Is it best to learn online or in class?

Hi Kelsi,

It depends on how focused and self-disciplined you are. If you have a good self-discipline, and if you are confident that you can study on your own, then there are great online tutorials that you can follow.

Personally, I prefer classroom training as it helps me connect with my professor / teacher better. I can walk to my teacher if I have any queries and get them answered.

Since the classroom training has a fixed schedule and is not as lenient as the online courses (If an online course has a strict schedule and a deadline, that would be great!), I find myself motivated to study and finish the course within the deadline.

Moreover, when you study in a classroom, you have your peers- your classmates, who have the same curriculum. It is a great advantage to network with your peers. You will be constantly motivated to learn and group study (If you prefer to study in a group) is a great way to learn.

Not to forget, classrooms sometimes provide you a conducive atmosphere to learn - competitive peers and good lecturers, no distraction from social media ( If there's a strict class rule not to use phone during lecture) etc.

If you prefer studying on your own pace, online learning would be beneficial for you.

Hey Kelsi - That's a great question. It definitely has to do with personal preference and how you like to learn. Personally, I find it difficult to learn online when there isn't someone there I can direct questions to or a scheduled time I need to be in class. However, online learning does provide a lot of flexibility and can be easier for a lot of people. It's important to reflect on how you prefer to learn and the way you think you learn best. Give it some thought and compare the two options from your own learning perspective to decide, because everyone has a different viewpoint.

Hi, this is a great question! I think you can benefit from both types of classes and should not have to pick one type of learning over the other. To share my personal experience, I was in school for 7 years because after a four-year college, I attended law school for 3 years. All of those were in-person classes. However, after graduating from law school I took many online classes in accounting and continuing education for law and they were all amazing. I needed to be able to work and study at the same time, so taking classes remotely was the best option for me. I received a certificate for classes I took on line and met many people through my classes who had the same interests as me. I would say that if you are interested in your studies and dedicated to learning, both types of classes will work great. Online classes offer a lot of flexibility and can be cheaper. In-person learning is, of course, very valuable, and in some areas, you cannot really replace it with online instructions. But you should not limit your options to one or the other.

Hi Kelsi,

I think you have to determine where you are more focused. For me, I like to learn in a classroom where I can ask questions and physically walk through a question with the teacher. For me, this helps me to better understand the concepts taught. Also, for me I get more distracted from home, so if I took an online class I would have to go to the library, so that I am able to stay more focused on the lesson being taught.

Hi Kelsi

This is an excellent question.

I preferred to learn in a classroom setting but it will depend on your level of self-discipline.

I personally found learning in classroom with interactions with the teacher was more personal and put you into the learning mindset easier. It helped with the mindset of being in class for learn. It will also help you create relationships with people in class who can help you in the future if you need help.

I found online classes to create a barrier between the learning and the learning experience. There is a physical screen/barrier between you and the teacher. You also have to have a strong level of self-discipline to do the work and it can become easy to be distracted or not focus on the learning with an online class.

Best of luck

In my opinion, learning in-class is better. Being in a classroom kept me more focused and allowed for more collaboration. Online learning does have it's benefits though, and may be better if an in-person class does not fit into your schedule. As long as you are disciplined, taking an online class is 100% doable.

Hi Kelsi,

Good question. Like some of the people above said, there are pros and cons to both methods. From my personal experience of taking both virtual, in-person, and hybrid classes, I found that I enjoyed virtual classes more because they offered more flexibility while working. If you have a job during business hours or if you want to take classes that are only offered at the same time, then virtual classes might be a viable. The downside is that you may be in an online class with hundreds of other students, so you may not receive much hands on attention, or be able to ask questions in real time.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it depends on your preferred learning style and your personal external factors (flexibility, availability, access to a PC/internet, etc.).

Best of luck!

I preferred to learn in a class room because you have the interaction with a professor to help you through the process vs. only having yourself and limited access to guidance for an online class. Face to face interaction makes a huge difference when it comes to learning difficult topics within the field of accounting.