Teach English in Malu Zhen - Shanghai Shi

online tefl courses vs onsite TEFL coursesAs my online tefl course draws to a close, Ive begun to reflect back on what Ive learned, and on the merits and shortcomings of online learning. The Internet has come to revolutionize the way we process and disseminate information, and we have only begun to see the potential for the Internet to be used as an effective learning tool. Already, students can find material on almost any subject, and teachers and tutors can educate students from anywhere in the world. Conventional classroom learning, and specifically onsite TEFL courses, will never achieve this level of accessibility and convenience in education. However, online learning lacks the personal touch that many find essential to learning. Onsite TEFL classrooms provide the student the ability to ask questions and have them answered in real time, and students benefit from the personal relationships they form with their students. Online TEFL courses should seek to mimic this personal setting by allowing courses to take place in real time. Use of online technologies should seek to create greater interaction between the student and teacher. Onsite TEFL classes have proven effective, as they are the time-tested traditional method of tefl certification. Its effectiveness lies in the ability to meet directly with teachers, and learn in an environment where questions can be asked in real time. Students benefit from questions asked by other students, and if a student is struggling with a portion of the material the onsite teacher is often available to help out, whether it is in the classroom or via email or phone when not in class. Additionally, teachers are able to directly meet with students and receive feedback from the current lesson or assignments. Teachers can spend more time on topics that students are struggling with, or move quickly through units that students have a firm grasp on. The drawback to onsite TEFL courses is its inaccessibility for many people with busy schedules. Classes often meet several times a week, requiring students who may have other obligations find time in their schedules to travel and take a TEFL course. It is this inaccessibility of traditional learning that makes online learning so appealing. The merits of online TEFL certification are numerous. Students with busy schedules can take classes at their leisure, completing lessons as quickly or slowly as they desire. Students can work at any time of day or night to fit their schedules, and there are no restrictions or limitations on when lessons can be submitted. Online learning has additionally had the ability to reach a vast number of people, as a student requires only a computer with Internet access. TEFL certification students can take courses in Madrid, while their tutor grades lessons in Seoul. It allows students living in remote areas to take courses without having to travel great distances to the nearest TEFL school or learning center. However, online learning still lacks the personal interactions that make in-classroom learning so effective. Students with questions do not want to wait for email correspondence with their tutor the following day if they are struggling with material. Additionally, because of the limited interactions between the student and tutor, the majority of learning is done on ones own. While this is not necessarily a drawback, it means that students will never build a close relationship with their teachers that many learners and educators deem an essential part of the learning process. Online learning has revolutionized education and made TEFL certification highly accessible. However, there are still ways we can use the tools of the Internet to improve upon tefl online courses. Most notably, tutors should be made more accessible to their students. Since a school like ITTT employs multiple tutors who could reasonably be living anywhere around the globe, a system of teacher to student instant messaging or video chat could be made available to students with questions. As it is difficult for one tutor to be available for all of his or her students at any given time, a network of tutors working at various times to aid students would prove effective for teachers and highly beneficial for students. Online learning is still a relatively new phenomenon, and as new technologies arise it will become possible for students to build and achieve greater personal relationships over the Internet with their teachers. I believe we have barely scratched the surface in terms of the potential for online learning, and I foresee a future where online learning will become an integral aspect of education.