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Position Essay on “Why Online Courses Will Not Adequately Prepare Us for the Future”

With the advancement in technology from century to century and diverse means to make

education accessible and less costly to all citizens, online education comes in to play as a means

to improve higher level of education due to its high level of technology usage and facilities such

as computers, fast websites, modems, just to mention a few that enables students to sit at home

and connect to study groups such as e-learning anytime making studies very easy and good.

.Despite all these benefits of online education enumerated above, if check critically, you would

witness that with the high level of technology reliance, high cost of studies between $6400-

$10200, an incomplete building of natural thinking ability because of the reliance on

technology, makes me strongly believe that if care is not taken and such education is allowed to

boom, many citizens will become robots and any failure of the technology such as the software

used to run the online education, network problem and breakdown of the machines would put the

country in a state more dangerous than before, that is students will find it more difficult to adapt

using mostly their critical thinking to resolve a given problem because of their complete base on

technology and all this would put the country into serious work to train them, if not, the

wellbeing of the future generation would not well be guaranteed .

Firstly, the cost of online education is relatively. With the range from $6400 to $10200, it

is but clear that most of the citizens would be left behind because of the high cost since some

family finds it difficult to afford finances to sponsor their children and themselves even into low

tuition universities talk less of online education. Also with the fact that this education needs

facilities such as a computer, network requirement all linked to money makes it even more

difficult for the less privilege thereby making them to see such an education as very expensive

and capable to the citizens of higher class in terms of cost. For example, most family live below
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the poverty level that just their health statues to cater for is really difficult due to financial

obstacle just to mention a few, with all this, just the knowledge of online education will put into

them more psychological and emotional trauma because of the high cost . Also, the believe that

online studies is less expensive and easily accessed cannot be denied because they are so many

online studies going on and it is just the one that offers accreditation that can be used in the job

market and the money obtained from it not much to boost the financial strength of a citizen

making online education not the best to engage in.

Further, there is the need for high level of technology for online education.Online

education is relatively high because it requires computers and other necessary technological

needs to run the online education which cannot be accessed by every citizen of the country as a

result of financial barrier as elaborated above and the need for knowledge in the technology in

order to run it, all these make online education not the best form of education to the majority of

people who cannot afford it because of financial constraint and the level of technology needed as

a result, inequality at the level of the technology becomes the vital issue as far online education

is concern .

Furthermore, supporters of online education claim that it is the best way to transform

current educational practices .As a result of different learning styles demonstrated by supporters

online education such as; giving a deeper –level of learning and creating a conducive

environment for critical thinking is actually true but one thing to note is that the virtual level of

learning through online cannot be compared with the environment for intellectual and

interpersonal challenge necessary to the complete development of critical thinking ,that is a

classroom where both the lecturer and students are present and exchange knowledge in real life,
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follow up any challenges faced by student and students bring out ideas based on their personal

reasoning .

To continue, there is reliance on technology as a vital input in online education. critical

thinking of individuals is really limited. For example, the natural thinking capacity of people

around the 19th century and those of the 21st century is relatively different because most of the

older generation had a natural IQ level and did most of their findings based on the God given

intellectual capacity that does not fail when correctly molded and utilizes these thinking skills to

do most of their judgment which resulted into the advancement in our present generation. Online

education does not completely put into practice the primary source of knowledge which relies on

critical thinking, thus, at a particular level when it becomes to tedious to continue a given task,

technology becomes the sole means to facilitate children or young teens to sit in front of the

computers at times for a longer period without proper thinking .With all their focus from the

knowledge obtained from their computer, makes online education a menace to the future of the

country. Critical thinking is very vital also for the addressed of the ills and wicked deeds

happening in the country such as water shortages, poverty, toxic environment and climate change

rather than just sitting in front of the computer to advance such. Again, online education strips

most citizens off the primary and best way of learning whereby, when one is stocked during a

complicated exercise the use of critical thinking and creativity needs to be employed in order to

combat the situation at hand. If not guaranteed, one would need the aid of some friends to share

ideas on the way forward .Discovering different new strategies and knowledge in the course of

the collaborative learning applicable not only in that particular field of study, but to different

aspect of life unlike online education that organizes everything in the form of a puzzle and
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videos with direct answers without any reasoning and when a complicated exercise is being

faced, one just click and see the solution without any effort applicable.

Finally, it is clear that online courses have some positive impact regarding the changes in

the world but the positive impacts are far too minute than the negative effects caused by the same

online education. Its requirement of technology that cannot be accessible by everyone, its

expensive nature, creation of environment that devoid serious critical thinking and the too much

reliance on technology as if it is the world itself, pushes the virtues of the natural world behind,

thus, it is not the best way of education.