There are numerous pros and cons to both the traditional and online classroom – both for students and instructors. Throughout my career I’ve had the opportunity to teach exclusively in a traditional classroom, exclusively online, and to do both simultaneously. There are aspects of both types of classroom that I love and aspects that I truly do not agree with or like – but overall, the online classroom wins out from my perspective because of where I am in my life right now.
A traditional classroom is better for making student connections and I will admit that this is the aspect of traditional teaching that I miss the most as an online instructor. I miss connecting with students. I miss being able to see their eyes light up when they grasp a new concept. I miss the personal relationships I was able to develop in my traditional classroom. Sure, I have online interactions and relationships with students, but they aren’t the same – no matter how hard I try to establish rapport and make connections with them.
Overall, I also think that the traditional classroom is a better environment for most learners. The online classroom requires students to be self-motivated, strong readers, and able to communicate very well in order to be successful. In a traditional classroom, more modifications can be made to help students with learning difficulties or disabilities. And more types of learners can be researched through different methods of teaching. Visual and auditory learners especially will be more successful in a traditional classroom.
However, ultimately, I prefer the online classroom — mostly because the online classroom (for the most part) is much more flexible with regards to time. In my traditional classroom, I was expected to be there from 7:45 until 3:15 without exception. Scheduling a substitute was often more work than it was worth and I always felt like my students were falling behind when I was gone. In the online classroom, I still put in consistent work hours as a full-time instructor (it is much more flexible at the adjunct level) but I am also able to work my life around my job – by picking up my children from school, folding laundry as a break time activity, and I even recently began walking on the treadmill during long meetings.
The online classroom also requires significantly less face time. Most days I throw on my work uniform (a fleece sweatshirt and yoga pants) and I sit down in my office and start typing. In a traditional classroom, I spent more time on outside activities – getting ready in the morning, talking with colleagues during lunch or in the halls, helping students before and after school hours. I’ll be the first to admit that I miss all of those aspects of the traditional classroom, but at the same time, I feel like the online classroom is more efficient and ultimately allows me more time to spend with my family, which was my ultimate goal.
As the online classroom continues to improve and evolve, I hope that many of the issues where the traditional classroom is superior will be eliminated. At this point, there are still many factors for both students and instructors to consider before deciding which type of classroom will best suit their needs.
About the Author
Jamie Weitl is a WAHM teaching for several online universities and raising three precocious little ones. In her spare time she enjoys writing, baking, and running. For more info, see my Google Plus Profile.
