Online CA Classes - Pros & Cons

Online Classes – PROS and CONS

The below article is an edited version of the response given by Deepak Gupta to a query by another student at Indigolearn Forums. 

PROS

• Classes can be completed with Articleship (for those who are undergoing)

If you are enrolled in physical classes, at times you tend to miss some of them due to office hours, visit the client’s places or peak audit season, etc.

• Saving of commuting time

Especially in big cities where it consumes at least an hour or two. This also brings some peace of mind as traveling can be hectic and it drains your energy as the pollution is no less. Further, it is better to move less in public transport in these Covid times.

• Class scheduling as per your liking

Say a student wants to study from XYZ teacher but he/she teaches in morning batch and the student likes to study late in the night and is not a morning person. Then with online lectures, students can make a schedule as per his/her own choice.

• No disturbance in class from others

Howsoever, small the batch may be, in every class there may be some students whose behavior will irritate you and disturb your focus on the subject. With online lectures, you can cut all the unnecessary nonsense.

• Maintaining a regular eating schedule/habit

With physical/virtual/satellite classes, the student has to adjust its eating time so as to leave on time for classes. Sometimes, we may eat less or even skip the meal altogether. One can say that, so what, you have to make some sacrifices. But such sacrifices may eat one up. One cannot afford to overlook the health part. It's a vital factor for your ultimate performance.

• Learning and understanding at your pace

Every student has his own style of learning. A teacher’s method or speed may not be completely suitable for all. With online lectures, you can modify the speed, especially for some teachers who are too slow. If you don't understand anything, you can go back and see it again. If you get bogged down, you can pause and take a small break. If you’re getting interested in the topic, you can continue and cover more of it.

• Time for self-study and revision

Self-study and revision are the most important aspects. With online classes, you can plan your classes as per your way, i.e. by when you want to finish them so that you have XYZ amount of time before the exams. As online lectures are pre-recorded, there will be fewer chances of delay of course completion from the teachers' side. Can't reduce it to zero as there can be a delay from your end.

CONS

• High requirement of discipline from students end

As the control is in the student’s hand, there are high chances of procrastination. No, worries, I shall do it tomorrow?. If there is a lack of discipline, then this tomorrow keeps piling up and in the end, you won’t have time to correct yourself. So, online lectures require more dedication than physical classes.

• Requires investment in technology/gadget (if someone prefers a laptop over a smartphone)

Though IndigoLearn is plug-and-play anywhere, any device. I am just talking from a general point of view.  The majority of the other online, to be more specific Pendrive, lectures are played on a laptop and they need a certain set of min. configuration to play them. Old models won’t work here effectively. Hardly few offer classes on desktop, though after the Covid-19 pandemic, few have started offering on android mode. But the smartphone is not feasible to watch long hours of classes, it cramps your mind. Hence, everyone may not be able to afford a laptop.

• Less interaction and networking opportunities

In physical classes, you meet fellow students. You like some, you befriend some, and add some contacts in your address book. Though this varies from person to person. I mean how open he/she is. Otherwise only those friendship lasts which have stood the test of time, random contacts may fade away.

• Stress on eyes and occasional headaches

If someone is going for all classes as online lectures, then definitely he/she will study at least 2 subjects in a day, if not more. Already you’re watching the screen in the office, then your smartphone or TV and now after adding these classes to the list, the screen time will increase very much which may give sore eyes and occasional headaches. So, it becomes more important how you manage all these screen times to stop yourself from getting irritated further.

There can be more pros and cons which can be added to this list.  The bottom line is, Online lectures are self-drive lectures. If you can’t discipline yourself, then please look for other options.

Anyhow after the Covid-19 pandemic, physical classes are yet to start in full swing. Options will be limited. Live online lectures can be an option but then it also has certain limitations. Hopefully, in the coming months, all will be fine soon.