Comparing Traditional School and Online School

The world has created the notion that one has to join school to succeed in life, and as such, the number of people attending school to gain knowledge keeps on rising. Although schools have traditionally used classrooms or physical buildings as the centers for learning, advancement in technology has introduced another platform for learning which does not require a physical building or physical presence of either the student or instructor. It is thus important to look at the advantages and disadvantages of each one them as well as share my personal experiences on the two school.

CLAIMS OF TRADITIONAL SCHOOL VS ONLINE SCHOOL

There is flexibility in making schedules to students in an online school. This is advantageous especially for students who might be working. It will allow a student to log into an online course at his or her most appropriate time (Stauffer). This is in contrast with attending classroom lecture studies which have to be conducted within a specific timeframe. Moreover, long commuting in the case of traditional schools sometimes makes scheduling difficult (Erstad). Thus, there is more freedom for the online students to set their learning schedule in consideration of other commitments that a student might have during the week.

Another comparison between the traditional school and the online school is regarding motivation, in that, in online schools, students must develop strategies that will help them sustain their motivation on studies (Christian). They need to do so by setting their own time when they can read with minimum distraction. On the other hand, in a traditional school, a student would get motivated from his or her interaction with other students or instructors in addition to self-motivation (Erstad). This is the advantage that a traditional school has over an online school.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN TRADITIONAL SCHOOL VS ONLINE SCHOOL

As a graduate from an online school, I did not have to travel to a physical classroom for my lessons but rather, was able to access them wherever and whenever I needed to which was a huge convenience for me. I used to spend most time studying on weekends because this was when I was off from work duties. The flexibility that online school provided me helped me study even on weekdays which could not have been possible when in a traditional school.

I also spent some time in a traditional school, and thus, would like to share my experience in comparison to an online school. First, I had no time to work on weekdays. This is because all my lectures were spread throughout the week apart from the weekend. In addition, travelling from my place to school was never easy and I would fail to attend classes sometimes. The good thing about my days in a traditional school was the physical interaction I got from instructors and students. This is also good for learning and gives a traditional mode of learning a cutting edge over an online one.

CONCLUSION

The discussion has clearly illustrated the claims of both traditional and online schools. An online school is more flexible than a traditional one. In addition to flexibility, online learning or school would require a learner to develop self-motivation unlike a traditional one, where learners have various motivation elements that can motivate him or her. I spent time in both of them and noted the advantages and disadvantages of each as discussed earlier.

Works Cited

Christian, Brandon. “Online Vs. Traditional College.” Welcome to Graceland University | Graceland, 2015, www.graceland.edu/student-blog/blog/620335/online-vs-traditional-college.

Erstad, Will. ”Online Vs. Traditional Education: What You Need to Know.” Rasmussen College - Regionally Accredited College Online and on Campus, 2017, www.rasmussen.edu/student-life/blogs/college-life/online-vs-traditional-education-answer-never-expected/.

Stauffer, Rainesford. ”The Real Experience of an Online-only University Student.” Times Higher Education (THE), 19 Jan. 2018, www.timeshighereducation.com/student/blogs/real-experience-online-only-university-student.