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The process of receiving and delivering education has also jumped onto the technology train. With thousands of options and ways to gain an education online, is it only a matter of time until online education becomes the only way to gain an education.

Right now, a big question is whether online education is the right answer for us as human beings?

Discussions can be made for both sides, but what it ultimately comes down to, is an individual’s preference in how they receive their education and their understanding of its impact upon their health.

We all learn in a variety of ways. Some of us prefer online courses; others prefer the classroom setting and some of us like to have a mixture of both. And there are pros and cons for all these different forms of learning, which means that there is no one correct way of teaching and learning. But in a world where nearly everything is now with a technological focus, and with the current circumstances of COVID, online learning may be, for the first time ever, the best way or even the only way to go ..

In this article I will take a stance for face to face or a blended learning system rather than a solely online education as I talk about some of the societal impacts and effect it has. This is just my opinion and you are very welcome to have yours … however, there were several significant factors that have played into my decision: mainly what l have seen from my own experience of being in a classroom during the past few months. But also, what l have heard or rather what l have not heard ….

The positives of an online education system

1) Individual pace of learning

The most significant, and possible the most important factor for online education is the ability to go at your own pace. It has been shown that many students across the world struggle with keeping up with their peers on a daily basis. Learning programs have been created to help these students, but ultimately these programs rarely exist in schools and colleges. Students are expected to keep pace daily with their teacher and other classmates. However, via an on-line format, students can go at their own pace and learn the best way they can. I am sure that we can all relate to this as a positive need. So, an online course allows us to access the information at our pace and with the option to go back and forth to review as many times as we need.

Another significant impact that online education has on society is the ability for online education to be adapted to students with different learning styles. In an article written by Sarah Morse, she talks about the opportunity that teachers have to adjust their teaching style to fit the needs of their students: She is quoted as saying … ‘If developed properly, online classes may increase efficiency and course productivity. To supplement lectures, teachers can provide access to tools that facilitate discussion and active participation. In an online environment, teachers can reach students with different learning styles more easily. For example, they could post a video lecture for those who learn best by listening, a diagram, photos or video for those who learn best by seeing and an interactive game for those who learn by doing.’

Additionally, by being able to adjust to different teaching styles, it also gives the opportunity to teachers to create personalised online-assessments for their students. No teacher ever wants their students to fall behind and not graduate. By being able to individually work with students and find out specifically what each student’s needs, it allows teachers to take that important step of helping all their students to succeed. One key thing to remember here is that these courses and programmes and ability to teach online does not happen overnight. It takes time to adjust and develop, it is a step-by-step process.

2) Environmental impact of Online Education

The second most significant factor of online education is the impact that it has on the environment, or rather the effects that it has been shown to have on the environment. The foundation of this factor rests on a study conducted by Dr. David Campbell and Dr. Elliot Campbell in 2009. The hypothesis that they were testing was whether online education would decrease the amount of CO2 emitted into the air.

To conduct their study, they gathered 100 students from a variety of backgrounds. These students took their classes in an in-class setting to discover how much CO2 emission could be prevented. All the classes that were taken, also had the option of being taken via an on-line setting.

The study also varied in the distances traveled and the amount of travel, how many times a week. Their goal was to get a general understanding and have it not be weighted towards one specific classification. The study lasted one term. At the end of the term they were able to come to a clear conclusion: based off the variety of travel distance and how often, it was concluded that each student would produce anywhere from 100-350 pounds of CO2 emission. That accumulates to a total of nearly 5-7 tons of CO2 being prevented from entering the atmosphere over the course of a single term for those 100 students. That’s the equivalent of approximately 12 people flying London to New York, economy class. So, to put this into context of importance … It is projected that there were about 56.4 million students attending elementary, middle, and high schools in 2020 across the United States alone. Now do the Maths!

Those are both compelling points for the positives of online learning, but we must also consider the negatives.