online learning essay bac

Essays About Online Learning: Top 6 Examples And Prompts

If you are writing essays about online learning , you can start by reading some essay examples and prompts in this article . 

People often regard online learning as kids stuck at home, glued to their devices. However, there is so much more to it than this simplistic concept. Many parents may see it as an “easy way out” for students to slack off on their studies while still passing their classes, but online learning has not reached its full potential yet. 

It has dramatically impacted how education is handled globally, for better or worse. It has forced teachers to take on extra work , while students say it has helped reduce their stress levels. It is undoubtedly a contentious topic. 

If you need help writing an essay about online learning , here are some essay examples you can use for inspiration.

1. Disabled Students Urge Universities To Make Online Learning More Accessible by Lucia Posteraro

2. why are more and more students taking online classes by perry mullins, 3. the benefits of online learning: 7 advantages of online degrees by kelsey miller, 4. why is online learning important by clare scott, 5. is online learning as effective as face-to-face learning by kelli wilkins, 6. i’m a high school student. i don’t want online learning to end. by rory selinger, prompts on essays about online learning, 1. how has online learning affected you, 2. compare and contrast online and in-person classes., 3. what can you learn from an online setup, 4. what is the future of online learning, 5. which is better- online or face-to-face learning, 6. can online learning be sustained long-term.

“Autism may hinder the ability to follow complex conversations, especially with background noise – but Charli’s lectures did not have subtitles. Moreover, extensions for group projects were too short for her extenuating circumstances.’

Posteraro tells the stories of students who want online learning to be more accessible. For example, Charli, a student with autism, was greatly affected by the transition from in-person to online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, online learning has not catered to her special needs, so she urges schools to take action to make online education more inclusive. You might also be interested in these essays about knowledge .

“The result of taking online classes is that students who take them become more proficient and comfortable with using computers. Students can learn to connect with one another online and with information in meaningful and useful ways. With that said more and more students are taking online classes because it’s the best way to save money work at your own pace and not have to be stressed about going to class.”

In his essay , Mullins discusses why more students prefer online learning . First, it lessens expenses, as students learn from the comfort of their rooms. Second, it helps students avert the fear of talking to strangers face-to-face, helping them communicate better. 

“It’s clear, then, that learning online helps prepare professionals for this shift toward online work. Below, explore what online courses entail, explore seven key benefits, and get the advice you need to determine if online courses are right for you.”

Miller briefly explains what online learning is, then proceeds to discuss its advantages. These include a self-paced schedule, improved communication, and new technical skills . However, he reminds readers that everyone is different; regardless of the benefits, they should only choose online learning if they believe it will work for them.

“Boil it right down and the answer is simple: change is constant. You must move with it. The true beauty of online learning is that it lends itself perfectly to your lifestyle. By its very nature, it can fit around you. Also, no longer are we taught how to do a job, it’s usually a case of figuring it out for yourself—and that’s where online learning can amplify your skills .”

Scott presents the importance of online learning . Similar to Miller, she mentions self-paced, giving students new skills . However, the most important lesson is that change is constant. Online learning exemplifies this precept, and these skills help us move along.

“While both ways of learning have advantages and disadvantages, what is more effective is based off of the student themselves. Students can weigh the costs and benefits between online learning and face-to-face learning. They can decide for themselves what would be best for them. Online learning can be as effective as face-to-face learning if the student is committed to putting their time and effort to study alone.”

Wilkins questions the notion that online learning is inferior to a face-to-face classes. She begins by listing the benefits of online classes, including comfort and easier schedules, as with Miller and Scott. However, she also mentions its disadvantages, such as the possibility of students being distracted and a lack of bonding between classmates. But, of course, it’s all up to the student in the end: they should decide which type of education they prefer.

“One thing I hope people now realize is that education is not a one-size-fits-all model. While the self-disciplined nature of remote learning is not for everyone, it has allowed students like me to flourish unimpeded by the challenges presented by typical classroom settings.”

A 14-year-old student, Selinger wishes to continue her education online as schools return to physical classes amid the pandemic. She discusses the relief she feels from the lack of peer pressure, judgment, and a rigorous schedule. Controlling your study schedule relieves students of pressure, and Selinger believes this is optimal for success. She believes online learning opens a path to be better rather than to “return to normal.”

In this essay , you can write about your experience of online learning . Whether you have had online coursework from school or college or taken an online course for your own interests, we’ve all had some experience learning online. Discuss how you benefited from online learning and the challenges you faced. For a compelling essay , conduct interviews to back up your experience by showing others who felt the same way.

Create an exciting comparative essay between online and in-person learning. You can compare and contrast the experiences and show the positives and negatives of each. Start by making a list or Venn diagram, and organize your essay . Include the structure, advantages, and disadvantages of each method of learning. 

Online learning can teach you some skills to succeed in the real world. In this essay , write about the unique skills you can gain from online learning . Perhaps you learn valuable IT skills , virtual note-taking, and basic administrative skills . Then, look into how these skills can benefit you in future studies or when trying to step into a new career path. 

We have barely scratched the surface of technology. In this essay , look to the future and imagine how online education will look. Then, research up-and-coming online learning technologies and see what will come next. Will the development of more online learning technology benefit students? Look into this exciting topic for an engaging discussion.

For this topic, writing an excellent argumentative essay is easy. First, from research and your own experience , list the benefits and downsides of each type of learning and determine which is more effective. Then, you can use Google and the essay examples above to support your argument.  

Online learning is most commonly used for students who are ill or during situations such as a global pandemic. It is meant to be temporary; however, can schools stick to a completely-online method of instruction? Include some advantages and disadvantages of online learning in your essay .

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

If you’re still stuck, check out our general resource of essay writing topics .

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Argumentative Essay: Online Learning and Educational Access

Conventional learning is evolving with the help of computers and online technology. New ways of learning are now available, and improved access is one of the most important benefits available. People all around the world are experiencing improved mobility as a result of the freedom and potential that online learning provides, and as academic institutions and learning organisations adopt online learning technologies and remote-access learning, formal academic education is becoming increasingly legitimate. This essay argues the contemporary benefits of online learning, and that these benefits significantly outweigh the issues, challenges and disadvantages of online learning.

Online learning is giving people new choices and newfound flexibility with their personal learning and development. Whereas before, formal academic qualifications could only be gained by participating in a full time course on site, the internet has allowed institutions to expand their reach and offer recognized courses on a contact-partial, or totally virtual, basis. Institutions can do so with relatively few extra resources, and for paid courses this constitutes excellent value, and the student benefits with greater educational access and greater flexibility to learn and get qualified even when there lots of other personal commitments to deal with.

Flexibility is certainly one of the most important benefits, but just as important is educational access. On top of the internet’s widespread presence in developed countries, the internet is becoming increasingly available in newly developed and developing countries. Even without considering the general informational exposure that the internet delivers, online academic courses and learning initiatives are becoming more aware of the needs of people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and this means that people from such backgrounds are in a much better position to learn and progress than they used to be.

The biggest argument that raises doubt over online learning is the quality of online courses in comparison to conventional courses. Are such online courses good enough for employers to take notice? The second biggest argument is the current reality that faces many people from disadvantaged backgrounds, despite the improvements made in this area in recent years – they do not have the level of basic access needed to benefit from online learning. In fact, there are numerous sources of evidence that claim disadvantaged students are not receiving anywhere near the sort of benefits that online learning institutions and promoters are trying to instigate. Currently there are many organisations, campaigns and initiatives that are working to expand access to higher education. With such high participation, it can be argued that it is only a matter of time before the benefits are truly realised, but what about the global online infrastructure?

There is another argument that is very difficult to dispel, and that is the response of different types of students to the online learning paradigm. Evidence shows that there are certain groups of students that benefit from college distance learning much more than other groups. In essence, students must be highly motivated and highly disciplined if they are to learn effectively in their own private environment.

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The effects of online education on academic success: A meta-analysis study

• Published: 06 September 2021
• Volume 27 , pages 429–450, ( 2022 )

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• Hakan Ulum   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1398-6935 1  

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The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of online education, which has been extensively used on student achievement since the beginning of the pandemic. In line with this purpose, a meta-analysis of the related studies focusing on the effect of online education on students’ academic achievement in several countries between the years 2010 and 2021 was carried out. Furthermore, this study will provide a source to assist future studies with comparing the effect of online education on academic achievement before and after the pandemic. This meta-analysis study consists of 27 studies in total. The meta-analysis involves the studies conducted in the USA, Taiwan, Turkey, China, Philippines, Ireland, and Georgia. The studies included in the meta-analysis are experimental studies, and the total sample size is 1772. In the study, the funnel plot, Duval and Tweedie’s Trip and Fill Analysis, Orwin’s Safe N Analysis, and Egger’s Regression Test were utilized to determine the publication bias, which has been found to be quite low. Besides, Hedge’s g statistic was employed to measure the effect size for the difference between the means performed in accordance with the random effects model. The results of the study show that the effect size of online education on academic achievement is on a medium level. The heterogeneity test results of the meta-analysis study display that the effect size does not differ in terms of class level, country, online education approaches, and lecture moderators.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Information and communication technologies have become a powerful force in transforming the educational settings around the world. The pandemic has been an important factor in transferring traditional physical classrooms settings through adopting information and communication technologies and has also accelerated the transformation. The literature supports that learning environments connected to information and communication technologies highly satisfy students. Therefore, we need to keep interest in technology-based learning environments. Clearly, technology has had a huge impact on young people's online lives. This digital revolution can synergize the educational ambitions and interests of digitally addicted students. In essence, COVID-19 has provided us with an opportunity to embrace online learning as education systems have to keep up with the rapid emergence of new technologies.

Information and communication technologies that have an effect on all spheres of life are also actively included in the education field. With the recent developments, using technology in education has become inevitable due to personal and social reasons (Usta, 2011a ). Online education may be given as an example of using information and communication technologies as a consequence of the technological developments. Also, it is crystal clear that online learning is a popular way of obtaining instruction (Demiralay et al., 2016 ; Pillay et al., 2007 ), which is defined by Horton ( 2000 ) as a way of education that is performed through a web browser or an online application without requiring an extra software or a learning source. Furthermore, online learning is described as a way of utilizing the internet to obtain the related learning sources during the learning process, to interact with the content, the teacher, and other learners, as well as to get support throughout the learning process (Ally, 2004 ). Online learning has such benefits as learning independently at any time and place (Vrasidas & MsIsaac, 2000 ), granting facility (Poole, 2000 ), flexibility (Chizmar & Walbert, 1999 ), self-regulation skills (Usta, 2011b ), learning with collaboration, and opportunity to plan self-learning process.

Even though online education practices have not been comprehensive as it is now, internet and computers have been used in education as alternative learning tools in correlation with the advances in technology. The first distance education attempt in the world was initiated by the ‘Steno Courses’ announcement published in Boston newspaper in 1728. Furthermore, in the nineteenth century, Sweden University started the “Correspondence Composition Courses” for women, and University Correspondence College was afterwards founded for the correspondence courses in 1843 (Arat & Bakan, 2011 ). Recently, distance education has been performed through computers, assisted by the facilities of the internet technologies, and soon, it has evolved into a mobile education practice that is emanating from progress in the speed of internet connection, and the development of mobile devices.

With the emergence of pandemic (Covid-19), face to face education has almost been put to a halt, and online education has gained significant importance. The Microsoft management team declared to have 750 users involved in the online education activities on the 10 th March, just before the pandemic; however, on March 24, they informed that the number of users increased significantly, reaching the number of 138,698 users (OECD, 2020 ). This event supports the view that it is better to commonly use online education rather than using it as a traditional alternative educational tool when students do not have the opportunity to have a face to face education (Geostat, 2019 ). The period of Covid-19 pandemic has emerged as a sudden state of having limited opportunities. Face to face education has stopped in this period for a long time. The global spread of Covid-19 affected more than 850 million students all around the world, and it caused the suspension of face to face education. Different countries have proposed several solutions in order to maintain the education process during the pandemic. Schools have had to change their curriculum, and many countries supported the online education practices soon after the pandemic. In other words, traditional education gave its way to online education practices. At least 96 countries have been motivated to access online libraries, TV broadcasts, instructions, sources, video lectures, and online channels (UNESCO, 2020 ). In such a painful period, educational institutions went through online education practices by the help of huge companies such as Microsoft, Google, Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, and Slack. Thus, online education has been discussed in the education agenda more intensively than ever before.

Although online education approaches were not used as comprehensively as it has been used recently, it was utilized as an alternative learning approach in education for a long time in parallel with the development of technology, internet and computers. The academic achievement of the students is often aimed to be promoted by employing online education approaches. In this regard, academicians in various countries have conducted many studies on the evaluation of online education approaches and published the related results. However, the accumulation of scientific data on online education approaches creates difficulties in keeping, organizing and synthesizing the findings. In this research area, studies are being conducted at an increasing rate making it difficult for scientists to be aware of all the research outside of their ​​expertise. Another problem encountered in the related study area is that online education studies are repetitive. Studies often utilize slightly different methods, measures, and/or examples to avoid duplication. This erroneous approach makes it difficult to distinguish between significant differences in the related results. In other words, if there are significant differences in the results of the studies, it may be difficult to express what variety explains the differences in these results. One obvious solution to these problems is to systematically review the results of various studies and uncover the sources. One method of performing such systematic syntheses is the application of meta-analysis which is a methodological and statistical approach to draw conclusions from the literature. At this point, how effective online education applications are in increasing the academic success is an important detail. Has online education, which is likely to be encountered frequently in the continuing pandemic period, been successful in the last ten years? If successful, how much was the impact? Did different variables have an impact on this effect? Academics across the globe have carried out studies on the evaluation of online education platforms and publishing the related results (Chiao et al., 2018 ). It is quite important to evaluate the results of the studies that have been published up until now, and that will be published in the future. Has the online education been successful? If it has been, how big is the impact? Do the different variables affect this impact? What should we consider in the next coming online education practices? These questions have all motivated us to carry out this study. We have conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis study that tries to provide a discussion platform on how to develop efficient online programs for educators and policy makers by reviewing the related studies on online education, presenting the effect size, and revealing the effect of diverse variables on the general impact.

There have been many critical discussions and comprehensive studies on the differences between online and face to face learning; however, the focus of this paper is different in the sense that it clarifies the magnitude of the effect of online education and teaching process, and it represents what factors should be controlled to help increase the effect size. Indeed, the purpose here is to provide conscious decisions in the implementation of the online education process.

The general impact of online education on the academic achievement will be discovered in the study. Therefore, this will provide an opportunity to get a general overview of the online education which has been practiced and discussed intensively in the pandemic period. Moreover, the general impact of online education on academic achievement will be analyzed, considering different variables. In other words, the current study will allow to totally evaluate the study results from the related literature, and to analyze the results considering several cultures, lectures, and class levels. Considering all the related points, this study seeks to answer the following research questions:

What is the effect size of online education on academic achievement?

How do the effect sizes of online education on academic achievement change according to the moderator variable of the country?

How do the effect sizes of online education on academic achievement change according to the moderator variable of the class level?

How do the effect sizes of online education on academic achievement change according to the moderator variable of the lecture?

How do the effect sizes of online education on academic achievement change according to the moderator variable of the online education approaches?

This study aims at determining the effect size of online education, which has been highly used since the beginning of the pandemic, on students’ academic achievement in different courses by using a meta-analysis method. Meta-analysis is a synthesis method that enables gathering of several study results accurately and efficiently, and getting the total results in the end (Tsagris & Fragkos, 2018 ).

2.1 Selecting and coding the data (studies)

The required literature for the meta-analysis study was reviewed in July, 2020, and the follow-up review was conducted in September, 2020. The purpose of the follow-up review was to include the studies which were published in the conduction period of this study, and which met the related inclusion criteria. However, no study was encountered to be included in the follow-up review.

In order to access the studies in the meta-analysis, the databases of Web of Science, ERIC, and SCOPUS were reviewed by utilizing the keywords ‘online learning and online education’. Not every database has a search engine that grants access to the studies by writing the keywords, and this obstacle was considered to be an important problem to be overcome. Therefore, a platform that has a special design was utilized by the researcher. With this purpose, through the open access system of Cukurova University Library, detailed reviews were practiced using EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) that allow reviewing the whole collection of research through a sole searching box. Since the fundamental variables of this study are online education and online learning, the literature was systematically reviewed in the related databases (Web of Science, ERIC, and SCOPUS) by referring to the keywords. Within this scope, 225 articles were accessed, and the studies were included in the coding key list formed by the researcher. The name of the researchers, the year, the database (Web of Science, ERIC, and SCOPUS), the sample group and size, the lectures that the academic achievement was tested in, the country that the study was conducted in, and the class levels were all included in this coding key.

