Virtually Lazy

            A negative reason that virtual courses have diffused so profusely is that they cater to the lazy and socially inept. Face to face classroom styles while more time consuming, and more costly, are better at inspiring academic excellence. It takes motivation to wake up at 8:00 in the morning and hike a mile to class to learn, but all of that effort adds to a student’s willingness to learn. Going to class promotes responsibility in a way that a virtual classroom doesn’t. For example, in The New York Times article Learning in Classrooms Versus Online, a student wrote, “I started the program with enthusiasm, but I soon felt alone and unsupported. I had no one to impress or disappoint. I struggled to stay motivated. It was impersonal and transactional.” The Internet while full of social media sites is still a very lonely place; it’s just you and your screen. There isn’t any real social interaction or effort to be somewhere at a certain time, and that is one of the reasons, one of the bad reasons, the virtual classroom has become so popular.

            As social media sites become increasingly more popular, being truly social and going outside becomes less popular. The virtual classroom is only aiding this social ineptitude, and catering to people being lazy and not going outside. A classroom is not only a place to get an education but it’s also a place for people to interact with one another and to challenge ideas. For example, in The New York Times article The Trouble With Online Education, the columnist wrote, “A truly memorable college class, even a large one, is collaboration between teacher and students. It’s a one-time-only event. Learning at its best is a collective enterprise.” It is possible to create social interactions in a virtual class but it is difficult, and not the same as a face-to-face conversation. Sadly, this lack of human interaction and motivation to learn is one of the reasons why the virtual classroom has diffused at such a fast place, and over such a great distance.