Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Dec 31:10:457.
doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_317_21. eCollection 2021.

Online classes versus traditional classes? Comparison during COVID-19

Sanjana Kumari  1 , Hitender Gautam  1 , Neha Nityadarshini  1 , Bimal Kumar Das  1 , Rama Chaudhry  1
Affiliations

Online classes versus traditional classes? Comparison during COVID-19

Sanjana Kumari et al. J Educ Health Promot. .

Abstract

Background: Nowadays, the use of Internet with e-learning resources anytime and anywhere leads to interaction possibilities among teachers and students from different parts of the world. It is becoming increasingly pertinent that we exploit the Internet technologies to achieve the most benefits in the education.

Materials and methods: This study compares the difference between traditional classroom and e-learning in the educational environment. Medical undergraduate students of our institution were enrolled to compare between the online versus traditional method of teaching through questionnaire.

Results: Forty percent of students found the online lecture material difficult to understand. 42.6% of respondents found it difficult to clear the doubts in online teaching; 64.4% of the participants believed that they have learned more in a face-to-face learning.

Conclusion: In this study, we concluded that online mode offers flexibility on timing and delivery. Students can even download the content, notes, and assignment. Despite all the advantages offered, there is a general consensus that no technology can replace face-to-face teaching in real because in this, there will be visual as well as verbal discussion. Looking at the uncertainty of the current scenario, it is difficult to predict how long online classes will have to continue. Hence, it is of paramount importance that we assess the effectiveness of online classes and consequently take measures to ensure proper delivery of content to students, especially in a skilled field like medicine, so we concluded that face-to-face learning is of utmost importance in medical institutions.

Keywords: COVID-19; higher education; learning effectiveness; medical students; online interaction; online teaching.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Fei LI, Jingyao QI, Wang G, Wang X. Traditional classroom Vs E-learning in higher education: Difference between Students’ Behavioural Engagement. Int J Emerg Technol Learn. 2014;9:48–51.
    1. Allen IE, Seaman J. Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States. Babson Park, MA: Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group; 2013. [Last accessed on 2021 Mar 01]. Available from: http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/changingcourse.pdf .
    1. Alsaaty FM, Carter E, Abrahams D, Alshameri F. Traditional versus online learning in institutions of higher education: Minority business students’ perceptions. [Last accessed on 1st March 2021];Business and Management Research. 2016 5:31–41. Available from: http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/bmr/article/download/9597/5817 .
    1. Thomas HF, Simmons RJ, Jin G, Almeda AA, Mannos AA. Comparison of student outcomes for a classroom-based vs. an internet-based construction safety course. J SH E Res. 2005;2:1–5.
    1. Chen NS, Kinshuk K, Wang YH. Cyber schooling framework: Improving mobility and situated learning. Int J Eng Educ. 2007;23:421–33.