The following criteria were identified to include 225 research studies which were coded based on the theoretical basis of the meta-analysis study: (1) The studies should be published in the refereed journals between the years 2020 and 2021, (2) The studies should be experimental studies that try to determine the effect of online education and online learning on academic achievement, (3) The values of the stated variables or the required statistics to calculate these values should be stated in the results of the studies, and (4) The sample group of the study should be at a primary education level. These criteria were also used as the exclusion criteria in the sense that the studies that do not meet the required criteria were not included in the present study.

After the inclusion criteria were determined, a systematic review process was conducted, following the year criterion of the study by means of EBSCO. Within this scope, 290,365 studies that analyze the effect of online education and online learning on academic achievement were accordingly accessed. The database (Web of Science, ERIC, and SCOPUS) was also used as a filter by analyzing the inclusion criteria. Hence, the number of the studies that were analyzed was 58,616. Afterwards, the keyword ‘primary education’ was used as the filter and the number of studies included in the study decreased to 3152. Lastly, the literature was reviewed by using the keyword ‘academic achievement’ and 225 studies were accessed. All the information of 225 articles was included in the coding key.

It is necessary for the coders to review the related studies accurately and control the validity, safety, and accuracy of the studies (Stewart & Kamins, 2001 ). Within this scope, the studies that were determined based on the variables used in this study were first reviewed by three researchers from primary education field, then the accessed studies were combined and processed in the coding key by the researcher. All these studies that were processed in the coding key were analyzed in accordance with the inclusion criteria by all the researchers in the meetings, and it was decided that 27 studies met the inclusion criteria (Atici & Polat, 2010 ; Carreon, 2018 ; Ceylan & Elitok Kesici, 2017 ; Chae & Shin, 2016 ; Chiang et al. 2014 ; Ercan, 2014 ; Ercan et al., 2016 ; Gwo-Jen et al., 2018 ; Hayes & Stewart, 2016 ; Hwang et al., 2012 ; Kert et al., 2017 ; Lai & Chen, 2010 ; Lai et al., 2015 ; Meyers et al., 2015 ; Ravenel et al., 2014 ; Sung et al., 2016 ; Wang & Chen, 2013 ; Yu, 2019 ; Yu & Chen, 2014 ; Yu & Pan, 2014 ; Yu et al., 2010 ; Zhong et al., 2017 ). The data from the studies meeting the inclusion criteria were independently processed in the second coding key by three researchers, and consensus meetings were arranged for further discussion. After the meetings, researchers came to an agreement that the data were coded accurately and precisely. Having identified the effect sizes and heterogeneity of the study, moderator variables that will show the differences between the effect sizes were determined. The data related to the determined moderator variables were added to the coding key by three researchers, and a new consensus meeting was arranged. After the meeting, researchers came to an agreement that moderator variables were coded accurately and precisely.

2.2 Study group

27 studies are included in the meta-analysis. The total sample size of the studies that are included in the analysis is 1772. The characteristics of the studies included are given in Table 1 .

2.3 Publication bias

Publication bias is the low capability of published studies on a research subject to represent all completed studies on the same subject (Card, 2011 ; Littell et al., 2008 ). Similarly, publication bias is the state of having a relationship between the probability of the publication of a study on a subject, and the effect size and significance that it produces. Within this scope, publication bias may occur when the researchers do not want to publish the study as a result of failing to obtain the expected results, or not being approved by the scientific journals, and consequently not being included in the study synthesis (Makowski et al., 2019 ). The high possibility of publication bias in a meta-analysis study negatively affects (Pecoraro, 2018 ) the accuracy of the combined effect size, causing the average effect size to be reported differently than it should be (Borenstein et al., 2009 ). For this reason, the possibility of publication bias in the included studies was tested before determining the effect sizes of the relationships between the stated variables. The possibility of publication bias of this meta-analysis study was analyzed by using the funnel plot, Orwin’s Safe N Analysis, Duval and Tweedie’s Trip and Fill Analysis, and Egger’s Regression Test.

2.4 Selecting the model

After determining the probability of publication bias of this meta-analysis study, the statistical model used to calculate the effect sizes was selected. The main approaches used in the effect size calculations according to the differentiation level of inter-study variance are fixed and random effects models (Pigott, 2012 ). Fixed effects model refers to the homogeneity of the characteristics of combined studies apart from the sample sizes, while random effects model refers to the parameter diversity between the studies (Cumming, 2012 ). While calculating the average effect size in the random effects model (Deeks et al., 2008 ) that is based on the assumption that effect predictions of different studies are only the result of a similar distribution, it is necessary to consider several situations such as the effect size apart from the sample error of combined studies, characteristics of the participants, duration, scope, and pattern of the study (Littell et al., 2008 ). While deciding the model in the meta-analysis study, the assumptions on the sample characteristics of the studies included in the analysis and the inferences that the researcher aims to make should be taken into consideration. The fact that the sample characteristics of the studies conducted in the field of social sciences are affected by various parameters shows that using random effects model is more appropriate in this sense. Besides, it is stated that the inferences made with the random effects model are beyond the studies included in the meta-analysis (Field, 2003 ; Field & Gillett, 2010 ). Therefore, using random effects model also contributes to the generalization of research data. The specified criteria for the statistical model selection show that according to the nature of the meta-analysis study, the model should be selected just before the analysis (Borenstein et al., 2007 ; Littell et al., 2008 ). Within this framework, it was decided to make use of the random effects model, considering that the students who are the samples of the studies included in the meta-analysis are from different countries and cultures, the sample characteristics of the studies differ, and the patterns and scopes of the studies vary as well.

2.5 Heterogeneity

Meta-analysis facilitates analyzing the research subject with different parameters by showing the level of diversity between the included studies. Within this frame, whether there is a heterogeneous distribution between the studies included in the study or not has been evaluated in the present study. The heterogeneity of the studies combined in this meta-analysis study has been determined through Q and I 2 tests. Q test evaluates the random distribution probability of the differences between the observed results (Deeks et al., 2008 ). Q value exceeding 2 value calculated according to the degree of freedom and significance, indicates the heterogeneity of the combined effect sizes (Card, 2011 ). I 2 test, which is the complementary of the Q test, shows the heterogeneity amount of the effect sizes (Cleophas & Zwinderman, 2017 ). I 2 value being higher than 75% is explained as high level of heterogeneity.

In case of encountering heterogeneity in the studies included in the meta-analysis, the reasons of heterogeneity can be analyzed by referring to the study characteristics. The study characteristics which may be related to the heterogeneity between the included studies can be interpreted through subgroup analysis or meta-regression analysis (Deeks et al., 2008 ). While determining the moderator variables, the sufficiency of the number of variables, the relationship between the moderators, and the condition to explain the differences between the results of the studies have all been considered in the present study. Within this scope, it was predicted in this meta-analysis study that the heterogeneity can be explained with the country, class level, and lecture moderator variables of the study in terms of the effect of online education, which has been highly used since the beginning of the pandemic, and it has an impact on the students’ academic achievement in different lectures. Some subgroups were evaluated and categorized together, considering that the number of effect sizes of the sub-dimensions of the specified variables is not sufficient to perform moderator analysis (e.g. the countries where the studies were conducted).

2.6 Interpreting the effect sizes

Effect size is a factor that shows how much the independent variable affects the dependent variable positively or negatively in each included study in the meta-analysis (Dinçer, 2014 ). While interpreting the effect sizes obtained from the meta-analysis, the classifications of Cohen et al. ( 2007 ) have been utilized. The case of differentiating the specified relationships of the situation of the country, class level, and school subject variables of the study has been identified through the Q test, degree of freedom, and p significance value Fig.  1 and 2 .

3 Findings and results

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect size of online education on academic achievement. Before determining the effect sizes in the study, the probability of publication bias of this meta-analysis study was analyzed by using the funnel plot, Orwin’s Safe N Analysis, Duval and Tweedie’s Trip and Fill Analysis, and Egger’s Regression Test.

When the funnel plots are examined, it is seen that the studies included in the analysis are distributed symmetrically on both sides of the combined effect size axis, and they are generally collected in the middle and lower sections. The probability of publication bias is low according to the plots. However, since the results of the funnel scatter plots may cause subjective interpretations, they have been supported by additional analyses (Littell et al., 2008 ). Therefore, in order to provide an extra proof for the probability of publication bias, it has been analyzed through Orwin’s Safe N Analysis, Duval and Tweedie’s Trip and Fill Analysis, and Egger’s Regression Test (Table 2 ).

Table 2 consists of the results of the rates of publication bias probability before counting the effect size of online education on academic achievement. According to the table, Orwin Safe N analysis results show that it is not necessary to add new studies to the meta-analysis in order for Hedges g to reach a value outside the range of ± 0.01. The Duval and Tweedie test shows that excluding the studies that negatively affect the symmetry of the funnel scatter plots for each meta-analysis or adding their exact symmetrical equivalents does not significantly differentiate the calculated effect size. The insignificance of the Egger tests results reveals that there is no publication bias in the meta-analysis study. The results of the analysis indicate the high internal validity of the effect sizes and the adequacy of representing the studies conducted on the relevant subject.

In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect size of online education on academic achievement after testing the publication bias. In line with the first purpose of the study, the forest graph regarding the effect size of online education on academic achievement is shown in Fig.  3 , and the statistics regarding the effect size are given in Table 3 .

The flow chart of the scanning and selection process of the studies

Funnel plot graphics representing the effect size of the effects of online education on academic success

Forest graph related to the effect size of online education on academic success

The square symbols in the forest graph in Fig.  3 represent the effect sizes, while the horizontal lines show the intervals in 95% confidence of the effect sizes, and the diamond symbol shows the overall effect size. When the forest graph is analyzed, it is seen that the lower and upper limits of the combined effect sizes are generally close to each other, and the study loads are similar. This similarity in terms of study loads indicates the similarity of the contribution of the combined studies to the overall effect size.

Figure  3 clearly represents that the study of Liu and others (Liu et al., 2018 ) has the lowest, and the study of Ercan and Bilen ( 2014 ) has the highest effect sizes. The forest graph shows that all the combined studies and the overall effect are positive. Furthermore, it is simply understood from the forest graph in Fig.  3 and the effect size statistics in Table 3 that the results of the meta-analysis study conducted with 27 studies and analyzing the effect of online education on academic achievement illustrate that this relationship is on average level (= 0.409).

After the analysis of the effect size in the study, whether the studies included in the analysis are distributed heterogeneously or not has also been analyzed. The heterogeneity of the combined studies was determined through the Q and I 2 tests. As a result of the heterogeneity test, Q statistical value was calculated as 29.576. With 26 degrees of freedom at 95% significance level in the chi-square table, the critical value is accepted as 38.885. The Q statistical value (29.576) counted in this study is lower than the critical value of 38.885. The I 2 value, which is the complementary of the Q statistics, is 12.100%. This value indicates that the accurate heterogeneity or the total variability that can be attributed to variability between the studies is 12%. Besides, p value is higher than (0.285) p = 0.05. All these values [Q (26) = 29.579, p = 0.285; I2 = 12.100] indicate that there is a homogeneous distribution between the effect sizes, and fixed effects model should be used to interpret these effect sizes. However, some researchers argue that even if the heterogeneity is low, it should be evaluated based on the random effects model (Borenstein et al., 2007 ). Therefore, this study gives information about both models. The heterogeneity of the combined studies has been attempted to be explained with the characteristics of the studies included in the analysis. In this context, the final purpose of the study is to determine the effect of the country, academic level, and year variables on the findings. Accordingly, the statistics regarding the comparison of the stated relations according to the countries where the studies were conducted are given in Table 4 .

As seen in Table 4 , the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ significantly according to the countries where the studies were conducted in. Q test results indicate the heterogeneity of the relationships between the variables in terms of countries where the studies were conducted in. According to the table, the effect of online education on academic achievement was reported as the highest in other countries, and the lowest in the US. The statistics regarding the comparison of the stated relations according to the class levels are given in Table 5 .

As seen in Table 5 , the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ according to the class level. However, the effect of online education on academic achievement is the highest in the 4 th class. The statistics regarding the comparison of the stated relations according to the class levels are given in Table 6 .

As seen in Table 6 , the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ according to the school subjects included in the studies. However, the effect of online education on academic achievement is the highest in ICT subject.

The obtained effect size in the study was formed as a result of the findings attained from primary studies conducted in 7 different countries. In addition, these studies are the ones on different approaches to online education (online learning environments, social networks, blended learning, etc.). In this respect, the results may raise some questions about the validity and generalizability of the results of the study. However, the moderator analyzes, whether for the country variable or for the approaches covered by online education, did not create significant differences in terms of the effect sizes. If significant differences were to occur in terms of effect sizes, we could say that the comparisons we will make by comparing countries under the umbrella of online education would raise doubts in terms of generalizability. Moreover, no study has been found in the literature that is not based on a special approach or does not contain a specific technique conducted under the name of online education alone. For instance, one of the commonly used definitions is blended education which is defined as an educational model in which online education is combined with traditional education method (Colis & Moonen, 2001 ). Similarly, Rasmussen ( 2003 ) defines blended learning as “a distance education method that combines technology (high technology such as television, internet, or low technology such as voice e-mail, conferences) with traditional education and training.” Further, Kerres and Witt (2003) define blended learning as “combining face-to-face learning with technology-assisted learning.” As it is clearly observed, online education, which has a wider scope, includes many approaches.

As seen in Table 7 , the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ according to online education approaches included in the studies. However, the effect of online education on academic achievement is the highest in Web Based Problem Solving Approach.

4 Conclusions and discussion

Considering the developments during the pandemics, it is thought that the diversity in online education applications as an interdisciplinary pragmatist field will increase, and the learning content and processes will be enriched with the integration of new technologies into online education processes. Another prediction is that more flexible and accessible learning opportunities will be created in online education processes, and in this way, lifelong learning processes will be strengthened. As a result, it is predicted that in the near future, online education and even digital learning with a newer name will turn into the main ground of education instead of being an alternative or having a support function in face-to-face learning. The lessons learned from the early period online learning experience, which was passed with rapid adaptation due to the Covid19 epidemic, will serve to develop this method all over the world, and in the near future, online learning will become the main learning structure through increasing its functionality with the contribution of new technologies and systems. If we look at it from this point of view, there is a necessity to strengthen online education.

In this study, the effect of online learning on academic achievement is at a moderate level. To increase this effect, the implementation of online learning requires support from teachers to prepare learning materials, to design learning appropriately, and to utilize various digital-based media such as websites, software technology and various other tools to support the effectiveness of online learning (Rolisca & Achadiyah, 2014 ). According to research conducted by Rahayu et al. ( 2017 ), it has been proven that the use of various types of software increases the effectiveness and quality of online learning. Implementation of online learning can affect students' ability to adapt to technological developments in that it makes students use various learning resources on the internet to access various types of information, and enables them to get used to performing inquiry learning and active learning (Hart et al., 2019 ; Prestiadi et al., 2019 ). In addition, there may be many reasons for the low level of effect in this study. The moderator variables examined in this study could be a guide in increasing the level of practical effect. However, the effect size did not differ significantly for all moderator variables. Different moderator analyzes can be evaluated in order to increase the level of impact of online education on academic success. If confounding variables that significantly change the effect level are detected, it can be spoken more precisely in order to increase this level. In addition to the technical and financial problems, the level of impact will increase if a few other difficulties are eliminated such as students, lack of interaction with the instructor, response time, and lack of traditional classroom socialization.

In addition, COVID-19 pandemic related social distancing has posed extreme difficulties for all stakeholders to get online as they have to work in time constraints and resource constraints. Adopting the online learning environment is not just a technical issue, it is a pedagogical and instructive challenge as well. Therefore, extensive preparation of teaching materials, curriculum, and assessment is vital in online education. Technology is the delivery tool and requires close cross-collaboration between teaching, content and technology teams (CoSN, 2020 ).

