Is Online Education a Rival to Traditional Learning?

To begin with, from a student’s perspective, the internet provides almost unlimited resources for learning. There are plentiful websites, online encyclopedias, and libraries where students can access resources that are difficult to obtain in person. For instance, I frequently use a website called "www.onleihe.de" This website is an online library in German. People learning German can easily find books, music, audio exercises, or even movies on this website. Without any payment, anyone can sign up and access thousands of materials. Furthermore, METU has an agreement with many online journals where I mainly use to find articles related to my department. It would be impossible for me to read or even find many articles and books in Turkish libraries if I didn't have access to the internet. Additionally, students can store or share study materials either through cloud storage or social media. As students of the department of international relations, we must read many texts and take notes about them. Sometimes an extra resource about a specific topic helps us to understand the subject better. Thus, at the beginning of the fall term, my friends and I created a Google Drive file to upload study materials given by instructors, extra resources, and our notes. Even if I miss a class, the study materials and the notes taken by my friends would be uploaded there and help me to keep up with them. Another advantage of online education, according to Zounek and Sudicky (2013) is that students can create their flexible schedules and learn anywhere. Students have the opportunity to integrate their learning schedule into their daily lives when instructors develop a guideline and submit lectures as asynchronous classes or record synchronous classes and upload them. During the pandemic, students who returned to their hometowns had to deal with daily family issues or simple tasks such as helping with house chores. A student who helps his/her family or works at a part-time job in the mornings now has the opportunity to learn the subject at night. As a result, education became more accessible to those who are concerned about more than just education. As Appanna (2008) points out, some students may feel the need for an instant response to their questions, which can be problematic in asynchronous classrooms. However, when we consider the benefits of asynchronous classes and online education, this problem remains like a grain of sand in the ocean.

Moreover, teachers can give more study materials to their students by utilizing articles, YouTube videos, and online conferences. Zounek and Sudicky (2013) state "Communication tools allow for outside participants to join the education process at a specifically allotted time. In this way, students are provided with the chance to interact with field experts, teachers from other institutions, successful practitioners, and others" (para.10). In one of my classes, IR110, the instructor provided us with various webinars on different topics. One of them was about Iraqi economy and corruption in Iraq. I had the opportunity to interact with two professors from the London School of Economics and one Iraqi reporter thanks to this webinar. Without the internet and my lecturer's help, I would not reach these experts and ask my questions. Allowing students to interact with experts and providing different perspectives improves learning quality and makes it easier for lecturers to clarify subjects. Another advantage for teachers is the ease of distribution of study materials. Without wasting any paper or time, teachers can easily upload up-to-date materials in online education platforms or cloud storage. When a professor wants to distribute a note or reading material in the traditional learning process, he or she drops the soft copy in class, and students must cope with the copying process. However, many materials can be accessed through computers, tablets, or even smartphones in online education. Teachers can also enhance their learning process by uploading videos that they cannot show in classes with limited technological equipment. Online education improves not only students' skills but also teachers'. Instructors may have different levels of technological knowledge, as mentioned by Appanna (2013). Nonetheless, online education provides a fantastic opportunity for teachers with limited technological understanding to develop new skills and adapt to the current world. There is also the option of consulting or receiving assistance from other instructors or professionals when a teacher is unsure about his/her opinion or expertise. Listening to varied perspectives from different people improves the quality of education and broadens the teacher's worldview.