Online vs Traditional Classes: A Student Performance Comparison

Overall, face-to-face and online classes have some similarities and differences when talking about the student’s academic performance, the environment and the degrees of freedom they give to the students. Students should choose where they want to take classes depending on their learning style for the specific subjects they are considering taking. Online classes can be more convenient for some who cannot attend class because they have children, for example. Both ways of taking classes are good ways to get a higher education and get a better job to follow their career goals.

As long as students work hard they will be successful in either class style they choose to take, which can be online or face-to-face.

Lastly, the learning environment is different between the traditional and online classes. According to “Comparing the Effectiveness of Classroom and Online Learning: Teaching Research Methods”, the “impact of learning environment” and can vary depending on where students are taking classes. In face-to-face setting participation is part of the final course grade.

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Some students find participation to be a little intimidating. This might be a reason why they would rather take the online class because they don’t have to speak in front of everybody, instead they participate in online class discussions in a less intimidating way. Both classes can help students develop communication and increase confidence that will be needed in a future when they are looking for a job.

Another difference between taking face-to-face and online classes is the degree of freedom. Online classes are more self-managed because students can make their own schedule to work on the homework or when to read the book, while still meeting the deadlines.

Compared to face-to-face that are managed by the professor, which means that the students cannot do any changes to the lectures. Face-to-face classes are easy to follow because too much freedom can sometimes make you forget about the online course. Since both classes can give a lot of free time, especially in college, it is important for students to always set their priorities. Being up to date course can be an advantage when emergencies come up. For example, traditional classes meet at least twice a week, and sometimes missing one lecture can put students behind compared to online classes that go at the student’s pace. Either class will teach good time management skills and students responsibility.

The academic performance can vary depending on the course that it’s been taken and its level of difficulty. According to 'Comparing grades in online and face-to-face writing courses: Interpersonal accountability and institutional commitment”, students tend to “fail or do not complete the online courses”, this demonstrates that students may forget to turn in some assignments because it's more self-managed compared to the traditional way where the professor might remind the class at least once of upcoming deadlines or tests. Also, the subject itself can affect the academic performance of some students because the material requires more visualization than just reading from the textbook. For example, sometimes taking a Math or Physics course is better to be taken face-to-face because seeing somebody else solve a problem step by step and asking questions as they go can help you understand the material. Either class style can help develop critical thinking skills depending on the learning style of the person taking the class.

Getting a higher education has never been so easy. Many universities around the world have moved from the traditional class setting into the cyber world by allowing students from all around the world to complete their degrees from the comfort of their homes. While many others still prefer the traditional classroom setting. It’s a matter of perspective and learning style. Online courses and traditional face-to-face classes have many similarities and differences in the categories of academic performance, freedom, and learning environment.