I have been a face-to-face teacher for a while now. I love interacting with students, it’s the best part of my job. If I look back over my career as a student and a teacher there have only been a few instances of online learning. The first happened for me as a student. I was in my final year of university and a required course wouldn’t fit into my schedule, so I signed up for Distance Learning. Twice a week I turned on the TV and watched a lecture on Curriculum Instruction in Elementary Math. And it was a lecture. The professor spoke on the topic, no visuals, just him. Broken up only by the occasional camera angle change. After two classes I knew that I was in trouble. That was definitely not the way I learned. I was extremely thankful that I was taking a Diagnosing and Intervention in Math course in person with the same professor. Who in person was witty and personable. He made the in-person lectures very interesting. I still have the text from that course. Listening to him in person made the distance learning course possible for me. They were similar enough topics that I made connections and was able to learn what I needed to.
My next online learning experience was during Covid. I was in my classroom, and for two months students got assigned work and could come to meetings on Teams with me. It was chaos. Our district threw Teams at us once at home learning started. No instructions, no here’s some ideas, just, you start tomorrow. I got to teach my students how to use teams over the phone, while I had 4 in person students at the same time. My best moment was when I had a student for the first time on Teams and she had decided she wanted to improve her French skills. So she set up Teams in French. My French was barely able to understand her phonetically speaking French and then trying to translate the French I thought she was saying into English. Luckily this only lasted a short time before I convinced her to change to Teams in English.
I am very biased towards in person learning because of these experiences. I can see for a lot of students that online learning is valuable and rewarding but not for me.
But are there any facets to face to face and online learning that are only possible in those environments. Of course!
- Flexibility would be better with online learning. Students accessing information and participating in their learning at their own pace and on their own schedule.
- Anyone with an internet connection could attend online courses. This year has been particularly difficult with absences. It is hard to continue forward when you constantly have students away. If they could still connect it would be easier.
- Personalization would be easier in an online environment. It is difficult teaching a class when you have multiple learning groups and students who need adjudication. In an online environment you could customize students’ experiences and resources based on their preferences and learning styles.
- There are a wide variety of different online learning opportunities available. From online field trips, simulations, and presentations that students can look at according to their own interests. In person, unless you are lucky enough to have laptops or tablets, everyone is on the same track. Online learning students could follow their passions more easily and that could create more lifelong learners.
Overall, online learning environments offer many advantages to face to face learning.
While online learning offers many advantages, face to face learning also has many benefits.
- Immediate feedback is possible through a variety of methods. That’s not always possible for online students if they are not in a classroom.
- Social interaction is a huge component of face-to-face learning. Collaborating, learning how to work with others, engaging in discussions and building relationships are all easier face to face and contribute to a sense of community.
- Hands on activities are easier to assign to students in a face-to-face environment. While online learning is getting better with all of the virtual opportunities for manipulatives and simulations sometimes kids just need to do something in order to understand.
- For many students, myself included, staying accountable for their learning and staying focussed is easier in person
- Adapting to different learning styles is easier in face to face environments.
- Being able to see which students are understanding and which need help.
Both online and face to face learning styles have benefits and drawbacks. They are both able to create meaningful learning experiences, build curiosity and enrich students’ journeys. Which one is for you, as a student or a teacher, comes down more to your learning style, preferences, needs and interests.
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