Online education applications have been used for many years. However, it has come to the fore more during the pandemic process. This result of necessity has brought with it the discussion of using online education instead of traditional education methods in the future. However, with this research, it has been revealed that online education applications are moderately effective. The use of online education instead of face-to-face education applications can only be possible with an increase in the level of success. This may have been possible with the experience and knowledge gained during the pandemic process. Therefore, the meta-analysis of experimental studies conducted in the coming years will guide us. In this context, experimental studies using online education applications should be analyzed well. It would be useful to identify variables that can change the level of impacts with different moderators. Moderator analyzes are valuable in meta-analysis studies (for example, the role of moderators in Karl Pearson's typhoid vaccine studies). In this context, each analysis study sheds light on future studies. In meta-analyses to be made about online education, it would be beneficial to go beyond the moderators determined in this study. Thus, the contribution of similar studies to the field will increase more.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of online education on academic achievement. In line with this purpose, the studies that analyze the effect of online education approaches on academic achievement have been included in the meta-analysis. The total sample size of the studies included in the meta-analysis is 1772. While the studies included in the meta-analysis were conducted in the US, Taiwan, Turkey, China, Philippines, Ireland, and Georgia, the studies carried out in Europe could not be reached. The reason may be attributed to that there may be more use of quantitative research methods from a positivist perspective in the countries with an American academic tradition. As a result of the study, it was found out that the effect size of online education on academic achievement (g = 0.409) was moderate. In the studies included in the present research, we found that online education approaches were more effective than traditional ones. However, contrary to the present study, the analysis of comparisons between online and traditional education in some studies shows that face-to-face traditional learning is still considered effective compared to online learning (Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Hamdani & Priatna, 2020 ; Wei & Chou, 2020 ). Online education has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of online learning compared to face-to-face learning in the classroom is the flexibility of learning time in online learning, the learning time does not include a single program, and it can be shaped according to circumstances (Lai et al., 2019 ). The next advantage is the ease of collecting assignments for students, as these can be done without having to talk to the teacher. Despite this, online education has several weaknesses, such as students having difficulty in understanding the material, teachers' inability to control students, and students’ still having difficulty interacting with teachers in case of internet network cuts (Swan, 2007 ). According to Astuti et al ( 2019 ), face-to-face education method is still considered better by students than e-learning because it is easier to understand the material and easier to interact with teachers. The results of the study illustrated that the effect size (g = 0.409) of online education on academic achievement is of medium level. Therefore, the results of the moderator analysis showed that the effect of online education on academic achievement does not differ in terms of country, lecture, class level, and online education approaches variables. After analyzing the literature, several meta-analyses on online education were published (Bernard et al., 2004 ; Machtmes & Asher, 2000 ; Zhao et al., 2005 ). Typically, these meta-analyzes also include the studies of older generation technologies such as audio, video, or satellite transmission. One of the most comprehensive studies on online education was conducted by Bernard et al. ( 2004 ). In this study, 699 independent effect sizes of 232 studies published from 1985 to 2001 were analyzed, and face-to-face education was compared to online education, with respect to success criteria and attitudes of various learners from young children to adults. In this meta-analysis, an overall effect size close to zero was found for the students' achievement (g +  = 0.01).

In another meta-analysis study carried out by Zhao et al. ( 2005 ), 98 effect sizes were examined, including 51 studies on online education conducted between 1996 and 2002. According to the study of Bernard et al. ( 2004 ), this meta-analysis focuses on the activities done in online education lectures. As a result of the research, an overall effect size close to zero was found for online education utilizing more than one generation technology for students at different levels. However, the salient point of the meta-analysis study of Zhao et al. is that it takes the average of different types of results used in a study to calculate an overall effect size. This practice is problematic because the factors that develop one type of learner outcome (e.g. learner rehabilitation), particularly course characteristics and practices, may be quite different from those that develop another type of outcome (e.g. learner's achievement), and it may even cause damage to the latter outcome. While mixing the studies with different types of results, this implementation may obscure the relationship between practices and learning.

Some meta-analytical studies have focused on the effectiveness of the new generation distance learning courses accessed through the internet for specific student populations. For instance, Sitzmann and others (Sitzmann et al., 2006 ) reviewed 96 studies published from 1996 to 2005, comparing web-based education of job-related knowledge or skills with face-to-face one. The researchers found that web-based education in general was slightly more effective than face-to-face education, but it is insufficient in terms of applicability ("knowing how to apply"). In addition, Sitzmann et al. ( 2006 ) revealed that Internet-based education has a positive effect on theoretical knowledge in quasi-experimental studies; however, it positively affects face-to-face education in experimental studies performed by random assignment. This moderator analysis emphasizes the need to pay attention to the factors of designs of the studies included in the meta-analysis. The designs of the studies included in this meta-analysis study were ignored. This can be presented as a suggestion to the new studies that will be conducted.

Another meta-analysis study was conducted by Cavanaugh et al. ( 2004 ), in which they focused on online education. In this study on internet-based distance education programs for students under 12 years of age, the researchers combined 116 results from 14 studies published between 1999 and 2004 to calculate an overall effect that was not statistically different from zero. The moderator analysis carried out in this study showed that there was no significant factor affecting the students' success. This meta-analysis used multiple results of the same study, ignoring the fact that different results of the same student would not be independent from each other.

In conclusion, some meta-analytical studies analyzed the consequences of online education for a wide range of students (Bernard et al., 2004 ; Zhao et al., 2005 ), and the effect sizes were generally low in these studies. Furthermore, none of the large-scale meta-analyzes considered the moderators, database quality standards or class levels in the selection of the studies, while some of them just referred to the country and lecture moderators. Advances in internet-based learning tools, the pandemic process, and increasing popularity in different learning contexts have required a precise meta-analysis of students' learning outcomes through online learning. Previous meta-analysis studies were typically based on the studies, involving narrow range of confounding variables. In the present study, common but significant moderators such as class level and lectures during the pandemic process were discussed. For instance, the problems have been experienced especially in terms of eligibility of class levels in online education platforms during the pandemic process. It was found that there is a need to study and make suggestions on whether online education can meet the needs of teachers and students.

Besides, the main forms of online education in the past were to watch the open lectures of famous universities and educational videos of institutions. In addition, online education is mainly a classroom-based teaching implemented by teachers in their own schools during the pandemic period, which is an extension of the original school education. This meta-analysis study will stand as a source to compare the effect size of the online education forms of the past decade with what is done today, and what will be done in the future.

Lastly, the heterogeneity test results of the meta-analysis study display that the effect size does not differ in terms of class level, country, online education approaches, and lecture moderators.

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*Yu, F. Y., & Pan, K. J. (2014). The effects of student question-generation with online prompts on learning. Educational Technology and Society, 17 (3), 267–279. Retrieved on the 15th November 2020 from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.565.643&rep=rep1&type=pdf

*Yu, W. F., She, H. C., & Lee, Y. M. (2010). The effects of web-based/non-web-based problem-solving instruction and high/low achievement on students’ problem-solving ability and biology achievement. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 47 (2), 187–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703291003718927

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Ulum, H. The effects of online education on academic success: A meta-analysis study. Educ Inf Technol 27 , 429–450 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10740-8

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Online Learning Essay

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Weaknesses of Online Learning

Strengths of online learning.

Online learning has become a popular means of studying in the wake of COVID-19. Many educators have been reluctant and skeptical about it, but a majority have accepted it with open arms. The skeptics have put good enough reasons against it. Supporters say that the benefits far out way the disadvantages. Amidst that confusion, it would be important to take a deep look into the subject and see the disadvantages and the advantages of online learning.

Online learning, like many other emerging technological advancements, comes with its share of problems. First, the technology needed for this learning is expensive, and many cannot afford the needed resources (Dhawan, 2020). Apart from costs, Online learning makes a student be left isolated, leading to poor interpersonal skills; hence most end up not being team players (Arkorful & Abaidoo, 2014). The absence of interpersonal interactions is also a major factor for dissatisfaction in online classes; this affects both students and educators and may lead to depression (Islam, Beer, and Slack, 2015). Lack of motivation due to the absence of the personal presence of fellow students and teachers is observed in online classes (al Rawashdeh et al., 2021). Online classes are also known to encourage some unethical learning behaviors like cheating.

Some students also don’t have self-discipline, making them less underprivileged than their fellow students. This can also be observed in some educators’ slight online classes, and thus interruptions become common. Some educators do not uphold the level of professionalism required in an online class but do in traditional classes. Apart from discipline, some students are deprived of proper technology. Some have low-quality devices, and some don’t have WIFI, and others are constantly disrupted by technicalities. Some of the other reasons why some educators are skeptical about online classes include; More screen time on computers leading to eye problems and insomnia. Other reasons include some educators not internet survey hence additional training is required, online classes make learners easily procrastinate, practical classes are not well supported by online learning, and perhaps some educators fear it may make them lose jobs.

Despite the obvious disadvantages, the advantages that online learning comes with are clear. First, online learning reduces the use of traveling resources and other expenses such as the time one incurs when going to and from classes. In research from Mukhtar et al. (2020), “Faculty opined that online learning helped ensure remote learning, it was manageable, and students could conveniently access teachers and teaching materials” (p.3). Online learning has a particular benefit to university and college students compared to junior learning institutions. The benefits of e-learning to higher learning institutions are many and include: increased enrollment, learning online promotes the institutions, it increases productivity, saving time, and encourages innovation (Quyen & Phong, 2019). It would be interesting to see the benefits online learning brings to universities being transferred to eight-year old’s as they need more time with their parents.

Critics say that online learning comes with much freedom leading to negligence. Students are known to love being in control of their learning schedule, but some do not have discipline. This is the reason why many students are for it because they can learn when they want to (St. John Fisher College, 2015). This trait helps the students to achieve great work, school, and play balance, optimizing their productivity. Freedom can come with many benefits, including having time to spend with loved ones, exercising, and building good habits. Online learning also brings a degree of discipline to the learners. Since learners have to make their own timetable and office, a student is able to practice organizational skills needed in the workplace.

Online classes give students the choice of selection of preferred teachers. Assuming a school has three educators, in the traditional setting, students would normally be allocated randomly and freedom to change class minimized. In online classes, students can easily request a transfer online or just get a link to their preferred educator. The benefits are many and are not only associated with students but also educators, school management, and particularly online learning facilitators who get a source of income. For instance, lecturers can record more lessons than they would have time to in a classroom setting and send the link addresses to the students.

All advancements come with many disadvantages and gain a fair share of critics, and so does online learning. Nevertheless, with technological advancement, some of the disadvantages seem to be mitigated further with each passing day. The critics of the method of learning had their nails bitten in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, where the method stopped being an alternative but the main method of study. Having proved their use, more and more people are now more open to learning online. Some circumstances make online learning the ideal method, while others favor the face-to-face method. It is thus the role of educators to do research and find out the ones that best fit online learning.

Arkorful, V., & Abaidoo, N. (2014). The Role of e-Learning, the Advantages, and Disadvantages of Its Adoption in Higher Education. Journal of Computer and Communications , 3 (12), 397–410.

Islam, N., Beer, M., & Slack, F. (2015). E-Learning Challenges Faced by Academics in Higher Education: A Literature Review . Journal of Education and Training Studies , 3 (5).

Dhawan, S. (2020). Online Learning: A Panacea in the Time of COVID-19 Crisis. Journal of Educational Technology Systems , 49 (1), 5–22.

Mukhtar, K., Javed, K., Arooj, M., & Sethi, A. (2020). Advantages, Limitations, and Recommendations for online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Quyen, L. H. T., & Phong, T. G. (2019). Roles of E-learning in Higher Education. Journal of Critical Reviews , 6 (4), 7–13. Web.

Rawashdeh, A. L., Z, A., et al., (2021). Advantages and Disadvantages of Using e-Learning in University Education: Analyzing Students’ Perspectives . The Electronic Journal of E-Learning , 19 (3), 107–117.

St. John Fisher College. (2015). Online Learning Revealing the Benefits and Challenges (Masters dissertation). Fisher Digital Publications. Web.

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How Effective Is Online Learning? What the Research Does and Doesn’t Tell Us

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Editor’s Note: This is part of a series on the practical takeaways from research.

The times have dictated school closings and the rapid expansion of online education. Can online lessons replace in-school time?

Clearly online time cannot provide many of the informal social interactions students have at school, but how will online courses do in terms of moving student learning forward? Research to date gives us some clues and also points us to what we could be doing to support students who are most likely to struggle in the online setting.

The use of virtual courses among K-12 students has grown rapidly in recent years. Florida, for example, requires all high school students to take at least one online course. Online learning can take a number of different forms. Often people think of Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, where thousands of students watch a video online and fill out questionnaires or take exams based on those lectures.

In the online setting, students may have more distractions and less oversight, which can reduce their motivation.

Most online courses, however, particularly those serving K-12 students, have a format much more similar to in-person courses. The teacher helps to run virtual discussion among the students, assigns homework, and follows up with individual students. Sometimes these courses are synchronous (teachers and students all meet at the same time) and sometimes they are asynchronous (non-concurrent). In both cases, the teacher is supposed to provide opportunities for students to engage thoughtfully with subject matter, and students, in most cases, are required to interact with each other virtually.

Coronavirus and Schools

Online courses provide opportunities for students. Students in a school that doesn’t offer statistics classes may be able to learn statistics with virtual lessons. If students fail algebra, they may be able to catch up during evenings or summer using online classes, and not disrupt their math trajectory at school. So, almost certainly, online classes sometimes benefit students.

In comparisons of online and in-person classes, however, online classes aren’t as effective as in-person classes for most students. Only a little research has assessed the effects of online lessons for elementary and high school students, and even less has used the “gold standard” method of comparing the results for students assigned randomly to online or in-person courses. Jessica Heppen and colleagues at the American Institutes for Research and the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research randomly assigned students who had failed second semester Algebra I to either face-to-face or online credit recovery courses over the summer. Students’ credit-recovery success rates and algebra test scores were lower in the online setting. Students assigned to the online option also rated their class as more difficult than did their peers assigned to the face-to-face option.

Most of the research on online courses for K-12 students has used large-scale administrative data, looking at otherwise similar students in the two settings. One of these studies, by June Ahn of New York University and Andrew McEachin of the RAND Corp., examined Ohio charter schools; I did another with colleagues looking at Florida public school coursework. Both studies found evidence that online coursetaking was less effective.

About this series

This essay is the fifth in a series that aims to put the pieces of research together so that education decisionmakers can evaluate which policies and practices to implement.

The conveners of this project—Susanna Loeb, the director of Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform, and Harvard education professor Heather Hill—have received grant support from the Annenberg Institute for this series.

To suggest other topics for this series or join in the conversation, use #EdResearchtoPractice on Twitter.

Read the full series here .

It is not surprising that in-person courses are, on average, more effective. Being in person with teachers and other students creates social pressures and benefits that can help motivate students to engage. Some students do as well in online courses as in in-person courses, some may actually do better, but, on average, students do worse in the online setting, and this is particularly true for students with weaker academic backgrounds.

Students who struggle in in-person classes are likely to struggle even more online. While the research on virtual schools in K-12 education doesn’t address these differences directly, a study of college students that I worked on with Stanford colleagues found very little difference in learning for high-performing students in the online and in-person settings. On the other hand, lower performing students performed meaningfully worse in online courses than in in-person courses.

But just because students who struggle in in-person classes are even more likely to struggle online doesn’t mean that’s inevitable. Online teachers will need to consider the needs of less-engaged students and work to engage them. Online courses might be made to work for these students on average, even if they have not in the past.

Just like in brick-and-mortar classrooms, online courses need a strong curriculum and strong pedagogical practices. Teachers need to understand what students know and what they don’t know, as well as how to help them learn new material. What is different in the online setting is that students may have more distractions and less oversight, which can reduce their motivation. The teacher will need to set norms for engagement—such as requiring students to regularly ask questions and respond to their peers—that are different than the norms in the in-person setting.

Online courses are generally not as effective as in-person classes, but they are certainly better than no classes. A substantial research base developed by Karl Alexander at Johns Hopkins University and many others shows that students, especially students with fewer resources at home, learn less when they are not in school. Right now, virtual courses are allowing students to access lessons and exercises and interact with teachers in ways that would have been impossible if an epidemic had closed schools even a decade or two earlier. So we may be skeptical of online learning, but it is also time to embrace and improve it.

