Many people join distance-learning programmes and study at home, but some people think that it cannot bring the same benefit as attending colleges or universities does. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

With the advanced technology, distance learning programmes have become more common in society. Some people think that participating in these programmes at home is more convenient and flexible;

on the other hand

, others may think that students cannot completely experience the life in colleges or universities.

Although

many people prefer to join distance-learning programmes, it is strongly believed that there is a need to take part in face-to-face courses in universities.

Firstly

, the predominant reason for attending colleges to be mandatory is that doing experiments in a laboratory is inevitable for students studying science. Provided that people study science at home, they would not able to do any experiment under supervision; they would probably experience rote learning, which means they only recite the results of the experiments.

Secondly

, their interactions with classmates and teachers are constant. It is beneficial for learners to organise teamwork and develop interpersonal relationship.

Additionally

, studying in a traditional way give an option for the students to interact and learn skills from other classmates, which is not possible if they are sitting in front of a computer or a TV.

Furthermore

, tertiary education puts much emphasis on the development of interpersonal skills. In today’s society, communication is of paramount importance for people to convey messages properly. There is no doubt that there is a great deal of

group

projects assigned to college students. Some may have an intense hatred against assignment that needs to be finished in groups as there are always some irresponsible students that make little effort to take part in the

group

projects.

Group

assignment,

nonetheless

, is a useful tool to train the interpersonal skills and problem-solving skills. In the situation of distance-learning programme, instructors may assign pieces of individual assignment

instead

of

group

projects. Even if there are

group

projects, there would be obstacles for them to participate because they cannot meet their

group

mates face-to-face. It is attending universities that can communicate with their

group

mates directly in class or after class.

Consequently

, joining face-to-face programmes in university benefits students more in the aspect of interpersonal skills. From the above discussion, it is firmly convinced that studying in colleges is more advantageous than taking part in the distance-learning. Not only does the latter give hands-on experience to students, but it

also

tremendously improves their communication skills. It is expected that people would fully benefit from the unique environment in universities.