By NOAH PRIDE
Guest Columnist
In late 2019, COVID-19 began.
It quickly turned into a worldwide pandemic that affected everyone.
The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped nearly every aspect of modern life, with education experiencing one of the most significant transformations.
Now with vaccines and other measures, COVID-19 is mostly behind us. Yet the way it changed schooling might be sticking around.
As COVID-19 hit the country, many students and schools switched from in-person to online. Before COVID, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, around 30% of college students took some form of online classes. 17% of that was strictly all online.
In 2020-2021, the number of students in some form of online classes went to 72% with 45 of that being all online. An increase of more than double.
As we moved past COVID-19, The usage of online courses dropped to 53%. A notable decrease but still above pre-pandemic numbers. Whether or not the massive increases of online college participation will stay remains to be seen, but for now, the popularity of online courses has increased and the cons of taking an online course will have to be weighed by students.
The benefits of online courses can be immense.
First, it saves time.
Students don’t have to commute to class or spend excess time in the classroom.
This frees up time to work or take more classes if needed. A student that is strictly online can save money by living at their home instead of a dorm.
It can also open up new colleges that might not be able to attend otherwise.
Online courses are also often self-paced. These suit some students well and will make it easier for them to learn. Online courses also come with a cost.
There are no face-to-face interactions or if there are, they are in a limited amount.
This reduces the chance of students choosing to work together and reduces the change of them approaching their professor for assistance.
In addition, some students won’t have the time management and work ethic to do self-paced learning. It can be hard to learn without a set schedule or routine.
Technology brings technology issues.
Each student will have a unique situation with the technology they have available to them making troubleshooting an issue.
Isolation is a hidden cost to online schooling.
Classes are also a way to connect to your peers and make new connections. To some, it’s a heavy cost to their socialization.
All in All, the space of online schooling is still forming. COVID was a big accelerant to it, but there is still room to learn what works and what doesn’t.
Ultimately, students will have to make the call on what works best for them.
Colleges will have to take steps to support their students in that area specifically, whether that be with only one or two online classes or being 100% an online college student.
