2. Many universities and colleges learn through sort of distance learning using Internet rather than face to face in the classroom. Do you think advantages of this development outweigh disadvantages?

The proliferation of cheap technology and accessible Internet has allowed tertiary institutions to provide online classes to their students, supplanting conventional classrooms. In my opinion, an education absent of human interactions marginalizes both the roles of peer learning and teachers. Firstly, online learning sacrifices the quintessential fundamental of learning for convenience. The essence of education is to extract knowledge from constructive dialogues and debates, which is only achievable in a social environment. Despite its economic and geographical advantages, online courses remove this element from the process and reduce its core value. For example, an online philosophy course can only offer its students the fundamentals of its theories, whereas participants in a traditional classroom can discuss the validity and applications of the subject. Moreover, an impersonal study session with a computer can not appropriately illustrate a teacher’s pedagogy. University and colleges are the concentrations of society’s most brilliant minds. Therefore, it is apparent that students need to study under these individuals and expand their knowledge. Furthermore, the university experience is not limited to the sharing of information. Students entering their first year of independent learning will also require guidance from their tutors/teachers and supervisors, emphasizing the inherent irresponsible nature of online learning. A switch to unsupervised online courses would be disorienting/confusing to most students, as they will already have had a predisposition to adhere to teachers. In conclusion, although the availability of online classes alluring, it is unwise to invest heavily in this feature instead of prioritizing the role of teachers and a typical classroom environment.