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Life

Pros and Cons of Online Learning

Ashleen Herrarte
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Riverside chapter.

Growing up, I always wanted to do my classes online because I thought it would be much easier. I could just do it from home and have no need to wake up early. Because of the coronavirus, all of my classes have been switched to online. Initially, it didn’t seem like it was too bad of an idea because it was only supposed to be for a week. I thought I could still dorm with my friends and do our work together. 

Grown-ish
ABC Signature Studios

As the spread of the virus continued, my school decided to switch to online for the whole spring quarter. I didn’t know anyone who was stoked about that happening. For me, it was just that I would be living at home rather than in the dorms because it was pointless to live on-campus with everything being closed. Many of my friends who were seniors were upset because they were no longer spending their last quarter with friends but rather at home. And it all just sucked. 

 

After getting over that, I started to realize online classes were not something I wanted. I had no idea how I would be doing my labs online and whether I would actually understand the material. So here are some pros and cons of online learning.

 

Pros:

1. Saving Money While Earning a Degree

By taking online classes, it makes saving money a lot easier because since you aren’t on campus a lot of those fees would be reduced, There are few costs when it comes to textbook purchases as well as travel costs (commuting).

2. You Can be In Class From Anywhere 

You can be learning anywhere as long as you have a wifi connection. This helps in case you need to multitask so you would still be learning and doing other things are well.

person sketching on a white pad
Chance Centeno on Unsplash

Cons:

1. No Classroom Environment

Not having a centralized classroom environment can make it difficult for some people to learn. It can be easier for one to get distracted because of the environment that they are in, and they won’t pay as much attention to their class.

woman sitting on floor with laptop working from home
Photo by Thought Catalog from Unsplash

2. Professors/TAs Aren’t as Available

During a normal school year, Professors and TAs have office hours in case one wants to meet with them. But with the new change, their schedules might be filled and it makes it harder to be able to communicate with them on upcoming assignments.

3. You Can’t Take Classes with Friends 

When choosing my schedule for the spring quarter, I tried to sign up to have a class with some of my friends. Sure we might be taking the same class and can help each other out, but that isn’t as fun as being able to sit next to each other and enjoy the class together.

classrooom and students with a projector
NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Overall, I don’t really like the implementation of online classes for the full quarter. I understand the reason this had to happen, but it just makes college a lot harder by switching to a completely different style of learning.

Ashleen was a UCR Political Science and Philosophy major. She graduated from UCR back in Spring 2022. When she was not writing articles for HCUCR, she was usually spending time with friends by going out to eat yummy foods or watching shows at home. She hopes you enjoyed reading her articles!