Mackenzie Torrey

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 8

26 Sept. 2018

Traditional and Online Learning

Every inch of the world provides some sort of education, and there are many ways to

receive this education from homeschooling to public schooling and plenty in between. When

parents are trying to find the best fit for their children, they have plenty to think about. While

traditional schooling has been around forever, online schooling has started to rise in popularity.

Whether enrolled in an online school or a traditional school there are pros and cons in both. No

matter in an online school or a traditional school student are affected differently by their

education.

Although online schooling may not be for everyone, it does have its perks. While

enrolled in an online school there is a lot more that parents can do to be involved in their

children’s education. While in a traditional school parents don’t see much of

their children’s day, they may see some homework, possibly get to attend conferences specially

set up for parents, and maybe after receiving clearances, get to go on a field trip or two (Werrell).

Parents are a lot more present in student's life. They are the adult the child looks up to when in

need assistance that they can't receive from online (Werrell). On top of the parent being more

active in the student's life, online schooling provides the students with more flexibility in their

schedule (Werrell). In a traditional school the classroom has a set schedule that the student must

follow, not leaving much breathing room throughout the student's day for other extracurricular

activities. Online learning allows the student to complete classes on their own time. While a
traditional school set the same standards for all the students, online schooling is more

personalized (Werrell). The student can go as fast, or as slow as they need without having to wait

for other peers to catch up or worrying about falling behind.

Even though online schooling has many plus sides, there are also some negatives. While

in an online school students are taught through computer screens. No teacher is there to answer

their simplest questions. The students go about asking questions though email, and may not get

their question answered right away. Unlike a traditional classroom where a teacher is always

there to assist students in need. In an online class the student is most likely to be taking this class

in the privacy of their home, or maybe somewhere secluded from others (De). This does not

allow the child to interact with other students their age (De). They are not able to build the social

skills that a public student would. Being in a traditional school teaches students about discipline,

they learn what actions aren’t acceptable in a social situation (De). They learn these though

situations that might have accrued with other students. If taught at home the student may only

understand what is socially acceptable within the home.

Even though traditional schooling might not in the comfort of your house, it does have its

perks. Online schooling is good when it comes to high school or college students (De). As a

younger child being in a classroom is helpful. Students are able to interact with other children

their same age. Children are able to bounce ideas off of one another, and view things from other

student's perspectives. being in a classroom full of other students also means that the student has

many more opportunities to learn, if a child may not understand something another student may

be able to answer their question, or push them in the right direction (De). While being in a

classroom, students have access to a teacher to interact and check up on them if they are lacking

in a subject, or just have a simple question (De). This also allows the teacher to build
relationships with students and their parents (De). Being in a classroom also teaches students

about schedules, and how to use time management skills when it comes to projects and

deadlines. In a traditional classroom students have access to books that are helpful when it comes

to projects, in an online class students are more prone to use the internet which holds a lot of

unnecessary information, that can be misleading (De).

However, no school is perfect and traditional schools have their faults. In a traditional

school all teachers have gone through schooling to be in a teaching position, and although they

may have learned the same material they could have different teaching techniques. Not one

technique is better than the other, but every student is different and not all teaching styles are the

same ( Johnson, Arago, Shaik). In an online school the class are made to fit a student's needs.

Being taught in a class room there are many distractions that may prevent students from getting

their work done that you wouldn’t find in an online class. In a classroom there are other students

who could distract others from focusing at the task in hand, and finishing their work. There also

comes bullying while in a public school, a parent is unable to make sure their child is learning in

a safe learning environment, and may fall victim to bullying (werrell).

Therefore, in an online school or a traditional school each student is affected by their

education. There are pros to both sides of online and traditional schools, such as the interactions

between students, or the privacy of home. Both provide a good education to students. The way

the information is received may be a little different, but the students are still

learning. There are cons of both topics and it’s easy to see that nothing is perfect, there are flaws

in both learning styles, from social problems to bullying. When a child is put in

either environment there is a chance that the flaws in the system could affect them. When trying
to compare both online, and face to face learning it is almost impossible, because both provide

such unique opportunities for each student.

 Works cited

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engagement and learning in an online environment." Journal of Asynchronous Learning

Networks, vol. 17, no. 4, 2014, p. 57+. Academic

OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A437059353/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=AONE

&xid=dbbca659. Accessed 18 Sept. 2018.

De, Barindra.“Traditional Learning Vs. Online Learning” eLearning Industry.

ELearningindustry.com. 4 Feb. 2018. Web. 21 Sept. 2018

Houston, Robert G., Jr., and Eugenia F. Toma. "Home schooling: an alternative school

choice." Southern Economic Journal, vol. 69, no. 4, 2003, p. 920+. Academic

OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A100401510/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=AONE

&xid=6766b27d. Accessed 18 Sept. 2018.

Johnson, S.D., Aragon, S.R. & Shaik, N. (2000). “Comparative Analysis of Learner Satisfaction

and Learning Outcomes in Online and Face-to-Face Learning Environments”. Journal of

Interactive Learning Research, 11(1), 29-49. Charlottesville, VA: Association for the

Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved September 21, 2018

from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/8371/.
Lips Dan. “How Online Learning Is Revolutionizing K-12 Education and Benefiting Students.

The Heritage Foundation”, 2010. Web. 21 Sept. 2018.

Werrell, Beth. ”The Differences Between Online School and Traditional School” Virtual

Learning Connection Blog. Blog.conectionsacademy.com, 29 Sept. 2016. Web. Fri. 21

Sept. 2018