A version of this article appeared in the April 01, 2020 edition of Education Week as How Effective Is Online Learning?

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• Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Digital Learning Compass: Distance Education Enrollment Report 2017. Babson Survey Group.
• Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2010). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. US Department of Education.
• Li, N., Marsh, G. E., & Peltier, J. W. (2020). Exploring students’ motivations and challenges in online courses: A self-determination theory perspective. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 18(1), 56-79.
• Murphy, E., & Rodriguez-Manzanares, M. A. (2017). Students’ experiences in online courses: A qualitative research synthesis. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(5).
• Simonson, M., Schlosser, C., & Orellana, A. (2011). Distance education research: A review of the literature. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 23(2-3), 124-142.

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A new report found that the heavy dependence on technology during the pandemic caused “staggering” education inequality. What was your experience?

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During the coronavirus pandemic, many schools moved classes online. Was your school one of them? If so, what was it like to attend school online? Did you enjoy it? Did it work for you?

In “ Dependence on Tech Caused ‘Staggering’ Education Inequality, U.N. Agency Says ,” Natasha Singer writes:

In early 2020, as the coronavirus spread, schools around the world abruptly halted in-person education. To many governments and parents, moving classes online seemed the obvious stopgap solution. In the United States, school districts scrambled to secure digital devices for students. Almost overnight, videoconferencing software like Zoom became the main platform teachers used to deliver real-time instruction to students at home. Now a report from UNESCO , the United Nations’ educational and cultural organization, says that overreliance on remote learning technology during the pandemic led to “staggering” education inequality around the world. It was, according to a 655-page report that UNESCO released on Wednesday, a worldwide “ed-tech tragedy.” The report, from UNESCO’s Future of Education division, is likely to add fuel to the debate over how governments and local school districts handled pandemic restrictions, and whether it would have been better for some countries to reopen schools for in-person instruction sooner. The UNESCO researchers argued in the report that “unprecedented” dependence on technology — intended to ensure that children could continue their schooling — worsened disparities and learning loss for hundreds of millions of students around the world, including in Kenya, Brazil, Britain and the United States. The promotion of remote online learning as the primary solution for pandemic schooling also hindered public discussion of more equitable, lower-tech alternatives, such as regularly providing schoolwork packets for every student, delivering school lessons by radio or television — and reopening schools sooner for in-person classes, the researchers said. “Available evidence strongly indicates that the bright spots of the ed-tech experiences during the pandemic, while important and deserving of attention, were vastly eclipsed by failure,” the UNESCO report said. The UNESCO researchers recommended that education officials prioritize in-person instruction with teachers, not online platforms, as the primary driver of student learning. And they encouraged schools to ensure that emerging technologies like A.I. chatbots concretely benefited students before introducing them for educational use. Education and industry experts welcomed the report, saying more research on the effects of pandemic learning was needed. “The report’s conclusion — that societies must be vigilant about the ways digital tools are reshaping education — is incredibly important,” said Paul Lekas, the head of global public policy for the Software & Information Industry Association, a group whose members include Amazon, Apple and Google. “There are lots of lessons that can be learned from how digital education occurred during the pandemic and ways in which to lessen the digital divide. ” Jean-Claude Brizard, the chief executive of Digital Promise, a nonprofit education group that has received funding from Google, HP and Verizon, acknowledged that “technology is not a cure-all.” But he also said that while school systems were largely unprepared for the pandemic, online education tools helped foster “more individualized, enhanced learning experiences as schools shifted to virtual classrooms.” ​Education International, an umbrella organization for about 380 teachers’ unions and 32 million teachers worldwide, said the UNESCO report underlined the importance of in-person, face-to-face teaching. “The report tells us definitively what we already know to be true, a place called school matters,” said Haldis Holst, the group’s deputy general secretary. “Education is not transactional nor is it simply content delivery. It is relational. It is social. It is human at its core.”

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Home — Essay Samples — Education — Online Vs. Traditional Classes — Online Learning vs Face-to-Face

Online Learning Vs Face-to-face

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Advantages of online learning, disadvantages of online learning, advantages of face-to-face education, disadvantages of face-to-face education.

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Lessons About Online Learning

By  Yoram Neumann and Edith Neumann

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In its infancy, online learning was viewed as a more accessible alternative for students unable to commit to the traditional higher education path. But in recent years online education has been gaining more acceptance. The most recent U.S. Department of Education data from fall 2014 indicate that 5.8 million students took at least one online course, with 2.85 million of them studying exclusively online. After thousands of online launches and millions of students, it is important to assess the advancement made in online learning as we look to further enhance online learning for future students.

Thirty years ago, we committed ourselves to a long-term program of research into higher education and how to improve it. Together, we have conducted several studies on student learning at colleges and universities.

Several factors emerged as determinants of students’ academic performance and related outcomes, such as retention, graduation, satisfaction and commitment toward their college or university. The four major predictors of student learning outcomes were:

• student engagement and involvement in a variety of activities aimed at different cognitive domains of learning;
• student-faculty contact, including faculty members’ helpfulness and accessibility -- as manifested through the immediacy of feedback and a concern for students and their problems;
• factors related to degree programs, including the integration and relevance of the various required and elective courses, as well as the quality of teaching focused on student learning and of academic advising; and
• learning opportunities beyond traditional courses, including opportunities to engage in self-directed learning and address critical issues in the course.

In addition to our interest in advancing policy-based knowledge in higher education, we have held leadership positions at several colleges and universities and have been involved in pioneering distance and online learning programs. In 1996, we developed a vision for a new online university in which all functions (academic, support, services and administrative) were directly linked to the development of a comprehensive online learning environment. We named it the Robust Learning Model , and all components of the model were designed to:

• enable systematic applications to all degree programs;
• be relevant for many groups of learners -- including adult and mobile learners;
• have a mechanism for accountability, transparency and quality assurance;
• use resources efficiently aimed at affordable tuition;
• develop a budget and resource-allocation plan based on projected enrollment growth and predefined quality improvements; and
• demonstrate a verifiable attainment of learning outcomes for students for each degree program.

The pedagogy included a completely interactive threaded discussion that allowed students to interact and engage with faculty members as well as each other. For each course, we introduced problem-based learning through case studies and project-based learning through a signature assignment. Self-reflection was included as part of the course as well as through a required essay at the end of the course. And when it came to assessment, the RLM was, to our knowledge, the first attempt to align institutional learning outcomes, program learning outcomes and course learning outcomes.

In 1998, we founded Touro University International, an independent branch campus of Touro College New York, using the RLM approach to online learning. It became a separately accredited institution and an academic and financial success. (Sold in 2007, it was later renamed Trident University International.)

Then, in 2012, we rejoined Touro in a new role of turnaround management for a division that it opened in 2008 named Touro University Worldwide. In the past four years, we have implemented a more advanced version of the RLM, based on our past experience with it and cloud and mobile technology, as well as on new developments in our conceptual map for an online university.

Throughout our two decades of experience, we have continued to improve the comprehensive learner-focused model using continuous assessment, experimentation and tests of new ideas and innovations. What have we learned about the factors in the online learning environment that directly or indirectly affect students’ learning performance?

Lessons Learned

• The major factor that consistently predicts successful performance outcomes is the student’s skill at learning to learn. By this we mean the student’s ability to persist in learning through an awareness of his or her learning needs, to effectively search for information and raise questions, to manage time to focus on learning, and to acquire or use support mechanisms to overcome challenges. Students with a high learning-to-learn ability will successfully prepare in advance how to progress and benefit from their learning experiences as well as persevere in finding the path to learning, despite adverse circumstances. We have continuously improved the learning model and the online learning environment by focusing  pedagogy, faculty-student interactions, student-to-student interactions, self-reflection and the variety of learning strategies and activities to support students in their improvement of this ability.
• Engagement in a variety of learning activities and assignments -- problem identification, problem solving, analytical tools, projects, reflective inquiry, discussions, critical thinking -- enhances learning outcomes when a component of self-assessment is added to each of those activities.
• Engagement in a variety of learning activities and assignments improves learning outcomes when the feedback received from the professor and/or other learners is immediate (less than 24 hours), constructive, substantial and (in case of professor feedback) guides students in how to strengthen their learning efficacy.
• The professor’s direct involvement in all facets of course development and management -- including design, instruction, meaningful and frequent interactions with the learners and assessment -- enhances student learning outcomes across all degree levels and programs. When the learning experience is divided (unbundled) among several segments, student learning outcomes are considerably lower. We have tried unbundling the learning process and have experimented with course developers and designers, teaching assistants, mentors, success coaches and a learning team, and we have always received inferior results compared to when a faculty member is fully involved in all facets of the course.
• Periodic course assessment and improvement based on self-reflection and peers’ and previous students’ comments can boost student learning outcomes. The key is to explicitly examine, for all courses across the institution, what worked well and what did not work previously for the same course.
• An eight-week session maximizes learning outcomes for adult learners (24 or older), compared to a four- or 12-week session. A 12-week session maximized learning outcomes for traditionally college-age students (23 or younger), compared to a four- or eight-week session.
• With all other learning activities and assignments remaining the same, courses without a problem-based learning component have resulted in lower learning outcomes compared with courses that include it.
• Similarly, courses without a project-based component, a threaded discussion or a self-reflective component result in lower learning outcomes compared with courses that include them.
• Students who receive either professors’ or peers’ constructive feedback at least twice a week substantially outperform those who do not.
• Students who perform mid-session self-assessment with the professor’s constructive feedback on that self-assessment outperform students who do not.
• Students who submit their learning assignment ahead of the deadline outperform students who wait until the last minute.
• Students who participate in precourse learning orientation activities (related to time planning, learning tips and a variety of supporting techniques) outperform students who do not.
• Students with high levels of student-faculty or student-to-student interactions in threaded discussions outperform students with lower levels of interactive learning.
• Students who received weekly tips directly from their professors encouraging them to take control of their learning activities outperform students who do not receive such tips. This finding led us to implement this practice as part of the threaded discussion.
• Students who can relate the signature assignment as well as the capstone to their work environment outperform students who cannot.
• Adding academic quality assurance -- staffed by an experienced senior faculty member who works collaboratively with all professors to study the lessons learned and implement the derived improvements into the online learning environment -- enhances student learning outcomes.
• When comparing online students using our model with students taking the same course with the same professor under the traditional classroom model, online students outperform their face-to-face counterparts.
• All the aforementioned factors that enhance learning outcomes also increase student retention rates as well as graduation rates, while reducing the time to degree across all degree levels and degree programs.

Of the various lessons that we have discussed in this piece, some are related to policy issues currently on the agenda of higher education and its future directions, such as MOOCs, competency-based education, the unbundling of the learning process and the like. Our lessons are based on the distinct learning model and web-based learning environment that we envisioned, developed and implemented -- and are important additions to the public discourse. That said, they are not intended to be the ultimate conclusion applied to all online learning environments, nor are they intended to end discussion of these important issues. As educators, it is our responsibility to continue to examine and improve how our students learn through online education.

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Assessing the impact of online-learning effectiveness and benefits in knowledge management, the antecedent of online-learning strategies and motivations: an empirical study.

1. Introduction

2. literature review and research hypothesis, 2.1. online-learning self-efficacy terminology, 2.2. online-learning monitoring terminology, 2.3. online-learning confidence in technology terminology, 2.4. online-learning willpower terminology, 2.5. online-learning attitude terminology, 2.6. online-learning motivation terminology, 2.7. online-learning strategies and online-learning effectiveness terminology, 2.8. online-learning effectiveness terminology, 3. research method, 3.1. instruments, 3.2. data analysis and results, 4.1. reliability and validity analysis, 4.2. hypothesis result, 5. discussion, 6. conclusions, 7. limitations and future directions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Share and Cite

Hongsuchon, T.; Emary, I.M.M.E.; Hariguna, T.; Qhal, E.M.A. Assessing the Impact of Online-Learning Effectiveness and Benefits in Knowledge Management, the Antecedent of Online-Learning Strategies and Motivations: An Empirical Study. Sustainability 2022 , 14 , 2570. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052570

Hongsuchon T, Emary IMME, Hariguna T, Qhal EMA. Assessing the Impact of Online-Learning Effectiveness and Benefits in Knowledge Management, the Antecedent of Online-Learning Strategies and Motivations: An Empirical Study. Sustainability . 2022; 14(5):2570. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052570

Hongsuchon, Tanaporn, Ibrahiem M. M. El Emary, Taqwa Hariguna, and Eissa Mohammed Ali Qhal. 2022. "Assessing the Impact of Online-Learning Effectiveness and Benefits in Knowledge Management, the Antecedent of Online-Learning Strategies and Motivations: An Empirical Study" Sustainability 14, no. 5: 2570. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052570

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Online and face‐to‐face learning: Evidence from students’ performance during the Covid‐19 pandemic

Carolyn chisadza.

1 Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Hatfield South Africa

Matthew Clance

Thulani mthembu.

2 Department of Education Innovation, University of Pretoria, Hatfield South Africa

Nicky Nicholls

Eleni yitbarek.

This study investigates the factors that predict students' performance after transitioning from face‐to‐face to online learning as a result of the Covid‐19 pandemic. It uses students' responses from survey questions and the difference in the average assessment grades between pre‐lockdown and post‐lockdown at a South African university. We find that students' performance was positively associated with good wifi access, relative to using mobile internet data. We also observe lower academic performance for students who found transitioning to online difficult and who expressed a preference for self‐study (i.e. reading through class slides and notes) over assisted study (i.e. joining live lectures or watching recorded lectures). The findings suggest that improving digital infrastructure and reducing the cost of internet access may be necessary for mitigating the impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic on education outcomes.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Covid‐19 pandemic has been a wake‐up call to many countries regarding their capacity to cater for mass online education. This situation has been further complicated in developing countries, such as South Africa, who lack the digital infrastructure for the majority of the population. The extended lockdown in South Africa saw most of the universities with mainly in‐person teaching scrambling to source hardware (e.g. laptops, internet access), software (e.g. Microsoft packages, data analysis packages) and internet data for disadvantaged students in order for the semester to recommence. Not only has the pandemic revealed the already stark inequality within the tertiary student population, but it has also revealed that high internet data costs in South Africa may perpetuate this inequality, making online education relatively inaccessible for disadvantaged students. 1

The lockdown in South Africa made it possible to investigate the changes in second‐year students' performance in the Economics department at the University of Pretoria. In particular, we are interested in assessing what factors predict changes in students' performance after transitioning from face‐to‐face (F2F) to online learning. Our main objectives in answering this study question are to establish what study materials the students were able to access (i.e. slides, recordings, or live sessions) and how students got access to these materials (i.e. the infrastructure they used).

The benefits of education on economic development are well established in the literature (Gyimah‐Brempong,  2011 ), ranging from health awareness (Glick et al.,  2009 ), improved technological innovations, to increased capacity development and employment opportunities for the youth (Anyanwu,  2013 ; Emediegwu,  2021 ). One of the ways in which inequality is perpetuated in South Africa, and Africa as a whole, is through access to education (Anyanwu,  2016 ; Coetzee,  2014 ; Tchamyou et al.,  2019 ); therefore, understanding the obstacles that students face in transitioning to online learning can be helpful in ensuring more equal access to education.

Using students' responses from survey questions and the difference in the average grades between pre‐lockdown and post‐lockdown, our findings indicate that students' performance in the online setting was positively associated with better internet access. Accessing assisted study material, such as narrated slides or recordings of the online lectures, also helped students. We also find lower academic performance for students who reported finding transitioning to online difficult and for those who expressed a preference for self‐study (i.e. reading through class slides and notes) over assisted study (i.e. joining live lectures or watching recorded lectures). The average grades between pre‐lockdown and post‐lockdown were about two points and three points lower for those who reported transitioning to online teaching difficult and for those who indicated a preference for self‐study, respectively. The findings suggest that improving the quality of internet infrastructure and providing assisted learning can be beneficial in reducing the adverse effects of the Covid‐19 pandemic on learning outcomes.

