Online Education Vs. Traditional Education: a Comparative Study

The benefits of online education cannot be underestimated. Defined as the type of education delivered to students through the internet to their home computers (Means et al. 6), online education is currently widely used in the United States’ higher learning institutions. However, it seems that some academics and learning institutions are still skeptical about the effectiveness of this form of education on the various indicators of education such as academic performance, student participation, and post-graduation success. Numerous studies examining the impact of online education on the above aspects have been conducted but for various disciplines and subjects. Similar studies but studying students enrolled in different courses such as ethics, business, medicine, and management have been conducted, and all of them have yielded similar results (Means et al. 6). The benefits of online education have always outweighed the benefits of face-to-face teaching in many studies. Online education has been linked to improved academic performance, student participation, and student satisfaction and retention compared to traditional education.

Online education records a better improvement in academic performance than traditional education. Academic performance is one of the outcome measures of education. A teaching method that has an adverse or no impact on student performance is often considered ineffective and discarded by most teachers. Online education is currently widely used in the United States because it has proved itself more effective than traditional education. Many studies have tested Surname 2 the impact this form of teaching has on the academic performance of students, and most, if not all, have shown that distance learning betters students’ educational attainment. For instance, a comparative study that was conducted to examine the impact of online education on academic performance in a pharmaceutical care course found out that student performance is better in an online learning module than traditional education (Gossenheimer et al. 1). Many theories explain why online education has worked better than face-to-face education, and one of them is that Generation Z is more Internet-oriented than oriented towards physical interactions.

Student participation also improves significantly in an online learning module compared to face-to-face interaction. As mentioned earlier, Generation Z prefers virtual communication to face-to-face interaction. This makes it excellent for them to learn through online education. This assertion is more theoretical than a fact. However, many studies have proved this theory as true and accurate. For instance, a study that was conducted to examine if online education can improve student participation and interaction in large course enrollments discovered that online courses could eliminate the learning barriers caused by large course enrollments hence improving students’ interaction with instructors and students’ discussions which promote collaborative learning (Abdelhai et al. 1). Students are encouraged to participate in online courses. This interaction promotes student-centered learning. Compared to traditional education, online learning encourages wider student participation in discussions (Abdelhai et al. 4). The discussions also produced in an online learning module are more in-depth and well-reasoned than in a face-to-face discussion (Abdelhai et al. 4). Therefore, it is through this improved student participation and students' interaction with instructors that leads to improved educational attainment in online courses than in face-to- Surname 3 face education. As mentioned above, Generation Z is more acquainted with using gadgets for online learning, hence making it the most effective learning method for this cohort.

Compared to traditional, face-to-face education, online education has significantly contributed to curbing school dropout and has improved student satisfaction considerably. One of the challenges facing the United States today in the education sector is the high rates of dropouts and graduation rates. The United States is an industrialized country, and in order to remain in the same development pace with its affluent peers, the nation must prepare a competent and highly-skilled future workforce that can work in the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering. However, with the current rate of school dropouts and graduation rates, the country’s dreams seem shattered. Fortunately, online education can contribute to putting the United States in the right direction. A study that utilized student satisfaction and retention as one of its study variables discovered that there is a positive correlation between a well-administered online education and student satisfaction and retention (Garratt-Reed, Roberts, and Heritage 3). Generation Z finds it very interesting studying online than face-to-face, hence boosting their satisfaction with how particular courses are administered, which, in turn, translates to improved retention. However, Garratt-Reed, Roberts, and Heritage warned that online education should be administered cautiously (8). Poorly-administered online education can result in increased school dropout rates.

In conclusion, this paper has evidentially proved that online education is better than traditional, face-to-face learning. Compared to traditional education, online education improves educational attainment and student participation and reduces school dropout rates. Therefore, learning institutions should rethink the significance of introducing online learning modules for various courses. Even though faculties remain skeptical about the effectiveness of this mode Surname 4 of learning, numerous studies examining its impact on different disciplines have always yielded positive results. However, learning institutions and the faculty should always remain cautious in the manner in which they administer online courses.

Work Cited

1. Abdelhai, Rehab et al. "An E-Learning Reproductive Health Module To Support Improved Student Learning And Interaction: A Prospective Interventional Study At A Medical School In Egypt." BMC Medical Education 12.1 (2012): 1-9. Web.
2. Garratt-Reed, David, Lynne D. Roberts, and Brody Heritage. "Grades, Student Satisfaction And Retention In Online And Face-To-Face Introductory Psychology Units: A Test Of Equivalency Theory." Frontiers in Psychology 7 (2016): n. pag. Web. 11 Sept. 2017.
3. Gossenheimer, Agnes Nogueira et al. "Impact Of Distance Education On Academic Performance In A Pharmaceutical Care Course." PLOS ONE 12.4 (2017): e0175117. Web. 11 Sept. 2017.
4. Means, Barbara et al. Evaluation Of Evidence-Based Practices In Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis And Review Of Online Learning Studies. US Department of Education, 2010. Web. 11 Sept. 2017.