Academic Study Skills: Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Learning Due to COVID-19

This report discusses the advantages and disadvantages of online learning due to COVID-19 and examines self-evaluative journal to reflect learning and to explain what you have learned following the completion of your research and reveal your learning difficulties you have encountered when studying this module including the academic challenges faced, lesson learned, knowledge acquired, and the skills that you need to improve in order to enhance your future research and learning.

Academic Study Skills

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
Due to COVID-19, most university classes are now delivered online. From your experience,
what are the advantages and disadvantages of online learning? Use reasons and examples to
support your answer. ..................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
Examine self-evaluative journal to reflect learning and to explain what you have learned
following the completion of your research and reveal your learning difficulties you have
encountered when studying this module including the academic challenges faced, lesson
learned, knowledge acquired, and the skills that you need to improve in order to enhance your
future research and learning........................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Academic study skills defines as the skills that enables a individual and team to study and
learn efficiently. These skills are transferable skills that consists abilities, strategies and habits
which provide helps to the learner and generate success in the particular fields. These set of skills
enables students and the learners to be master of literacy in the technical as well as theoretical
subjects. Good study skills helps in increasing confidence and self-esteem in the learners
(Choudhury and Pattnaik, 2020). These skills helps a learner in multiple ways as it reduce the
no. of hours person spending, develop effective study skills, motivate learner to study more,
growth in the mindsets of the people and makes person flexible in multitasking. This report is
being made in context of academic study skills which highlights advantages and disadvantages
of the online learning due to COVID-19 with the reasons and the examples. Task 2 of the report
includes the evaluation of the learning Iin the form of reflection.
TASK 1
Due to COVID-19, most university classes are now delivered online. From your
experience, what are the advantages and disadvantages of online learning? Use
reasons and examples to support your answer.
There are millions of student all over the globe who are currently learning and studying
something. But due to the Covid 19 pandemic all this learning process has come to halt as it
impacted majorly in the process of learning. All the learners were affected due to the closure of
the universities, institutions and schools. The pandemic proposed multiple challenges in the
process of learning. Pandemic also turns all the learning from offline to online mode due to
safety issues. Covid-19 changes the ways of teaching with the different learning methods. The
new changes in the study pattern of the students termed as the new normal. This new normal in
the education system provides various changes and generates positive and negatives impact. All
the in institutions move towards online learning and continue the process of educating students.
Today, digital learning is emerging as the essential resource for the learners. For many
institutions this whole digital learning is entirely new way of education which they need to adopt

due to impacts of the pandemic (D’Alessio, Avolio and Charles, 2019). Turning towards online
learning is not just generates the ways of learning but also extends the ways of learning in
extracurricular activities for the learners. The demand for online learning has increases and it
will be continue to provide remote studying. There are multiple advantages and disadvantages of
the online learning process , some of the advantages and disadvantages are discussed below:
Advantages
 Increasing efficiency in the students- Online learning provided by the universities offers
teachers to provide effective ways to deliver lessons to the students. Learning online
generates the number of tools that helps in the process of learning such as videos, PDFs,
podcasts and many other tools as the part of learning plans which make learning easy. It
make learning process easy and make learners to perform other task as well. The process
of online learning is not expensive and can be generate easily form anywhere. By
extending the lessons plans apart from the textbook learning and provides online
resource from which teachers become more effective educators and the students are
become more efficient in the learning process.
 Accessibility of the time and place- The another major advantage of the online learning
process in the universities is that it allows learners to attend class from any location in
accordance to their choice. It also make universities to reach to wide range of the students
by providing more extensive network to the students rather than being restricted by the
geographical boundaries. As the lectures provided by the teachers can be recorded from
anywhere, achieved and can be shared for the future use (De Paepe, Zhu and Depryck,
2018). This allows learners to access to the learning material at any time in accordance
to their comfort. Thus online learning provides the access of the learning process to the
students at any time and place in the education.
 Affordability- The another advantage of the turning to the online mode of learning is
reduction in the financial costs. Learning through online mode are much more affordable
in comparison to offline learning. This is due to elimination of the important factors that
generates costs such as reduction in the costs of transportation, students meals and the
most essential cost of real estate. Moreover to it all the courses are available on the
online mode generates the environment which is paperless and are more affordable which