Our study contributes to the literature by examining the changes in the online (post‐lockdown) performance of students and their F2F (pre‐lockdown) performance. This approach differs from previous studies that, in most cases, use between‐subject designs where one group of students following online learning is compared to a different group of students attending F2F lectures (Almatra et al.,  2015 ; Brown & Liedholm,  2002 ). This approach has a limitation in that that there may be unobserved characteristics unique to students choosing online learning that differ from those choosing F2F lectures. Our approach avoids this issue because we use a within‐subject design: we compare the performance of the same students who followed F2F learning Before lockdown and moved to online learning during lockdown due to the Covid‐19 pandemic. Moreover, the study contributes to the limited literature that compares F2F and online learning in developing countries.

Several studies that have also compared the effectiveness of online learning and F2F classes encounter methodological weaknesses, such as small samples, not controlling for demographic characteristics, and substantial differences in course materials and assessments between online and F2F contexts. To address these shortcomings, our study is based on a relatively large sample of students and includes demographic characteristics such as age, gender and perceived family income classification. The lecturer and course materials also remained similar in the online and F2F contexts. A significant proportion of our students indicated that they never had online learning experience before. Less than 20% of the students in the sample had previous experience with online learning. This highlights the fact that online education is still relatively new to most students in our sample.

Given the global experience of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), 2 with rapidly accelerating technological progress, South Africa needs to be prepared for the possibility of online learning becoming the new norm in the education system. To this end, policymakers may consider engaging with various organizations (schools, universities, colleges, private sector, and research facilities) To adopt interventions that may facilitate the transition to online learning, while at the same time ensuring fair access to education for all students across different income levels. 3

1.1. Related literature

Online learning is a form of distance education which mainly involves internet‐based education where courses are offered synchronously (i.e. live sessions online) and/or asynchronously (i.e. students access course materials online in their own time, which is associated with the more traditional distance education). On the other hand, traditional F2F learning is real time or synchronous learning. In a physical classroom, instructors engage with the students in real time, while in the online format instructors can offer real time lectures through learning management systems (e.g. Blackboard Collaborate), or record the lectures for the students to watch later. Purely online courses are offered entirely over the internet, while blended learning combines traditional F2F classes with learning over the internet, and learning supported by other technologies (Nguyen,  2015 ).

Moreover, designing online courses requires several considerations. For example, the quality of the learning environment, the ease of using the learning platform, the learning outcomes to be achieved, instructor support to assist and motivate students to engage with the course material, peer interaction, class participation, type of assessments (Paechter & Maier,  2010 ), not to mention training of the instructor in adopting and introducing new teaching methods online (Lundberg et al.,  2008 ). In online learning, instructors are more facilitators of learning. On the other hand, traditional F2F classes are structured in such a way that the instructor delivers knowledge, is better able to gauge understanding and interest of students, can engage in class activities, and can provide immediate feedback on clarifying questions during the class. Additionally, the designing of traditional F2F courses can be less time consuming for instructors compared to online courses (Navarro,  2000 ).

Online learning is also particularly suited for nontraditional students who require flexibility due to work or family commitments that are not usually associated with the undergraduate student population (Arias et al.,  2018 ). Initially the nontraditional student belonged to the older adult age group, but with blended learning becoming more commonplace in high schools, colleges and universities, online learning has begun to traverse a wider range of age groups. However, traditional F2F classes are still more beneficial for learners that are not so self‐sufficient and lack discipline in working through the class material in the required time frame (Arias et al.,  2018 ).

For the purpose of this literature review, both pure online and blended learning are considered to be online learning because much of the evidence in the literature compares these two types against the traditional F2F learning. The debate in the literature surrounding online learning versus F2F teaching continues to be a contentious one. A review of the literature reveals mixed findings when comparing the efficacy of online learning on student performance in relation to the traditional F2F medium of instruction (Lundberg et al.,  2008 ; Nguyen,  2015 ). A number of studies conducted Before the 2000s find what is known today in the empirical literature as the “No Significant Difference” phenomenon (Russell & International Distance Education Certificate Center (IDECC),  1999 ). The seminal work from Russell and IDECC ( 1999 ) involved over 350 comparative studies on online/distance learning versus F2F learning, dating back to 1928. The author finds no significant difference overall between online and traditional F2F classroom education outcomes. Subsequent studies that followed find similar “no significant difference” outcomes (Arbaugh,  2000 ; Fallah & Ubell,  2000 ; Freeman & Capper,  1999 ; Johnson et al.,  2000 ; Neuhauser,  2002 ). While Bernard et al. ( 2004 ) also find that overall there is no significant difference in achievement between online education and F2F education, the study does find significant heterogeneity in student performance for different activities. The findings show that students in F2F classes outperform the students participating in synchronous online classes (i.e. classes that require online students to participate in live sessions at specific times). However, asynchronous online classes (i.e. students access class materials at their own time online) outperform F2F classes.

More recent studies find significant results for online learning outcomes in relation to F2F outcomes. On the one hand, Shachar and Yoram ( 2003 ) and Shachar and Neumann ( 2010 ) conduct a meta‐analysis of studies from 1990 to 2009 and find that in 70% of the cases, students taking courses by online education outperformed students in traditionally instructed courses (i.e. F2F lectures). In addition, Navarro and Shoemaker ( 2000 ) observe that learning outcomes for online learners are as effective as or better than outcomes for F2F learners, regardless of background characteristics. In a study on computer science students, Dutton et al. ( 2002 ) find online students perform significantly better compared to the students who take the same course on campus. A meta‐analysis conducted by the US Department of Education finds that students who took all or part of their course online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional F2F instructions. The report also finds that the effect sizes are larger for studies in which the online learning was collaborative or instructor‐driven than in those studies where online learners worked independently (Means et al.,  2010 ).

On the other hand, evidence by Brown and Liedholm ( 2002 ) based on test scores from macroeconomics students in the United States suggest that F2F students tend to outperform online students. These findings are supported by Coates et al. ( 2004 ) who base their study on macroeconomics students in the United States, and Xu and Jaggars ( 2014 ) who find negative effects for online students using a data set of about 500,000 courses taken by over 40,000 students in Washington. Furthermore, Almatra et al. ( 2015 ) compare overall course grades between online and F2F students for a Telecommunications course and find that F2F students significantly outperform online learning students. In an experimental study where students are randomly assigned to attend live lectures versus watching the same lectures online, Figlio et al. ( 2013 ) observe some evidence that the traditional format has a positive effect compared to online format. Interestingly, Callister and Love ( 2016 ) specifically compare the learning outcomes of online versus F2F skills‐based courses and find that F2F learners earned better outcomes than online learners even when using the same technology. This study highlights that some of the inconsistencies that we find in the results comparing online to F2F learning might be influenced by the nature of the course: theory‐based courses might be less impacted by in‐person interaction than skills‐based courses.

The fact that the reviewed studies on the effects of F2F versus online learning on student performance have been mainly focused in developed countries indicates the dearth of similar studies being conducted in developing countries. This gap in the literature may also highlight a salient point: online learning is still relatively underexplored in developing countries. The lockdown in South Africa therefore provides us with an opportunity to contribute to the existing literature from a developing country context.

2. CONTEXT OF STUDY

South Africa went into national lockdown in March 2020 due to the Covid‐19 pandemic. Like most universities in the country, the first semester for undergraduate courses at the University of Pretoria had already been running since the start of the academic year in February. Before the pandemic, a number of F2F lectures and assessments had already been conducted in most courses. The nationwide lockdown forced the university, which was mainly in‐person teaching, to move to full online learning for the remainder of the semester. This forced shift from F2F teaching to online learning allows us to investigate the changes in students' performance.

Before lockdown, classes were conducted on campus. During lockdown, these live classes were moved to an online platform, Blackboard Collaborate, which could be accessed by all registered students on the university intranet (“ClickUP”). However, these live online lectures involve substantial internet data costs for students. To ensure access to course content for those students who were unable to attend the live online lectures due to poor internet connections or internet data costs, several options for accessing course content were made available. These options included prerecorded narrated slides (which required less usage of internet data), recordings of the live online lectures, PowerPoint slides with explanatory notes and standard PDF lecture slides.

At the same time, the university managed to procure and loan out laptops to a number of disadvantaged students, and negotiated with major mobile internet data providers in the country for students to have free access to study material through the university's “connect” website (also referred to as the zero‐rated website). However, this free access excluded some video content and live online lectures (see Table  1 ). The university also provided between 10 and 20 gigabytes of mobile internet data per month, depending on the network provider, sent to students' mobile phones to assist with internet data costs.

Sites available on zero‐rated website

Note : The table summarizes the sites that were available on the zero‐rated website and those that incurred data costs.

High data costs continue to be a contentious issue in Africa where average incomes are low. Gilbert ( 2019 ) reports that South Africa ranked 16th of the 45 countries researched in terms of the most expensive internet data in Africa, at US$6.81 per gigabyte, in comparison to other Southern African countries such as Mozambique (US$1.97), Zambia (US$2.70), and Lesotho (US$4.09). Internet data prices have also been called into question in South Africa after the Competition Commission published a report from its Data Services Market Inquiry calling the country's internet data pricing “excessive” (Gilbert,  2019 ).

3. EMPIRICAL APPROACH

We use a sample of 395 s‐year students taking a macroeconomics module in the Economics department to compare the effects of F2F and online learning on students' performance using a range of assessments. The module was an introduction to the application of theoretical economic concepts. The content was both theory‐based (developing economic growth models using concepts and equations) and skill‐based (application involving the collection of data from online data sources and analyzing the data using statistical software). Both individual and group assignments formed part of the assessments. Before the end of the semester, during lockdown in June 2020, we asked the students to complete a survey with questions related to the transition from F2F to online learning and the difficulties that they may have faced. For example, we asked the students: (i) how easy or difficult they found the transition from F2F to online lectures; (ii) what internet options were available to them and which they used the most to access the online prescribed work; (iii) what format of content they accessed and which they preferred the most (i.e. self‐study material in the form of PDF and PowerPoint slides with notes vs. assisted study with narrated slides and lecture recordings); (iv) what difficulties they faced accessing the live online lectures, to name a few. Figure  1 summarizes the key survey questions that we asked the students regarding their transition from F2F to online learning.

Summary of survey data

Before the lockdown, the students had already attended several F2F classes and completed three assessments. We are therefore able to create a dependent variable that is comprised of the average grades of three assignments taken before lockdown and the average grades of three assignments taken after the start of the lockdown for each student. Specifically, we use the difference between the post‐ and pre‐lockdown average grades as the dependent variable. However, the number of student observations dropped to 275 due to some students missing one or more of the assessments. The lecturer, content and format of the assessments remain similar across the module. We estimate the following equation using ordinary least squares (OLS) with robust standard errors:

where Y i is the student's performance measured by the difference between the post and pre‐lockdown average grades. B represents the vector of determinants that measure the difficulty faced by students to transition from F2F to online learning. This vector includes access to the internet, study material preferred, quality of the online live lecture sessions and pre‐lockdown class attendance. X is the vector of student demographic controls such as race, gender and an indicator if the student's perceived family income is below average. The ε i is unobserved student characteristics.

4. ANALYSIS

4.1. descriptive statistics.

Table  2 gives an overview of the sample of students. We find that among the black students, a higher proportion of students reported finding the transition to online learning more difficult. On the other hand, more white students reported finding the transition moderately easy, as did the other races. According to Coetzee ( 2014 ), the quality of schools can vary significantly between higher income and lower‐income areas, with black South Africans far more likely to live in lower‐income areas with lower quality schools than white South Africans. As such, these differences in quality of education from secondary schooling can persist at tertiary level. Furthermore, persistent income inequality between races in South Africa likely means that many poorer black students might not be able to afford wifi connections or large internet data bundles which can make the transition difficult for black students compared to their white counterparts.

Descriptive statistics

Notes : The transition difficulty variable was ordered 1: Very Easy; 2: Moderately Easy; 3: Difficult; and 4: Impossible. Since we have few responses to the extremes, we combined Very Easy and Moderately as well as Difficult and Impossible to make the table easier to read. The table with a full breakdown is available upon request.

A higher proportion of students reported that wifi access made the transition to online learning moderately easy. However, relatively more students reported that mobile internet data and accessing the zero‐rated website made the transition difficult. Surprisingly, not many students made use of the zero‐rated website which was freely available. Figure  2 shows that students who reported difficulty transitioning to online learning did not perform as well in online learning versus F2F when compared to those that found it less difficult to transition.

Transition from F2F to online learning.

Notes : This graph shows the students' responses to the question “How easy did you find the transition from face‐to‐face lectures to online lectures?” in relation to the outcome variable for performance

In Figure  3 , the kernel density shows that students who had access to wifi performed better than those who used mobile internet data or the zero‐rated data.

Access to online learning.

Notes : This graph shows the students' responses to the question “What do you currently use the most to access most of your prescribed work?” in relation to the outcome variable for performance

The regression results are reported in Table  3 . We find that the change in students' performance from F2F to online is negatively associated with the difficulty they faced in transitioning from F2F to online learning. According to student survey responses, factors contributing to difficulty in transitioning included poor internet access, high internet data costs and lack of equipment such as laptops or tablets to access the study materials on the university website. Students who had access to wifi (i.e. fixed wireless broadband, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) or optic fiber) performed significantly better, with on average 4.5 points higher grade, in relation to students that had to use mobile internet data (i.e. personal mobile internet data, wifi at home using mobile internet data, or hotspot using mobile internet data) or the zero‐rated website to access the study materials. The insignificant results for the zero‐rated website are surprising given that the website was freely available and did not incur any internet data costs. However, most students in this sample complained that the internet connection on the zero‐rated website was slow, especially in uploading assignments. They also complained about being disconnected when they were in the middle of an assessment. This may have discouraged some students from making use of the zero‐rated website.

Results: Predictors for student performance using the difference on average assessment grades between pre‐ and post‐lockdown

Coefficients reported. Robust standard errors in parentheses.

∗∗∗ p  < .01.

Students who expressed a preference for self‐study approaches (i.e. reading PDF slides or PowerPoint slides with explanatory notes) did not perform as well, on average, as students who preferred assisted study (i.e. listening to recorded narrated slides or lecture recordings). This result is in line with Means et al. ( 2010 ), where student performance was better for online learning that was collaborative or instructor‐driven than in cases where online learners worked independently. Interestingly, we also observe that the performance of students who often attended in‐person classes before the lockdown decreased. Perhaps these students found the F2F lectures particularly helpful in mastering the course material. From the survey responses, we find that a significant proportion of the students (about 70%) preferred F2F to online lectures. This preference for F2F lectures may also be linked to the factors contributing to the difficulty some students faced in transitioning to online learning.

We find that the performance of low‐income students decreased post‐lockdown, which highlights another potential challenge to transitioning to online learning. The picture and sound quality of the live online lectures also contributed to lower performance. Although this result is not statistically significant, it is worth noting as the implications are linked to the quality of infrastructure currently available for students to access online learning. We find no significant effects of race on changes in students' performance, though males appeared to struggle more with the shift to online teaching than females.

For the robustness check in Table  4 , we consider the average grades of the three assignments taken after the start of the lockdown as a dependent variable (i.e. the post‐lockdown average grades for each student). We then include the pre‐lockdown average grades as an explanatory variable. The findings and overall conclusions in Table  4 are consistent with the previous results.

Robustness check: Predictors for student performance using the average assessment grades for post‐lockdown

As a further robustness check in Table  5 , we create a panel for each student across the six assignment grades so we can control for individual heterogeneity. We create a post‐lockdown binary variable that takes the value of 1 for the lockdown period and 0 otherwise. We interact the post‐lockdown dummy variable with a measure for transition difficulty and internet access. The internet access variable is an indicator variable for mobile internet data, wifi, or zero‐rated access to class materials. The variable wifi is a binary variable taking the value of 1 if the student has access to wifi and 0 otherwise. The zero‐rated variable is a binary variable taking the value of 1 if the student used the university's free portal access and 0 otherwise. We also include assignment and student fixed effects. The results in Table  5 remain consistent with our previous findings that students who had wifi access performed significantly better than their peers.

Interaction model

Notes : Coefficients reported. Robust standard errors in parentheses. The dependent variable is the assessment grades for each student on each assignment. The number of observations include the pre‐post number of assessments multiplied by the number of students.

6. CONCLUSION

The Covid‐19 pandemic left many education institutions with no option but to transition to online learning. The University of Pretoria was no exception. We examine the effect of transitioning to online learning on the academic performance of second‐year economic students. We use assessment results from F2F lectures before lockdown, and online lectures post lockdown for the same group of students, together with responses from survey questions. We find that the main contributor to lower academic performance in the online setting was poor internet access, which made transitioning to online learning more difficult. In addition, opting to self‐study (read notes instead of joining online classes and/or watching recordings) did not help the students in their performance.

