With the evolution of our world and technology, individuals now have the option to attend school either in person or entirely online depending on their schedule. While this is a convenient option to have, is it really beneficial to students? 

I am currently enrolled in three in-person classes and three asynchronous classes, and I have mixed emotions.

I am someone who works very well independently. In fact, I prefer to learn alone. With asynchronous classes, I find that when I work at my own pace and schedule I am able to retain information better, which allows me to perform better on tests and assignments. 

There are many people like me, however, there are also individuals who take such online courses with the intention of avoiding the work that an in-person class demands.

Some individuals may struggle with responsibility and time management skills, which makes succeeding in an online course very difficult. In addition, a major part of modern society is the growing use of generative AI. 

Completing a class completely from the comfort of your own home gives students the accessibility to use the internet to cheat on their classwork. Again, it may seem convenient, but cheating is not beneficial to a student’s learning.

Imagine a scenario like this: You are a nursing major and decide to take a few courses online. You have midterms coming up in these classes, but you do not have the time to study. So, you decide to use Google’s help to succeed. 

Later on, you are practicing what you learned on fake patients. Unfortunately, you end up making a mistake because you cheated on the test. 

This is a hypothetical that can very easily happen in real life. The use of AI has become increasingly common in today’s world, causing more students to depend on it instead of taking the time to learn the material on their own. 

Another point of view to consider is that not everybody has the same privilege of having access to technology. Without the proper equipment, it can be very difficult to complete an online class. With more and more classes offered purely online, some students have to find a way to work around this barrier.

Overall, I believe that both forms of learning are beneficial when used in the way they are intended. I truly believe that an online class can be just as educational as an in-person class, as long as the student puts in the effort to learn. 

At the end of the day, it is not whether in-person or virtual is better, but it really comes down to the student and their work ethic.