is beneficial for the environment. It is very much important for the environment as well
as for the learners to learn effectively.
 Improved student attendance- As online class can be taken from anywhere or any
location in accordance to the choice of the students which as a result generates more
attendance and there are fewer chances of the students to miss the lessons. More
importantly it make the learning process more flexible as the students that are not able
to learns from the universities are able to learn form the online mode.
 Suits for the variety of learning styles- As each and every students have different style of
learning and different approach of understanding things, as some students are very
comfortable in visual learning while some students learn for audio more effectively.
Similarly, for some students learning in the classroom make them more effective in
learning process and on the other hand for some learners its easy to learn from the online
mode as student get less distracted because there are no other students around them to
disturb. Learning online contains range of different resources and they can be used in
many ways. It is the best way to learning as the environment and the atmosphere of
leaning can be adjusted in accordance to the neds of the learner.
Examples- In the university , there are some students who travels so long just to attend the
lectures and for the attendance in the class. Because of the lectures they are paying for the
travelling expenses which mech more as compare to other students and it also consumes time.
But at the time of pandemic all the offline classes turn into offline mode which makes easier for
those students to learn effectively with low expenses and less time (Dumford and Miller, 2018).
It also gives them time to do some extra curricular activities which makes them more productive
in terms of learning.
Disadvantages
 Inability to focus on the screens- One of the biggest challenge and the issue in learning
through online mode is lack of concentration as many learners are struggling in order to
focus on the screens for the long time period. In the online learning there is also a higher
chance to get distracted easily by the other factors such as by social media or other sites.
It becomes very important for the teacher to engage students in the online class to make
them learn the concepts and lessons. Many students are misusing the flexibility given in

the online class as they tend to do some other sort of work while attending the class. In
order to grab their attention teachers should be interactive with them in the class and
helps students to stay focused on the lessons.
 Technology issues- The another challenging issue faced in the online mode of learning is
the issues in the connectivity of the internet. While the growth in the internet
connectivity have grown from the past few years but in some cities and the smaller
towns, there is a consistent problem of the connection. As without the consistency of the
internet connection, the student and the teachers will not able to perform their best in
learning and teaching process. Lack of continuity in the process of learning distract them
and make the them frustrated as not only waste their time but also gives them incomplete
and inappropriate knowledge about the lessons. This challenge is very common at the
time of COVID 19 and its very important to address this problem for the effective and
constant learning process.
 Sense of Isolation- Effective learning comes from the learning form peers as form the
experience and guidance of others learning become easy and effective. And student can
learn a lot from their colleges and the seniors, being in the company of their peers helps
the students a lot in the learning effectively. In the online class, there are very rare
physical interactions between the students and the teachers. This many times results in
the sense of isolation for the learners (Francis and Babu, 2019). To handle this situation
it is needed to for the students to communicate effectively with the other students, peers
and the teachers. They can communicate through messages, emails, calls and many more
but it does not provide that much effective results as in the offline class. Because face to
face interaction helps in producing much more flexibility and makes them learn and
understand faster in comparison to online modes of learning.
 Teacher training- Online learning process also needs effectiveness which comes from the
basic understanding of how to use technology and digital form of learning. Its not easy
for some educators to understand the use of technology which proves as a hurdle in
online class. And some cases they don't even have the access of the necessary resources
and the tools that are used in conducting online class. It is very important for the teachers
that they get proper training of how to use latest technology in order to provide learning
through online mode. At the time of pandemic it is also very difficult for the universities

to provide training to the teachers in order to operate effective online class. This issue is
mostly faced by everyone in the initial days but through the constant efforts making
learning smooth some teachers get the basic understanding of how to conduct the class,
while some are still struggling with it.
 Management of screen time- At the time of pandemic, all the things turns into online
mode whether its office work, learning process, payments made, entertainment and many
more things. And for students its very important to manage the screen timings in order to
avoid any health issues in future (Galikyan and Admiraal, 2019). Many parents are
concerned about the increasing screen timing and health hazard due to the staring at
screen constantly for multiple hours. The increasing screen timings is one of the biggest
disadvantage of the online learning with that students also develops the habit of bad
posture and because to that they face physical health problems. Constantly learning from
the online class make the fatigue and less interested in the learning process which as
overall reduced their efficiency.
Example- At the time of pandemic all the class turned online and because of that many student
suffers with the problem of weak eyesight with that they are also facing the technological issues
in operating the class. Sometimes it is analyse that student just attending class for the sake of
attendance and with the online class they are also engaging on social media.
TASK 2
Examine self-evaluative journal to reflect learning and to explain what you have learned
following the completion of your research and reveal your learning difficulties you
have encountered when studying this module including the academic challenges
faced, lesson learned, knowledge acquired, and the skills that you need to improve in
order to enhance your future research and learning.
Learning is a continuos process that is evaluated by the students during unpredictable
events of pandemic. I have experienced lot of difficulties in developing my academic skills.
These skills are not only important for my personal and professional growth but essential for
scoring good position in my academic learning. Learning helps me to develop various skills and
abilities that are important to enhance various related skills. It includes communication skill,
listening skill, time management skill, problem solving skill, listening skill etc. During the