The implications of the results highlight the need for improved quality of internet infrastructure with affordable internet data pricing. Despite the university's best efforts not to leave any student behind with the zero‐rated website and free monthly internet data, the inequality dynamics in the country are such that invariably some students were negatively affected by this transition, not because the student was struggling academically, but because of inaccessibility of internet (wifi). While the zero‐rated website is a good collaborative initiative between universities and network providers, the infrastructure is not sufficient to accommodate mass students accessing it simultaneously.

This study's findings may highlight some shortcomings in the academic sector that need to be addressed by both the public and private sectors. There is potential for an increase in the digital divide gap resulting from the inequitable distribution of digital infrastructure. This may lead to reinforcement of current inequalities in accessing higher education in the long term. To prepare the country for online learning, some considerations might need to be made to make internet data tariffs more affordable and internet accessible to all. We hope that this study's findings will provide a platform (or will at least start the conversation for taking remedial action) for policy engagements in this regard.

We are aware of some limitations presented by our study. The sample we have at hand makes it difficult to extrapolate our findings to either all students at the University of Pretoria or other higher education students in South Africa. Despite this limitation, our findings highlight the negative effect of the digital divide on students' educational outcomes in the country. The transition to online learning and the high internet data costs in South Africa can also have adverse learning outcomes for low‐income students. With higher education institutions, such as the University of Pretoria, integrating online teaching to overcome the effect of the Covid‐19 pandemic, access to stable internet is vital for students' academic success.

It is also important to note that the data we have at hand does not allow us to isolate wifi's causal effect on students' performance post‐lockdown due to two main reasons. First, wifi access is not randomly assigned; for instance, there is a high chance that students with better‐off family backgrounds might have better access to wifi and other supplementary infrastructure than their poor counterparts. Second, due to the university's data access policy and consent, we could not merge the data at hand with the student's previous year's performance. Therefore, future research might involve examining the importance of these elements to document the causal impact of access to wifi on students' educational outcomes in the country.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors acknowledge the helpful comments received from the editor, the anonymous reviewers, and Elizabeth Asiedu.

Chisadza, C. , Clance, M. , Mthembu, T. , Nicholls, N. , & Yitbarek, E. (2021). Online and face‐to‐face learning: Evidence from students’ performance during the Covid‐19 pandemic . Afr Dev Rev , 33 , S114–S125. 10.1111/afdr.12520 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

1 https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/309693-mobile-data-prices-south-africa-vs-the-world.html .

2 The 4IR is currently characterized by increased use of new technologies, such as advanced wireless technologies, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, among others. This era has also facilitated the use of different online learning platforms ( https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-fourth-industrialrevolution-and-digitization-will-transform-africa-into-a-global-powerhouse/ ).

3 Note that we control for income, but it is plausible to assume other unobservable factors such as parental preference and parenting style might also affect access to the internet of students.

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An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.

There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.

The essay writing process consists of three main stages:

• Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
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Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.

The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .

For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.

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Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:

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• Come up with a thesis:  The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
• Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.

The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.

1. Hook your reader

The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.

Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

2. Provide background on your topic

Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.

3. Present the thesis statement

Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:

As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.

4. Map the structure

In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Write your essay introduction

The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.

Length of the body text

The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.

Paragraph structure

To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.

That idea is introduced in a  topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.

After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

See the full essay example

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The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :

• Returns to your thesis
• Ties together your main points
• Shows why your argument matters

A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.

What not to include in a conclusion

To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:

• Including new arguments or evidence
• Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
• Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Write your essay conclusion

Checklist: Essay

My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).

My introduction sparks the reader’s interest and provides any necessary background information on the topic.

My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay.

I use paragraphs to structure the essay.

I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.

Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.

I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.

My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.

I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.

I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.

I have included a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.

My citations and references are correctly formatted according to the required citation style .

My essay has an interesting and informative title.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).

Your essay meets all the most important requirements. Our editors can give it a final check to help you submit with confidence.

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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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Capturing the benefits of remote learning

How education experts are applying lessons learned in the pandemic to promote positive outcomes for all students

Vol. 52 No. 6 Print version: page 46

• Schools and Classrooms

With schools open again after more than a year of teaching students outside the classroom, the pandemic sometimes feels like a distant memory. The return to classrooms this fall brings major relief for many families and educators. Factors such as a lack of reliable technology and family support, along with an absence of school resources, resulted in significant academic setbacks, not to mention stress for everyone involved.

But for all the downsides of distance learning, educators, psychologists, and parents have seen some benefits as well. For example, certain populations of students found new ways to be more engaged in learning, without the distractions and difficulties they faced in the classroom, and the general challenges of remote learning and the pandemic brought mental health to the forefront of the classroom experience.

Peter Faustino, PsyD, a school psychologist in Scarsdale, New York, said the pandemic also prompted educators and school psychologists to find creative new ways of ensuring students’ emotional and academic well-being. “So many students were impacted by the pandemic, so we couldn’t just assume they would find resources on their own,” said Faustino. “We had to work hard at figuring out new ways to connect with them.”

Here are some of the benefits of distance learning that school psychologists and educators have observed and the ways in which they’re implementing those lessons post-pandemic, with the goal of creating a more equitable, productive environment for all students.

Prioritizing mental health

Faustino said that during the pandemic, he had more mental health conversations with students, families, and teachers than ever. “Because COVID-19 affected everyone, we’re now having mental health discussions as school leaders on a daily and weekly basis,” he said.

This renewed focus on mental health has the potential to improve students’ well-being in profound ways—starting with helping them recover from the pandemic’s effects. In New York City, for example, schools are hiring more than 600 new clinicians, including psychologists , to screen students’ mental health and help them process pandemic-related trauma and adjust to the “new normal” of attending school in person.

Educators and families are also realizing the importance of protecting students’ mental health more generally—not only for their health and safety but for their learning. “We’ve been seeing a broader appreciation for the fact that mental health is a prerequisite for learning rather than an extracurricular pursuit,” said Eric Rossen, PhD, director of professional development and standards at the National Association of School Psychologists.

As a result, Rossen hopes educators will embed social and emotional learning components into daily instruction. For example, teachers could teach mindfulness techniques in the classroom and take in-the-moment opportunities to help kids resolve conflicts or manage stress.

Improved access to mental health resources in schools is another positive effect. Because of physical distancing guidelines, school leaders had to find ways to deliver mental health services remotely, including via online referrals and teletherapy with school psychologists and counselors.

Early in the pandemic, Faustino said he was hesitant about teletherapy’s effectiveness; now, he hopes to continue offering a virtual option. Online scheduling and remote appointments make it easier for students to access mental health resources, and some students even enjoy virtual appointments more, as they can attend therapy in their own spaces rather than showing up in the counselor’s office. For older students, Faustino said that level of comfort often leads to more productive, open conversations.

Autonomy as a key to motivation

Research suggests that when students have more choices about their materials and activities, they’re more motivated—which may translate to increased learning and academic success. In a 2016 paper, psychology researcher Allan Wigfield, PhD, and colleagues make the case that control and autonomy in reading activities can improve both motivation and comprehension ( Child Development Perspectives , Vol. 10, No. 3 ).

During the period of online teaching, some students had opportunities to learn at their own pace, which educators say improved their learning outcomes—especially in older students. In a 2020 survey of more than 600 parents, researchers found the second-most-valued benefit of distance learning was flexibility—not only in schedule but in method of learning.

In a recent study, researchers found that 18% of parents pointed to greater flexibility in a child’s schedule or way of learning as the biggest benefit or positive outcome related to remote learning ( School Psychology , Roy, A., et al., in press).

This individualized learning helps students find more free time for interests and also allows them to conduct their learning at a time they’re most likely to succeed. During the pandemic, Mark Gardner, an English teacher at Hayes Freedom High School in Camas, Washington, said he realized how important student-centered learning is and that whether learning happens should take precedence over how and when it occurs.

For example, one of his students thrived when he had the choice to do work later at night because he took care of his siblings during the day. Now, Gardner posts homework online on Sundays so students can work at their own pace during the week. “Going forward, we want to create as many access points as we can for kids to engage with learning,” he said.

Rosanna Breaux , PhD, an assistant professor of psychology and assistant director of the Child Study Center at Virginia Tech, agrees. “I’d like to see this flexibility continue in some way, where—similar to college—students can guide their own learning based on their interests or when they’re most productive,” she said.

During the pandemic, many educators were forced to rethink how to keep students engaged. Rossen said because many school districts shared virtual curricula during the period of remote learning, older students could take more challenging or interesting courses than they could in person. The same is true for younger students: Megan Hibbard, a teacher in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, said many of her fifth graders enjoyed distance learning more than in-person because they could work on projects that aligned with their interests.

“So much of motivation is discovering the unique things the student finds interesting,” said Hunter Gehlbach, PhD, a professor and vice dean at the Johns Hopkins School of Education. “The more you can facilitate students spending more time on the things they’re really interested in, the better.”

Going forward, Rossen hopes virtual curricula will allow students greater opportunities to pursue their interests, such as by taking AP classes, foreign languages, or vocational electives not available at their own schools.

Conversely, Hibbard’s goal is to increase opportunities for students to pursue their interests in the in-person setting. For example, she plans to increase what she calls “Genius Hours,” a time at the end of the school day when students can focus on high-interest projects they’ll eventually share with the class.

Better understanding of children's needs

One of the most important predictors of a child’s success in school is parental involvement in their education. For example, in a meta-analysis of studies, researchers linked parental engagement in their middle schoolers’ education with greater measures of success (Hill, N. E., & Tyson, D. F., Developmental Psychology , Vol. 45, No. 3, 2009).

During the pandemic, parents had new opportunities to learn about their kids and, as a result, help them learn. According to a study by Breaux and colleagues, many parents reported that the pandemic allowed them a better understanding of their child’s learning style, needs, or curriculum.

James C. Kaufman , PhD, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut and the father of an elementary schooler and a high schooler, said he’s had a front-row seat for his sons’ learning for the first time. “Watching my kids learn and engage with classmates has given me some insight in how to parent them,” he said.

Stephen Becker , PhD, a pediatric psychologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, said some parents have observed their children’s behavior or learning needs for the first time, which could prompt them to consider assessment and Individualized Education Program (IEP) services. Across the board, Gehlbach said parents are realizing how they can better partner with schools to ensure their kids’ well-being and academic success.

For example, Samantha Marks , PsyD, a Florida-based clinical psychologist, said she realized how much help her middle school daughter, a gifted and talented student with a 504 plan (a plan for how the school will offer support for a student’s disability) for anxiety, needed with independence. “Bringing the learning home made it crystal clear what we needed to teach our daughter to be independent and improve executive functioning” she said. “My takeaway from this is that more parents need to be involved in their children’s education in a healthy, helpful way.”

Marks also gained a deeper understanding of her daughter’s mental health needs. Through her 504 plan, she received help managing her anxiety at school—at home, though, Marks wasn’t always available to help, which taught her the importance of helping her daughter manage her anxiety independently.

Along with parents gaining a deeper understanding of their kids’ needs, the pandemic also prompted greater parent participation in school. For example, Rossen said his kids’ school had virtual school board meetings; he hopes virtual options continue for events like back-to-school information sessions and parenting workshops. “These meetings are often in the evening, and if you’re a single parent or sole caregiver, you may not want to pay a babysitter in order to attend,” he said.

Brittany Greiert, PhD, a school psychologist in Aurora, Colorado, says culturally and linguistically diverse families at her schools benefited from streamlined opportunities to communicate with administrators and teachers. Her district used an app that translates parent communication into 150 languages. Parents can also remotely participate in meetings with school psychologists or teachers, which Greiert says she plans to continue post-pandemic.

Decreased bullying

During stay-at-home orders, kids with neurodevelopmental disorders experienced less bullying than pre-pandemic (McFayden, T. C., et al., Journal of Rural Mental Health , No. 45, Vol. 2, 2021). According to 2019 research, children with emotional, behavioral, and physical health needs experience increased rates of bullying victimization ( Lebrun-Harris, L. A., et al., ), and from the U.S. Department of Education suggests the majority of bullying takes place in person and in unsupervised areas (PDF) .

Scott Graves , PhD, an associate professor of educational studies at The Ohio State University and a member of APA’s Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education (CPSE), said the supervision by parents and teachers in remote learning likely played a part in reducing bullying. As a result, he’s less worried his Black sons will be victims of microaggressions and racist behavior during online learning.

Some Asian American families also report that remote learning offered protection against racism students may have experienced in person. Shereen Naser, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Cleveland State University and a member of CPSE, and colleagues found that students are more comfortable saying discriminatory things in school when their teachers are also doing so; Naser suspects this trickle-down effect is less likely to happen when students learn from home ( School Psychology International , 2019).

Reductions in bullying and microaggressions aren’t just beneficial for students’ long-term mental health. Breaux said less bullying at school results in less stress, which can improve students’ self-esteem and mood—both of which impact their ability to learn.

Patricia Perez, PhD, an associate professor of international psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a member of CPSE, said it’s important for schools to be proactive in providing spaces for support and cultural expression for students from vulnerable backgrounds, whether in culture-specific clubs, all-school assemblies that address racism and other diversity-related topics, or safe spaces to process feelings with teachers.

According to Rossen, many schools are already considering how to continue supporting students at risk for bullying, including by restructuring the school environment.

One principal, Rossen said, recently switched to single-use bathrooms to avoid congregating in those spaces once in-person learning commences to maintain social distancing requirements. “The principal received feedback from students about how going to the bathroom is much less stressful for these students in part due to less bullying,” he said.

More opportunities for special needs students

In Becker and Breaux’s research, parents of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), particularly those with a 504 plan and IEP, reported greater difficulties with remote learning. But some students with special learning needs—including those with IEPs and 504 plans—thrived in an at-home learning environment. Recent reporting in The New York Times suggests this is one reason many students want to continue online learning.

According to Cara Laitusis, PhD, a principal research scientist at Educational Testing Service ( ETS ) and a member of CPSE, reduced distractions may improve learning outcomes for some students with disabilities that impact attention in a group setting. “In assessments, small group or individual settings are frequently requested accommodations for some students with ADHD, anxiety, or autism. Being in a quiet place alone without peers for part of the instructional day may also allow for more focus,” she said. However, she also pointed out the benefits of inclusion in the classroom for developing social skills with peers.

Remote learning has improved academic outcomes for students with different learning needs, too. Marks said her seventh-grade daughter, a visual learner, appreciated the increase in video presentations and graphics. Similarly, Hibbard said many of her students who struggle to grasp lessons on the first try have benefited from the ability to watch videos over again until they understand. Post-pandemic, she plans to record bite-size lessons—for example, a 1-minute video of a long division problem—so her students can rewatch and process at their own rate.

Learners with anxiety also appreciate the option not to be in the classroom, because the social pressures of being surrounded by peers can make it hard to focus on academics. “Several of my students have learned more in the last year simply due to the absence of anxiety,” said Rosie Reid, an English teacher at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, California, and a 2019 California Teacher of the Year. “It’s just one less thing to negotiate in a learning environment.”

On online learning platforms, it’s easier for kids with social anxiety or shyness to participate. One of Gardner’s students with social anxiety participated far more in virtual settings and chats. Now, Gardner is brainstorming ways to encourage students to chat in person, such as by projecting a chat screen on the blackboard.

Technology has helped school psychologists better engage students, too. For example, Greiert said the virtual setting gave her a new understanding of her students’ personalities and needs. “Typing out their thoughts, they were able to demonstrate humor or complex thoughts they never demonstrated in person,” she said. “I really want to keep incorporating technology into sessions so kids can keep building on their strengths.”

Reid says that along with the high school students she teaches, she’s seen her 6-year-old daughter benefit from learning at her own pace in the familiarity of her home. Before the pandemic, she was behind academically, but by guiding her own learning—writing poems, reading books, playing outside with her siblings—she’s blossomed. “For me, as both a mother and as a teacher, this whole phenomenon has opened the door to what education can be,” Reid said.

