Will E-learning Replace Traditional Colleges?

E-Learning and Traditional College

Frankly speaking, there are a lot of flaws in the traditional college system. From inflexibility to cost-benefit constraint, the list goes on. Yes, it may have produced a lot of professionals and skilled individuals. But logically, it is mainly because they had no choice. Before there are professionals, there were high-school graduates. These graduates wanted to pursue a higher degree of education for all reasons that you can think of. However, they were presented with nothing but only one and old option.Go to college. It was fine but what if they had another choice which is better?

The system of e-learning can be dated back to the 60’s. Although during that time, it is solely used to deliver information or instruction to the students. But as we enter the 70’s, online learning started to become more interactive. And as the development of technology continues, we can expect e-learning to grow in the coming years. Innovations which may be unimaginable right now might be the centerpiece of e-learning in the future.

Today’s status is so much different from one hundred years ago. The supremacy of traditional colleges in the educational society is coming to a reform as we enter the information age. However, these colleges might not have been able to keep up with the ever-changing needs of the students.

Traditional College Issues

Burden of High Costs

The cost of going to college is inexplicably high. And as time passes by, it increases at a fast rate. An article posted in Time.com by Lily Rothman says;

These days, the average cost for a year at a four-year college ranges from $9,410 for in-state public tuition to $32,410 for private. Neither of those figures includes room and board. But, in general, and at many specific places, costs are far higher: just looking at a few of the colleges surveyed by TIME over the years, Vassar these days costs $52,320 for a year’s tuition, and Bates is $64,500 for tuition, room, and board fees.

These amounts only reflect school fees. Other additional costs will also be incurred such as transportation and miscellaneous expenses. This will break the bank especially for those who earn income on an average amount. Whereas in e-learning, you can say goodbye to the room, board, transportation, and other expenses.

Inflexibility of Learning

In a traditional college, the students are permitted to choose from the college’s prepared schedules. Although they have the option, they can’t really be flexible in terms of time management. And by the way, these schedules are limited. So basically, when the slots run out from a student’s desired schedule, he will have to choose another one. It is like being given a freedom percentage of 10%.

Non-personalization of Learning Pace

Not everyone can easily grasp lessons the moment it is first introduced. In a college, the typical setup is that the professor will discuss the topic and the students will listen. It is then followed by an examination. Although students may ask questions, not all professors are approachable. And not all students have the guts to stand out in front of the crowd for a single question. There are cases when the pacing of the class is so fast that most of the students find it hard to keep up. On the other situation, the professor may be focusing too much on the information which is basic or not necessarily important to the course.

E-learning over Traditional Colleges

A call for something better

The traditional college system is a proven way of producing skilled individuals and professionals. But as always, the world needs better. It may be here to stay or be replaced sometime soon. However, considering the trends of technological advancements across nations, it might be the latter. These are just some of the matters where e-learning beats traditional college. But if you’re going to ask again, given this information, then yes.

E-learning promotes independence and control. Individuals who are successful in their own chosen industries practiced these two traits. People like Henry Ford, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are all college dropouts. But they came to be one of the most influential and wealthy people in the history. They disregarded the college system and found a better way of teaching themselves.

A better way of learning

In e-learning, the student may choose whenever he will access the online class. As long as there is an Internet connection, he may be able to access the readily available audio-visual presentations, documents, and other resource materials. So if a coffee shop feels like a good place to read, then e-learning is a good companion. These resource materials can also be accessed at any time of the day. So if something came up to a students’ mind during midnight then he can easily access the site.

E-learning promotes flexibility and full control. Everyone desires to have the ability to manage their own time without much-blocked areas. In traditional colleges, managing time can be tricky because one can neither control when the class is going to start nor where will it be held. Each person is busy, it is always better to have control of when to do what.

In e-learning, a student may select the areas of the topic to concentrate with. He will have the control to manipulate the time allotted for each lesson. Say, for example, student A is already familiar with Lesson 1. He is given a handful of options. He may review the lesson just for an overview or totally skip it and proceed to Lesson 2. Selection of the material is also available. Some individuals may find it easier to learn through watching videos rather than reading texts. This kind of control is not present in a traditional college.

So, will E-learning Replace Traditional Colleges?

E-learning will replace traditional colleges. It may not be now but it surely will. It will give the people a more manageable and flexible way of learning. Walking at its own pace of the development, online learning will definitely come to gain supremacy in the educational society.