pandemic of Covid-19, I studied through online medium which is quite difficult for me because
of lack of internet connectivity in my areas and concentration power. The major disadvantage of
online learning was lot of distraction are there due to which listening comprehension are not
possible for me. There are many other factors that affects my learning process. Many students
are suffered during this period because of technology as it requires updated technology to access
the education (Kaufmann and Vallade, 2020). The students who does not have such updated
application and gadgets , they suffered a lot. However the academic performance is most
important seven in Covid pandemic. The students are utilised these times to enhance their
knowledge in order to connect with their studies. The continuous seating on screen cause the
health issue to many students . I feel that this pandemic is not only threaten the life of adolescent
but indirectly affects risk the students life. Schools are shut and students are isolated in their
house to prevent themselves from disease. But, online study are continues and students are
continued their students through online mode but they faced many challenges during this period.
It not only abide them for access their right to education but major drawback has been suffered
by them.
There are many advantage of online learning process which incudes increment in efficiency
of employees, utilising time for developing verbal and non verbal skills etc. Many students were
properly utilised these precious time to enhance their learning style. It is a golden opportunity
for academic learner to develop their professional skills and knowledge to sustained growth.
Online learning brings flexibility in learning process and improved the better management of
time. It contributes in developing various skill for those who has effectively utilised these times.
I use to take online classes to connect myself with my learning to record study material as
provided by the teachers and lecturers. I use to accomplish my work on time as it increase the
time management skill to complete the assigned task in a specified period of time. The online
learning enable me to attend classes from any location of my choice. I feel that online learning is
a cheaper mode of education and more convenient for the academic learners. The student have
more free time to play and involve in extra curricular activities to boost their brain in order to
develop their thinking skill. It enhance active and independent learning as it is best mode of
doing effective learning. I believed that virtual learning is an opportunity for academic learners
to engage themselves into various other courses in a relevant field (Landrum, 2020). Virtual
learning promotes team work as students can easily discussed their course with other students

through using grouping tool to facilitate better communication. The student can get feedback
easily from their teacher during online learning. Therefore, the online learning is less costly
mode of pursuing knowledge and information and it helps me to engage with other activities to
ensure personal growth. It reduce the stress and anxiety of students. It is excellent learning style
that helps the learners to learn from wherever they want and whatever they want to learn. This is
a most effective teaching method that allows the academic learners to remain away from
spreading of disease (Wei and Chou, 2020). The demand of online learning is risen as it helps to
strategies the goals of life. It provides uninterrupted learning , free from classroom distraction
that prevent the student from listening the information shared by the teacher in a classroom. It
also beneficial for the educator as it fastest mode to deliver lesson to students. It also improves
the students attendance as they can take classes from anywhere. It can afforded by any academic
learners to gain knowledge and skills .
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that Academic and study skills is very much important
for effective and fast learning. Academic study skills make a person to enhance their learning
power which not only provide motivation for better learning but also makes them capable of
better understanding in the practical as well as theoretical subjects. This report is being made in
the context of the online learning. There are 2 tasks in this report. Task 1 includes the advantages
and disadvantage in the online learning as many classes of the universities are turned into online
mode. Advantages are Increasing efficiency in the students, Accessibility of the time and place,
Affordability, Improved student attendance and Suits for the variety of learning styles.
Disadvantages includes Inability to focus on the screens, Technology issues, Sense of Isolation,
Teacher training and Management of screen time. And the task 2 includes the essay of the self
evaluation of the learning process and the benefits and disadvantages through reflection.

REFERENCES
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