Eleanor Di Marino-Linnen, PhD, a psychologist and superintendent of the Rose Tree Media School District in Media, Pennsylvania, says the pandemic afforded her district a chance to rethink old routines and implement new ones. “As challenging as it is, it’s definitely an exciting time to be in education when we have a chance to reenvision what schools have looked like for many years,” she said. “We want to capitalize on what we’ve learned.”

Further reading

Why are some kids thriving during remote learning? Fleming, N., Edutopia, 2020

Remote learning has been a disaster for many students. But some kids have thrived. Gilman, A., The Washington Post , Oct. 3, 2020

A preliminary examination of key strategies, challenges, and benefits of remote learning expressed by parents during the COVID-19 pandemic Roy, A., et al., School Psychology , in press

Remote learning during COVID-19: Examining school practices, service continuation, and difficulties for adolescents with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder Becker S. P., et al., Journal of Adolescent Health , 2020

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[2024] 180 Free Online Writing Courses to Improve Your Skills

From grammar to creative writing to technical writing, these free online courses will help you hone your writing skills.

Becoming a better writer can help you achieve professional and personal goals. Whether you’re preparing for university studies, drafting résumés and cover letters, writing sales copy, or trying to preserve your own memories, you need to be able to communicate through writing. Fortunately, free writing courses abound to guide you in your writing journey.

Want to start writing fiction? There’s a course for that, several actually. There are also free writing online courses that will teach you to write better business emails, create compelling online posts and social media updates, and prepare technical reports. English language learners, teachers, and grammar nerds will also find some courses on this list. In short, whatever it is that you’re writing, chances are you can improve your craft with one or more of the courses below.

And for more resources, take a look at Learn English as a Second Language (ESL) with Hundreds of Courses and Sites .

Quick note:All of the featured courses in this article are either entirely free or free-to-audit. If you want to explore paid courses to help you become a better writer, simply type your topic of interest into the search field or browse our Humanities subjects .

For more courses, browse Class Central’s catalog of over 200K online courses or find all our free certificates articles here . Or visit our Best Courses Guides for writing:

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Free Grammar Courses

Verb Tenses and Passives University of California, Irvine via Coursera In this course, you will review the verb tenses that you learned in beginning English classes and learn about a few tenses you may not know very well. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Conjunctions, Connectives, and Adverb Clauses University of California, Irvine via Coursera In this course, you will learn about a lot of different ways to join ideas to make more complex and interesting sentences.

Grammar and Punctuation University of California, Irvine via Coursera After completing this course, you will be able to: – identify the correct verb tenses to use – use commas effectively – utilize several different sentence types – write more effectively in English ★★★★☆ ( 33 ratings )

Adjectives and Adjective Clauses University of California, Irvine via Coursera Adjectives and adjective clauses are very common in English, so students need to be able to understand them when they see them or hear them. ★★★☆☆ ( 4 ratings )

Perfect Tenses and Modals University of California, Irvine via Coursera In this course, you will learn about important intermediate verb tenses, including present perfect, present perfect progressive, past perfect, and past perfect progressive. You will also learn about common modal verbs used in English. ★★★★★ ( 6 ratings )

Tricky English Grammar University of California, Irvine via Coursera While it’s easy for non-native speakers to get overwhelmed by confusing grammar rules, in this course, we’ll provide you with tips that will help you understand the rules more easily and give you lots of practice with the tricky grammar of everyday English. ★★★★☆ ( 2 ratings )

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Just Reading and Writing English 1 Tsinghua University via Coursera Do you want to communicate with English speakers fluently? The course consists of 6 units with different topics: feelings, staying healthy, learning, university, cultural differences, and cities. From this course, you will have a good knowledge of primary English reading and writing skills in your daily life.

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Just Reading and Writing in English | 生活英语读写 Tsinghua University via edX Learn how to read and write in English in the context of lectures and academic texts. 以读促写，以写辅读！掌握正确的阅读技巧和写作技巧，让你实现一次英语读写的飞跃！ ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Writing and Editing: Word Choice and Word Order University of Michigan via Coursera This course will teach you how to use your written words to become more persuasive. ★★★★★ ( 2 ratings )

Writing and Editing: Drafting University of Michigan via Coursera This third course in the “Good with Words: Writing and Editing” series will give you a number of strategies to help with what is often the most intimidating, even paralyzing part of the writing process: getting started.

Writing and Editing: Structure and Organization University of Michigan via Coursera This second course in the Good with Words: Writing and Editing series will help you become an effective architect of information, both with your sentences and with your paragraphs. You’ll learn that the traditional advice to “Show, don’t tell” is incomplete and that skilled writers actually switch back and forth between showing and telling.

Writing and Editing: Revising University of Michigan via Coursera This fourth and final course in the “Good with Words: Writing and Editing” series will help you master perhaps the most important step in the writing process: revising. You’ll learn about the difference between editing and proofreading.

Effective Writing Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee via Swayam The purpose of this writing course is to familiarise students with the nuances of effective writing so that they can better understand the subtle art of writing. It allows them to write with clarity, precision, and subtlety to express their ideas on various occasions while considering the concepts of appropriateness and accuracy. ★★★★★ ( 2 ratings )

English Grammar and Style University of Queensland via edX Learn key concepts and strategies in grammar and style to help enhance your writing and confidently respond to the demand of high levels of literacy in the 21st century. ★★★★☆ ( 32 ratings )

Enhance your Writing with Adverb Clauses University of California, Irvine via Coursera In the first part of the course, you’ll learn some basic information about adverb clauses. Then, we’ll dive into the categories of ideas that adverb clauses express, and you’ll practice using subordinating conjunctions–the many grammar words that start adverb clauses.

Enhance your Writing with Adjective Clauses University of California, Irvine via Coursera Do you have a hard time describing things, people, and places in English? This course will show you how to be more descriptive in your writing by incorporating adjective clauses in complex sentences.

Enhance your Writing with Noun Clauses University of California, Irvine via Coursera This course is designed to hold your hand step-by-step through the most basic concepts of noun clauses all the way to the end goal of writing a paragraph with varied noun clauses.

A Beginner’s Guide to Writing in English for University Study University of Reading via FutureLearn Learn how to use English for study at university or college and develop your writing skills, vocabulary and grammar. ★★★★☆ ( 23 ratings )

Common English Grammar Mistakes and How to Fix Them–Sampler via Udemy Master Your Grammar Errors, Master Commonly Confused Words and Phrases, and Achieve Success and Credibility as a Writer

English Grammar and Speaking Course: Essential Verb Tenses! via Udemy Practice using Essential Verb Tenses in Conversation!

English Foundation Course 2023: Grammar and Speaking Upgrade via Udemy Become fluent by improving all your English Skills. Build a strong English foundation in grammar, speaking, and more!

English Grammar via Udemy Learn the English grammar you need to understand and use English today!

Basic English Grammar Course in Hindi via Udemy Level 1 for beginners

Grammar via Independent Grammar is the collection of rules and conventions that make languages go. This section is about Standard American English, but there’s something here for everyone.

Grammar matters The Open University via OpenLearn Grammar matters because, combined with vocabulary choice, it is our main way of making meaning. This free course introduces you to one approach used to understand how meanings relate systematically…

Vocabulary, Phrases, Idioms, Grammar via YouTube ★★★★★ ( 2 ratings )

Free Essay Writing Courses

Getting Started with Essay Writing University of California, Irvine via Coursera By introducing you to three types of academic essays, this course will especially help prepare you for work in college classes, but anyone who wants to improve his or her writing skills can benefit from this course. ★★★★☆ ( 18 ratings )

How to Write an Essay University of California, Berkeley via edX An introduction to academic writing for English Language Learners, focusing on essay development, grammatical correctness, and self-editing. ★★★★☆ ( 28 ratings )

Advanced Writing University of California, Irvine via Coursera After completing this course, you will be able to plan and write a more sophisticated argument essay. ★★★★☆ ( 7 ratings )

Writing a Personal Essay Wesleyan University via Coursera This class is the chance to create your personal essay or extend into a full memoir — from planning and structure to bold narrative brushstrokes to the layering of significant detail.

Memoir and Personal Essay: Managing Your Relationship with the Reader Wesleyan University via Coursera The blank page can be the most daunting obstacle in writing. In this course, aspiring writers will assemble a “starter kit” for approaching the blank page by developing constructive ways to think about the writing process as a whole. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Writing your World: Finding yourself in the academic space University of Cape Town via Coursera In this course, we provide practical insights into how to write an academic essay. We show you how to develop the academic skills needed to be a competent academic writer. ★★★★★ ( 3 ratings )

Developing Your Research Project University of Southampton via FutureLearn Undertaking an Extended Project Qualification, IB extended essay or any other scholarly research? This guides you step-by-step. ★★★★☆ ( 6 ratings )

Writing Skills for University Success University of California, Irvine via Coursera In this course, you’ll learn how to write effectively in different academic formats, especially essays and longer research papers. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Essay Writing Course via YouTube

Essay Writing via YouTube

Introduction to Research for Essay Writing University of California, Irvine via Coursera This is the last course in the Academic Writing specialization before the capstone project. By the end of this course, you will be able to complete all the steps in planning a research paper. ★★★★★ ( 7 ratings )

Essay and report writing skills The Open University via OpenLearn Writing reports and assignments can be a daunting prospect. Learn how to interpret questions and how to plan, structure and write your assignment or report. This free course, Essay and report …

The PTE 85+ Academic Essay Writing Course via Udemy Mastering the Writing Exam

Free Journalism Courses

English for Journalism University of Pennsylvania via Coursera This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are interested in developing the skills needed for a career in modern journalism. ★★★★☆ ( 15 ratings )

Digital Culture and Writing University of Burgundy via EMMA Born from the desire to support a wide public facing the emergence of digital technology, the team of teachers from the university of Burgundy (uB), accompanied by colleagues from other universities, offers its MOOC DCW (Digital culture and Writing) publish and share on the web.” It provides an overview of the potentialities of digital writing and culture, for publish, share and communicate.

English for Journalists, Part 1 University of California, Berkeley via edX Improve your English grammar, vocabulary and writing skills through exciting topics in journalism and world news.

Writing and Disseminating Grey Literature Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) via Coursera If you are a researcher, academic, student, development sector professional or a practitioner who is keen to reach the research-based knowledge you have created to a wider audience, this course is for you. Using formats such as data stories, photo narratives, opinion pieces and infographics, digital, print, and multimedia channels can help researchers reach a much wider audience when they adopt newer writing techniques.

What is news? Michigan State University via Coursera This course will guide you through the basic elements of professional journalism and the news values and ethics of covering real-world issues and events. The overview and examples of the types of news coverage helps introduce the different types of journalism, such as social media, multimedia, print, visual and broadcast, and how professional journalists effectively use each format. ★★★★★ ( 3 ratings )

Effectively delivering the news to your audience Michigan State University via Coursera You will learn the process, planning, requirements of how journalists develop their news reports. There are many ways to report news reports, and you will learn different forms of how to perform reporting and writing to serve different audiences.

Journalism 101 via YouTube This series covers topics such as Newswriting, finding story ideas, interviewing sources and quoting sources, leading a lead and organising news stories, covering breaking news and ethics in journalism. ★★★★★ ( 3 ratings )

English for Journalism via YouTube

Journalism, the future, and you! Michigan State University via Coursera You will explore areas such as being an international correspondent, self-publishing in journalism, as well as how to freelance in the field. ★★★★★ ( 2 ratings )

Investigative Journalism for the Digital Age Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas via Independent We are now making the content free and available to students who took the course and anyone else who’s interested in investigative reporting and data journalism basics, including experienced investigators who seek to deepen their skills on complex investigations, collaborations and data journalism. ★★★★☆ ( 4 ratings )

Equity & ethics in data journalism: Hands-on approaches to getting your data right Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas via Independent During this four-week course, you will learn about tools and techniques that will help you tell data stories fairly and ethically. Specifically, this course will guide you hands-on through the process of learning to identify inequity and hidden bias at seven key stages of the data journalism lifecycle. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Data Journalism and Visualization with Free Tools Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas via Independent This resource page features course content from the Knight Center for Journalism in the America’s massive open online course (MOOC) titled “Data Journalism and Visualization with Free Tools.”. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Journalism in a pandemic: Covering COVID-19 now and in the future Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas via Independent Produced in collaboration with the W.H.O., UNESCO and UNDP, this course helps journalists to improve their coverage of the pandemic. It’s also offered in French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Introduction to Journalism and Reporting University of Kent via FutureLearn Explore what makes good journalism as you learn about its origins and where news reporting stands today.

English for Journalists, Part 2 University of California, Berkeley via edX Improve your English grammar, vocabulary and writing skills through topics in journalism including free speech, sports, humor and broadcast writing.

Teaching Writing Process Johns Hopkins University via Coursera Half a century ago, a revolution took place in the teaching of writing. Educators asked, “What if we were to study how professional writers wrote, as a way to learn how we might teach writing more effectively?”

Free Creative Writing Courses

Start Writing Fiction The Open University via FutureLearn Get started with your own fiction writing, focusing on the central skill of creating characters, with this hands-on course. ★★★★☆ ( 21 ratings )

Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest Commonwealth Education Trust via Coursera This course is for curious students and aspiring authors with a passion for writing for young readers. This course will guide you with a combination of video lectures, online readings, peer reviews, and guest appearances from world-renowned children’s authors. ★★★★☆ ( 13 ratings )

Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot Wesleyan University via Coursera In this course aspiring writers will be introduced to perhaps the most elemental and often the most challenging element of story: plot. We will learn what keeps it moving, how it manipulates our feelings, expectations, and desires. We will learn how to outline and structure a plot, discuss narrative arc, pacing and reversals and reveal the inevitable surprise: connecting the beginning, middle and end. ★★★★☆ ( 15 ratings )

Creative Writing: The Craft of Style Wesleyan University via Coursera Your style is as unique and distinctive as your face, your voice, except that you can choose it, you can can work on it, enhance it. In this course we will introduce aspiring writers to the art of putting pressure on written language. We will study the use of metaphor and imagery, and demonstrate how clarity, grace, and inventiveness in word choice are imperative to a story’s success. ★★★★☆ ( 8 ratings )

Script Writing: Write a Pilot Episode for a TV or Web Series (Project-Centered Course) Michigan State University via Coursera In this project-centered course, you will design a series bible and write a complete pilot episode for your own unique television or web series, be it drama or comedy or something in between. You’ll learn to break down the creative process into components, and you’ll discover a structured process that allows you to produce a polished and pitch-ready script in just a few weeks. ★★★★☆ ( 3 ratings )

Transmedia Writing Michigan State University via Coursera In this project-centered course you will develop your own, original, intellectual property (IP) into a transmedia project containing written versions of your IP on various platforms. You will begin your novel, adapt the first chapters of your novel into the opening scenes of a film or TV show and create a game design concept of your IP.

Writing in First Person Point of View Wesleyan University via Coursera If you have always wanted to tell your own story—in a memoir, first-person essay, or any other form of autobiographical non-fiction—but felt you lacked the tools or the framework, this is the class for you.

Creative Writing: The Craft of Setting and Description Wesleyan University via Coursera In this course aspiring writers will be introduced to the techniques that masters of fiction use to ground a story in a concrete world. From the most realist settings to the most fantastical, writers will learn how to describe the physical world in sharp, sensory detail. ★★★★☆ ( 12 ratings )

Writing Stories About Ourselves Wesleyan University via Coursera In this course, creative nonfiction writers will explore traditional storytelling methods, especially those which overlap between fiction and memoir.

Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop California Institute of the Arts via Coursera Why just write poems when you can write better ones? This course is built on the notion that the most exciting writing begins after the first draft. ★★★★☆ ( 19 ratings )

Writing successfully for the Stage University of Cambridge via edX Learn to structure your dramatic writing to a professional standard, as well as develop professionally transferable communication skills. This course will broaden your understanding of how to write engaging and interesting stories in order to attract producers and directors to your work. You will understand how to write effective dialogue, and how to edit your work.

Stand Up!; Comedy Writing and Performance Poetry University of Cambridge via edX Prepare to perform your comic writing and/or poetry to a live audience, as well as develop transferable writing skills and communication expertise that will be relevant in any profession. This course will broaden your understanding how to structure a stand-up comedy set, as well as allow you to understand how to use narrative form in your performance poetry texts.

