Author: Sanjay Subudhi
11 Reasons Why Offline Learning is Still Better Than Online Learning
Since our childhood days, we are always being encouraged by our parents about the benefits of getting educated, as it’s been believed that education is the key success factor. It’s known to all of us that the learning process is existing for decades. There were times when kids used to go to gurukuls to get educated. But with time various teaching methods have been introduced into the whole education system.
Due to fast-moving technological development nowadays online teaching method is getting popular among the student community. Online education has gained its popularity mostly during the pandemic period when there was a shutdown of education institutes and students were asked to stay at home. But the question here is can online teaching replace the traditional way of getting educated?
The answer to this is no. Education has witnessed various new changes, but traditional learning cannot be replaced totally as it has its advantages that stand as the core reason for its existence.
In this article, you will be able to research 11 reasons why offline learning is better than online learning
1. Attain more focused sessions
Offline learning helps students to enhance their concentration level due to the physical presence of the teacher during the session. Students often intend to get mentally absent during an ongoing session. Therefore, it’s very important to not only finish a session regarding a particular subject or a topic but also engage the minds of the students in an ongoing session by giving various related tasks and activities.
Students can learn more by engaging themselves in the classroom activities such as answering related questions asked by the teacher, participating in debates, solving case studies, etc. This overall helps the students to learn with fun in a more focused environment.
2. Face-to-face teacher-student interaction
The offline learning environment enables the student and the teacher both to get familiar with each other and easily interact with each other. When it comes to teaching and learning the teacher and the student need to know each other’s learning and teaching patterns for a better understanding and it's only possible when there is a chance to interact with one another. Every student is not the same and therefore the grasping power differs from student to student. So, it’s very much important for a teacher to know about their students and deliver personalized teaching.
Study says 50% success of a student depends on teaching and 50% on self-study. Therefore, it becomes very necessary to deliver the best teaching sessions to the students and to be successful in this both the teachers and the students need to interact face-to-face.
3. Immediate doubt solving
Mostly during an online session, there are times when plenty of doubt arises and quite often it stays within the mind of the students. This happens mostly in an online session as the classes are recorded and there is no way to immediately interact in the middle of the session. But when it comes to offline learning practice most doubts are being solved then and there as students carry the authority to interact in between the session and get their doubts solved immediately. There are even a few other cases in offline sessions where few students are often shy enough to raise their queries which is related to the session, but this gets solved to some extent as there are other students who point out the same mutual query. This is the advantage of group learning.
4. Competitiveness
Competitiveness in learning is always beneficial as it encourages the students to be more curious about the topics and helps them to learn better. It also helps the students to be regular in their day-to-day studies. A healthy competitive environment helps the students to develop empathy, critical thinking power, and develop knowledge-sharing skills.
Teachers can also judge if a child is relaxed or eager to actively patriciate in the revision sessions along with his/her peers and pay attention to individuals accordingly. These signs can be identified in an offline interaction only for a better learning process.
Therefore, positive competition among students brings a lot of advantages to the whole learning process.
5. Knowledge sharing with other students
When a student studies online then the ways of understanding the theories becomes limited and which ideally limits the student to understand various other concepts related to that theory.
But when a student studies in an offline learning environment where various other students are equipped with different concepts and newer ways of understanding things then the opportunities are endless.
Solving a complex project single-handedly is indeed difficult as the ideas are limited. This becomes smooth when a group works on the same project and brainstorms new ideas and techniques to solve it together. Therefore, knowledge sharing and working together increases the chance for success.
6. 1-to-1 teacher guidance
Most students prefer offline education as there are times when they need personal guidance and that can be made possible when both the student and teacher are physically interacting. It is an inevitable fact that you will not get distracted when you are sitting in front of your computer screen and attaining a session. Therefore, students lose their interest to know the topics in-depth, and overall, it impacts the whole learning journey.
So, offline education is preferable for attentive learning and getting proper 1-to-1 guidance from teachers.
7. Fewer distractions
According to the analysis it is found that the total attention span of a student studying online can range between 10-15 minutes only. Whereas during offline sessions the student's attention span is more than 15 minutes. When you learn something new then without physical presence it's very much obvious to get lost in between and lose interest. Physical classrooms help the student to interact with teachers and overall concentrate in the learning process.
8. Time management
When it comes to offline learning then the timings are fixed without any leniency. With fixed timing, students get the opportunity to manage their everyday routine and which helps them learn to manage their everyday tasks as per priority.
9. Co-curricular activity
Study says that human beings get to learn better and remember longer when they can see, touch, hear, and practically do things. This will overall increase the concentration and grasping power.
The offline study encourages the students to not only learn in classroom studies but also participate in co-curricular activities. This helps them to come out of their comfort zone and gain confidence.
10. Get Positive Motivation from teachers
There are times when students face failure and lose motivation. This is the time when teachers need to do their job well. This can be made possible only when a teacher knows their students well. In an online learning environment, it is normal to get miss out on a few students but the offline education system is designed in such a way that due to its daily physical teacher-student interaction it becomes easier for the teachers to know their students' strengths and weaknesses well and keep them motivated for positive growth.
11. Practical Knowledge
When it comes to gaining practical experience the online learning method lacks behind as it mostly focuses on theory-based learning techniques. There are subjects like chemistry, computer, and physics, which require practical exposure. In online classes, a teacher might try their best to virtually display the experiments but when it's not done practically by the students then they lose interest.
In offline learning sessions, students get the opportunity to experience theoretical and practical learning both. Practical learning helps the students to think and explore new ideas and hunt for different other innovative ways to solve a given problem.
Frequently asked questions
Why offline learning is important?
Offline learning is a very powerful and effective process to learn things in the right way. It helps the students build up their concentration level and focus in the ongoing offline sessions. It helps students to pick up concepts easily and solve their problems without any delay.
Offline learning or online learning which is better?
Offline learning promotes group studies and helps the students to acquire new skills and exchange their knowledge. Students get the opportunity to come out of their comfort zone and showcase their talents in public. Whereas in online learning students who are introvert in nature they try to avoid speaking out in public and keep their views on an ongoing discussion. Therefore, it's very necessary to think out of the box, and it's mostly possible when students get to participate in group discussions during the classroom session.
Can online learning replace physical teaching?
Online learning can be a substitute for physical teaching, but it cannot ever replace the idea of learning from teachers and doing practical stuff by being physically present in the class. Offline learning is the traditional method of getting educated and this is the most reliable one too. During the pandemic when physical meet was not allowed online learning came into the picture, but it resulted in unethical practices during exams and students started losing interest in the concepts that are being taught virtually.
What is the effectiveness of offline learning?
Offline learning system has shown a lot of effectiveness like more concentrated studies, routine learning, knowledge exchange within the groups, on-spot problem solving from teachers, a wide range of learning practices, and many more.
What is the biggest strength of offline learning?
The biggest strength of offline learning is teachers get to know their students well and map their teaching techniques as per the student's nature of learning. In online learning it's not possible for the teachers to know their students in a defined manner and therefore the teaching technique is generic to all types of students.