A Comparative Study on the Effectiveness of Online Teaching than Physical Teaching Methods

Abstract

This study examined the effectivity of online education, which is largely being practiced since recently, as a part of the new normal of the Covid 19 pandemic. It became a controversial topic due to certain technical difficulties faced by some pupils and teachers during the teaching and learning process. The purpose of this study was to identify the difficulties and successful aspects of online education. This study explored the teacher and student perception of online education focusing on its benefits and limitations in order to investigate the effectivity of online education. The sample of the study consisted of 120 students and teachers from both government and private sectors including university students. Interviews were conducted to gather data and the responses were analyzed using a qualitative approach. They were given two separate questionnaires regarding online education to answer based on their experiences. Thereafter, the findings were demonstrated through a diagram. Accordingly, the lack of technical knowledge, signal and connection issues have caused to minimize the effectivity of online education. Moreover, active participation of students’ was very poor and students had attempted to evade lessons easily. On the contrary, many benefits could be identified such as lesser cost, time efficiency, easy to attend, less intensity and comfort at one’s own place. Nevertheless, comments regarding online learning depend on individual preference and experiences. Thus, the results of the study showed that physical and online education are two different procedures and they have their own various pros and cons depending on individual factors. Compared to the physical education, online education is a productive and easier method for both teaching and learning functions. Technical issues were observed as the major problem, which was identified by the research. It appears that productive results can be obtained through online education by resolving those issues.