Pros and cons of online learning

Ever since a pandemic hit the world, people were forced to retreat to their homes and stay put until one day; we see a sign of relief and quite possibly a cure for COVID-19. But for now, the way of life is indeed at home, and that especially goes for education.

Yet, our whole life has not broken down. Some sectors are still under operation, mostly education sector. But when I say that the education sector is in the process, I am sceptical about some other countries like Bangladesh while comparing with a modern country like Australia. There are limited resources in Bangladesh so that a proper education system is not sufficient, which made it difficult for millions of students to continue their studies during COVID-19. Indeed, this is a significant loss for Bangladesh.

The last semester of 2020 was indeed a challenging semester for an unprecedented transition from traditional to the online version of education.  However, academically, while working with one of the world's leading institutions at the University of Sydney, it was an unparalleled experience for me and some other academics. The new online teaching method at least helped us to know how to work online and learn things as much as possible in an efficient manner, that we usually follow in the classroom.
Same as academics, millions of students in Australia and around the world needed to study at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Whether you are an elementary or high school student, studying at university or the tertiary level, the only thing that can keep us up to date with our courses and units is the power of online learning. And perhaps it was possible due to the adequate internet facilities and other digital types of equipment and platforms.

I was talking to an Australian undergraduate university student about the online learning experience, and he added: "As a student myself, I found this semester quite challenging. Making this my first year at university, I knew from the start that it was going to be difficult, but once this virus hit us, it just made things so much worse. However, with online learning, it eased the stress of maintaining quality education; however, not everything is perfect" (interview 25 June 2020).

From the above excerpt, I have only described some ideas about the pros and cons of online education:

Flexibility: With online learning having the flexibility to do the classes whenever you want comes at a luxury. With students that are working part-time and full time, this comes at an advantage as students can have a balance between their work and education life. And with most classes that are recorded through programs such as Panopto, Moodle and Blackboard Collaborate, lectures and tutors can provide their teachings and expertise without you even attending the course. However, the downfall of this resides as students with fixed workloads cannot contribute during live classes and ask only some of the fundamental questions that could further enhance their learning and knowledge in that unit. Another disadvantage comes with Zoom sessions as they are fixed at certain times, which could be disadvantageous for some students.

Availability of materials: With online learning, the power of google and various other learning materials is in our deposal. In most cases, lecture materials are only provided during face to face classes. Often students are required to either copy the lecture material in their books or electronic devices or make dot points that may or may not relate to the subject at hand. Most exams during this semester were an open book, and so, students from various courses were able to access their notes during the exam period.

However, as this sounds good, there is a flaw as some "premium" materials, requires the students to pay money. Also, with libraries that have either closed or have reduced in opening hours comes at a cost as students aren't able to gain access to physical materials. Students study differently, and for those who would prefer paper notes and hand-written document, they are most likely to suffer during these tough times. Nevertheless, Australian universities were able at least provide sufficient online materials so that students did not face any significant calamities in their learning process.

Socialising as opposed to social media: Young cohorts are always urged to go outside and interact with various types of people. This is true with the student life as we can say for very sure that students love to interact with students not only on the university campus but with other students in other classes. But unfortunately, this is not the case in this critical time. However, with social media and its influence, it is now more critical than ever that we stay connected virtually. Apps like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are in the rise as students are currently engaged with collaborative class work and quite frankly engaged through social interactions.

Affordability: With universities now closed, the cost of materials and equipment has reduced in value. Teaching online is a lot cheaper and sustainable as apps like Skype and Zoom are free and require no additional charges. In most cases often universities pay for yearly subscriptions for premium features. However, most countries don't have the availability of modern technology and its proper uses. Rural areas are the most affected as internet connections can be unstable or even non-existent around the world, including Bangladesh.

However, the online version of education saved the educational lives of millions of students from the significant loss of the year, which was mostly absent in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world. But a country like Australia well coped up with these challenges. This was made possible due to the correct teaching policies and unique strategies of various Australian universities. Highly experienced and well-trained teaching staff and administrative staff can ensure a good quality of timely education delivered, which was much needed for millions of students in Australia. It is worth noting that Australia's tertiary education is not only modern; it is very competitive in the world.

When we turn back to Bangladesh and evaluate their education system, it makes us very sad because the strategic implementation of proper education policy was needed long before, which is still absent. It was essential for the educational institutions of Bangladesh to find a way to meet the challenges of following an online learning method within the limitations.

Unfortunately, this did not happen. The Government of Bangladesh now needs to reconsider the overall education policy and post COVID-19 situation to recover the losses so that the students can stay on the right track in their learning process. In the end, I would like to remind you that the online education system was not the best option. However, it did help keep millions of students in the learning process so that they would not be left out of their studies for 2020 in the horrific event of COVID-19. So Bangladeshis needed a proper digital environment in every case of their livelihoods.

(This article was prepared with the assistance of Mr Ehsan Anam, an Australian undergraduate Medical Science Student at the University of Western Sydney)
The writer is an
Australian academic