Will Online be the Future of Teaching or Not

Argumentative Essay Prompt: Will Online be the Future of Teaching or Not? “I believe that the integration of information technology in education will be further accelerated and that online education will eventually become an integral component of school education,” says Wang Tao, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Vice President of Tencent Education. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in schools and universities closure across the globe. Globally, over 1.2 billion students are out of the classroom. As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely through digital platforms. With this sudden shift away from the classroom in many parts of the globe, some are wondering whether the adoption of online learning will continue to persist post-pandemic, and how such a shift would impact the education market. Some believe that the unplanned and rapid move to online learning, with no training and little preparation, will result in a poor user experience that is unconducive to sustained growth. They claim that this type of learning isn’t beneficial, on the contrary, it is less effective and less engaging than face-to-face learning, so they do not want to adopt it in the future. On the other hand, others believe that a new hybrid model of education will emerge, with significant benefits. They stress its importance in enhancing students’ skills, their sense of responsibility, and their sense of independence. They believe that online learning is very effective and easy for both students and teachers. As a result of these views, some schools and universities want to adopt online teaching as part of their programs in their coming years along with traditional teaching strategies. Write a well-organized SIX-paragraph argumentative essay, discussing your stand on whether you are with OR against adopting online learning when the pandemic is over. Online Learning: The Future of Education “I believe that the integration of information technology in education will be further accelerated and that online education will eventually become an integral component of school education,” says Wang Tao, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Vice President of Tencent Education. During the pandemic, many schools and universities from around the globe used online learning as their source of education. But what about after the pandemic? Will online learning still be used as a source of education? Although traditional education has certain advantages, online education should be encouraged for three main reasons including time flexibility, affordability, and accessibility. First of all, online education is very flexible. Online education allows the teacher and the student to set their own time learning pace. Many universities set course times that are generally good for most students. However, some students can't or aren't comfortable with that time for one reason or another. Online education allows students to set customized learning goals that work with their time. Moreover, most adults can't make time for full on campus courses because of their full time work schedule. Online education makes learning flexible and convenient for them. The second reason online education has an advantage over traditional education is that online education is cost effective. Many students live relatively far from university and can't afford to rent a university dorm. Online education permits students to study from their home and this allows students to save rent and transportation money. Also, many online education platforms offer discounts or full scholarships, so prices are rarely high. This concludes that online education offers students to study with less investment of money. In addition to flexibility and affordability, online education offers students accessibility. Students can study from any university around the world. Many students like to experience education from other universities around the world, but are not able to travel abroad. Online education offers them courses from prestigious universities such as Oxford, John Hopkins and Harvard. Over 30 % of higher education students in the U.S are taking at least one online course. Moreover, if students are working or would like to travel, they can access their online courses during their work hours or traveling time. There's no reason to give up studying while working or traveling to exotic places. Some people claim that physical classroom education should not be replaced since these classrooms provide students with traditional education and allows them to organize their time for later on in life. However, although this view may be correct, it can be easily denied. According to credible research, over 6 million Americans are pursuing an online education. This means that even after the pandemic is over, there's no going back to education as we previously knew it. To sum up, online education has many advantages such as flexibility, affordability and accessibility. After the pandemic is over, Ministry of Education should encourage schools and universities to still offer online education to motivate students that enjoyed this method of learning and students that have a job to continue their education