson mandela