Finding your voice as a playwright University of Cambridge via edX Learn to deepen your creative practice as a playwright, as well as develop professionally transferable writing skills and communication expertise. This course will broaden your understanding of how to start a career successfully as a professional dramatist, as well as offer you insights in how to maximise and enjoy the processes of your personal creativity.

Write Your First Novel Michigan State University via Coursera Write your first novel.

Creative Writing Brigham Young University via YouTube I’m Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers. Learn about plot, wordbuilding, short stories, character, and publishing. ★★★★★ ( 6 ratings )

Video Game Writing Essentials The University of British Columbia via edX Learn the essentials of writing for video games, from how games are developed and what game writers do, to the ways game stories differ from other kinds of stories.

Writing Video Game Characters The University of British Columbia via edX Learn how to make effective, memorable video game characters, from protagonists and antagonists to NPCs.

Writing Video Game Scenes and Dialogue The University of British Columbia via edX Learn the fundamentals of writing cinematics, cutscenes, and in-game dialogue.

Working as a Game Writer The University of British Columbia via edX Learn what it takes to work as a video game writer: from resumes to writing tests to contracts and NDAs.

Interactive Narrative The University of British Columbia via edX Learn how to use player choice and interactivity to create compelling game experiences

Building your Screenplay University of Cambridge via edX Learn to strengthen you skills as a screenwriter, while diversifying your knowledge and understanding of the demands of global film and TV production. Find out how to become a powerful visual story-teller; understand how to build effective structure within your screenplay; develop professionally transferable writing skills and communication expertise.

How to Write Your First Song The University of Sheffield via FutureLearn Get a practical introduction to the mechanics of songwriting and meet established songwriters with this free online course ★★★★★ ( 166 ratings )

Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics Berklee College of Music via Coursera There’s a songwriter lurking somewhere inside you, peeking around corners, wondering if it’s safe to come out. Now it is. This course is an invitation to let your inner songwriter step into the sunlight. All it takes is a simple “yes” and you’ll be climbing that windy hill, marveling at the view. ★★★★★ ( 24 ratings )

Creative Writing: The Craft of Character Wesleyan University via Coursera At the center of a good story are the characters in it. In this course aspiring writers will discover how to build and bring to life complex, vivid and unforgettable characters. ★★★★☆ ( 7 ratings )

Creative writing and critical reading The Open University via OpenLearn This free course, Creative writing and critical reading, explores the importance of reading as part of a creative writer’s development at the postgraduate level. You will gain inspiration and ideas…

Creative Writing – Writer’s Block Workbook Volume 1 Month 1 via Udemy Five weeks’ worth of beginnings to create 100+ new pieces with tips to help your writing ongoing. Plus bonus content.

Creative Writing – Writer’s Block Workbook Volume 2 Month 1 via Udemy Five weeks’ worth of keywords to create 100+ new pieces with tips to help your writing ongoing. Plus bonus content.

Start writing fiction: characters and stories The Open University via OpenLearn Start writing fiction is a free course that helps you to get started with your own fiction writing, focusing on the central skill of creating characters. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Playing with Poetry: Creative Writing and Poetics University of Newcastle via FutureLearn Have fun writing poetry as you explore and create various forms of poetry and experiment with different poetic ideas.

Start writing fiction The Open University via OpenLearn Have you always wanted to write, but never quite had the courage to start? This free course, Start writing fiction, will give you an insight into how authors create their characters and settings. … ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Free Copywriting Courses

Copywriting: Improve User Experience One Word at a Time via openSAP In this course, you’ll learn why copy is so important for your users’ experience and how copywriting fits into the design-led development process. Domain experts provide insights and best practices, and by participating in the exercises, you’ll get practical experience in writing copy. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Copywriting Foundations: Sell Using Your Words In 2020 via Udemy How To Listen To Your Target Market & Focus Your Message To Make Your Copywriting 10x As Effective

155 Years of Copywriting Insights Taught In 1.5 Hour Course! via Udemy “This is the most refreshing, clear, straight forward and useful course on copywriting you could wish for.” – Eva ★★★★★ ( 5 ratings )

Copywriting Secrets via YouTube Get tips on how to start your career as a copywriter, write better emails and increase your income as a copywriter ★★★★★ ( 14 ratings )

Learn Copywriting via YouTube

The Science of Copywriting via YouTube ★★★★☆ ( 3 ratings )

Copywriting for Beginners and Pros With Exercises via YouTube Copywriting is the practice of composing persuading texts. Copywriting is used to sell products, ideas, ideologies, etc. Copywriting is an important component on web pages, in blog posts, advertisements, social media posts, videos, and podcasts. This video series is the first one in the free online copywriting course Professional Copywriting Made Easy. ★★★★☆ ( 42 ratings )

Copywriting Course via YouTube This playlist covers everything you need to know to start a freelance copywriting business in 2021. ★★★★☆ ( 6 ratings )

Copywriting 101 – Training Sessions for Freelance Writers via YouTube ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Copywriting Persuasion Challenge via YouTube ★★★★★ ( 11 ratings )

Copywriting para Iniciantes via Udemy Descubra o que é Copy, como funciona, para que serve e de que forma utilizar para aumentar suas vendas com persuasão

Free Academic Writing Courses

Writing in English at University Lund University via Coursera This course aims to give you an understanding of the conventions of academic writing in English and to teach you the components and benefits of what is called process writing.

Discovering Your PhD Potential: Writing a Research Proposal via FutureLearn Learn how to research and write a high-quality research proposal for postgraduate applications.

An Intermediate Guide to Writing in English for University Study University of Reading via FutureLearn Improve your academic English skills further, learning about critical analysis, using sources, avoiding plagiarism and more. ★★★★☆ ( 1 rating )

Project: Writing a Research Paper University of California, Irvine via Coursera Welcome to the capstone project for the Academic English: Writing Specialization! This project lets you apply everything you’ve learned and gives you the practice you need for college classes by having you write a research paper.

College Composition Modern States via Independent This course will prepare you to pass the College Board’s CLEP College Composition exam

Writing in the Disciplines Professional Development Course (HE) Excelsior College via Canvas Network This course on Writing in the Disciplines offers a modular curriculum that explores the meaning of genre, why and how to develop genre-based writing assignments, and effective techniques for using writing to enhance learning.

Academic Writing in English for ESL Learners University College London via FutureLearn Develop your academic writing skills in English as a second language (ESL) learner and advance your English writing at university.

论文写作初阶（Academic Writing and Research） Peking University via Coursera 本课面向有志于学术研究和具有论文写作需求的高年级本科生和研究生同学，适合人文社会科学、特别是法学专业的学生学习，也欢迎理工科学生选修。教学内容主要集中于学术研究的基本方法与一般理念，既包括学术论文的提问、选题、谋篇、布局和实际写作，也包括学术资源特别是综合性与专业性数据库的检索和使用。

La recherche documentaire École Polytechnique via Coursera Ce cours vise principalement à permettre aux étudiants d’identifier les sources pertinentes dans un domaine donné, leur apprendre à construire un état de l’art et à évaluer les sources, en particulier celles en accès libre sur Internet.

Academic English: How to Write an Essay University of Queensland via edX A practical and introductory course to build your skills in academic writing. ★★★★★ ( 2 ratings )

College Foundations for English Composition University System of Georgia via Desire2Learn English Learning Support Course is an English preparatory course focusing on the skills required for effective writing in a variety of contexts, with emphasis on exposition, analysis, and argumentation, and also including introductory use of a variety of research skills.

English Composition I Duke University via Coursera You will gain a foundation for college-level writing valuable for nearly any field.

Academic Writing Made Easy Technische Universität München (Technical University of Munich) via edX Struggling with writing an academic text? This MOOC will ease the pain – and make your writing shine. ★★★★★ ( 48 ratings )

Academic Writing H.N.B Garhwal University (A Central University) Srinagar Garhwal via Swayam This course aims to fill this gap by providing the fundamental knowledge required for effective and result oriented academic writing. It is a foundation course and the application of this knowledge completely depends on an individual learner and his or her area of research. ★★★★★ ( 1707 ratings )

Academic Writing University of Adelaide via edX The academic writing course targets individuals transitioning from non-academic backgrounds, catering to school leavers and professionals re-entering higher education.

Introduction to Academic Writing O.P. Jindal Global University via Coursera Welcome to the Introduction to Academic Writing course! By the end of this course, you will gain an in-depth understanding of reading and writing as essential skills to conduct robust and critical research.

Teaching Writing Final Project Johns Hopkins University via Coursera One of the goals of the Teaching Writing specialization has been to help every learner consider ways to adapt what they are learning and apply it to their specific situation, needs and interests.

Free Business Writing Courses

High-Impact Business Writing University of California, Irvine via Coursera Effective writing is a powerful tool in the business environment. Learn how to articulate your thoughts in a clear and concise manner that will allow your ideas to be better understood by your readers. ★★★☆☆ ( 8 ratings )

Writing Professional Email and Memos (Project-Centered Course) University System of Georgia via Coursera Want your workplace writing to make a positive impression? At the end of this course, you will be a more confident writer, able to create higher quality professional documents more quickly. ★★★★☆ ( 12 ratings )

Better Business Writing in English Georgia Institute of Technology via Coursera Do you need to write more easily and effectively in English? This course will provide the tools to help you do just that.

English for Effective Business Writing The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology via Coursera This course aims to improve your Business English writing skills by developing your use of vocabulary, grammar, understanding of different business writing genres, and your ability to write professional business documents. ★★★★☆ ( 1 rating )

Business Writing University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera This course will teach you how to apply the top ten principles of good business writing to your work, how to deploy simple tools to dramatically improve your writing, and how to execute organization, structure, and revision to communicate more masterfully than ever. ★★★★☆ ( 5 ratings )

Write Professional Emails in English Georgia Institute of Technology via Coursera This is a course to help you write effective business emails in English. ★★★★☆ ( 5 ratings )

Business Writing Techniques Doane University via edX Business Writing Techniques, will expand on the different communication styles and discuss the best practices of business writing by providing real-world scenarios and applications.

Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking Harvard University via edX Gain critical communication skills in writing and public speaking with this introduction to American political rhetoric. ★★★★★ ( 5 ratings )

English for Doing Business in Asia – Writing The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology via edX Introducing strategies for developing your written English communication skills in the context of doing business in Asia.

Redacción de documentos empresariales de gran impacto University of California, Irvine via Coursera En el ambiente empresarial, el saber escribir con eficacia es una poderosa herramienta. Aprende a expresar tus pensamientos de una manera clara y concisa para que las personas que lean lo que escribes capten mejor tus ideas. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

(Business Writing) الكتابة في مجال الأعمال University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera لا شك أن إتقان الكتابة من أهم المهارات التي يمكنك تعلمها بُغية تحقيق النجاح في مجال الأعمال. وقد استخدمت أكثر من سبعين شركة وعشرين ألف طالب – من الكتاب المحترفين والموظفين الجدد والمتحدثين باللغة الإنجليزية لغير الناطقين بها وحتى المديرين المتمرسين – الأساليب المستخدمة في الكتابة في مجال الأعمال لتعزيز قدرتهم على التواصل وإطلاق أفكارهم. ستعلمك هذه الدورة التدريبية كيفية تطبيق المبادئ العشرة الأفضل للكتابة الجيدة في مجال الأعمال على عملك وكيفية نشر أدوات بسيطة لتحسين كتابتك بشكل كبير وكيفية تنفيذ التنظيم والبنية والمراجعة للتواصل بشكل أكثر براعة من أي وقت مضى.

English for Business and Entrepreneurship University of Pennsylvania via Coursera This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are interested in learning more about the global business economy. ★★★★★ ( 7 ratings )

Using Email for Networking in English University of Washington via edX Improve your writing skills. Write effective emails including great subject lines, greetings, and closings. You’ll be more confident as you communicate for business, send messages, expand your network, and search for jobs in English. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Smart English Basics for Professionals – Spoken English – Communication Skills Great Learning via YouTube Great Learning brings you this video on “Smart English Basics For Professionals”. This course will help you improve your business communication in a professional environment.

Learn Business English Great Learning via YouTube

Academic and Business Writing University of California, Berkeley via edX An introduction to academic and business writing for English Language Learners, focusing on grammar, vocabulary, structure, editing, and publication. ★★★★☆ ( 18 ratings )

Writing for Business Advanced University of Glasgow via Coursera This course will teach you how to apply advanced principles and strategies to produce successful business writing.

Free Technical Writing Courses

Writing in the Sciences Stanford University via Coursera This course teaches scientists to become more effective writers, using practical examples and exercises. Topics include: principles of good writing, tricks for writing faster and with less anxiety, the format of a scientific manuscript, peer review, grant writing, ethical issues in scientific publication, and writing for general audiences. ★★★★★ ( 14 ratings )

Discovering Science: Science Writing University of Leeds via FutureLearn What science discoveries will you choose to write about? ★★★★☆ ( 28 ratings )

How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper (Project-Centered Course) École Polytechnique via Coursera In this project-based course, you will outline a complete scientific paper, choose an appropriate journal to which you’ll submit the finished paper for publication, and prepare a checklist that will allow you to independently judge whether your paper is ready to submit. ★★★★★ ( 5 ratings )

Writing Skills for Engineering Leaders Rice University via Coursera In this course, you’ll learn essential writing skills that you can apply in your daily activities on the job as an engineering leader.

Writing, Presenting and Submitting Scientific Papers in English | 英文科技论文写作与学术报告 Tsinghua University via edX Learn how to properly write a scientific paper, based on international standards, and effectively make a presentation to submit proposals for funding. 表达与交流是拔尖创新科技人才最重要的综合能力。培养英文科技论文写作与学术报告的能力，帮助你打开世界科坛大门，与国际同行平等交流。 ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

Requirements Writing University of New South Wales via Coursera Welcome to “Requirements Writing”. As the title indicates, over the next four weeks, we will be looking at the important task of writing of text-based requirement statements.

Technical Report Writing for Engineers The University of Sheffield via FutureLearn Get an introduction to technical report writing. Find out how to communicate your ideas through well-written engineering reports. ★★★★★ ( 177 ratings )

English Language for Competitive Exams Indian Institute of Technology Madras via Swayam The course aims to help participants develop their English language skills, particularly those planning to appear for competitive exams that test their English language abilities.

Writing Case Studies: Science of Delivery Princeton University via edX Learn how to write “science of delivery” case studies, which help us understand how practitioners implement complex policies or programs.

The Language of Leaders: Learn to Write with Confidence State Bank of India via edX Enhance your leadership role through powerful writing skills.

NIeCer 103: Scientific Writing in Health Research AICTE via Swayam Communicating research findings to the scientific community is the responsibility of every researcher. Our course will explain the fundamental concepts in drafting a scientific manuscript to effectively communicate research findings.

Writing READMEs via Udacity Documentation is an important part of the development process. Learn to write READMEs using Markdown so your code can be used by other humans! ★★★☆☆ ( 2 ratings )

ENGL210: Technical Writing via Saylor Academy

Technical Writing: A Quick Start to Software Documentation via Udemy A quick and direct overview of the end-to-end processes for writing software documentation

Free Résumé Writing Courses

Writing Winning Resumes and Cover Letters University of Maryland, College Park via Coursera How can you bring your resume to the top of the pile? You will learn how to convert a boring resume into a dynamic asset statement that conveys your talents in the language that an employer understands. ★★★★☆ ( 6 ratings )

How to Succeed at: Writing Applications The University of Sheffield via FutureLearn This free three week course will help you produce a perfect CV, application and online profile when applying for a job or course. ★★★★★ ( 440 ratings )

How to Write a Resume (Project-Centered Course) State University of New York via Coursera In this project-centered course, you will craft an essential cornerstone of the modern-day job or internship search: the resume. When you complete the course, you’ll have an eye-catching resume that lets your professional strengths shine. ★★★★☆ ( 15 ratings )

Refresh Your Resume Grow with Google via Udacity Create a targeted resume that gets the attention of recruiters and lands you an interview in tech. ★★★★☆ ( 1 rating )

Craft Your Cover Letter via Udacity Write a compelling narrative that showcases your value to the company. ★★★★☆ ( 2 ratings )

How to Write a Winning Resume – Top Resume Writing Tips via YouTube In this series of videos, you’ll learn how to write a resume that will get you noticed. You’ll learn some of my top resume writing secrets! You’ll also discover where to find a sample resume template and example that you can download today and tailor to apply for your next dream job. Enjoy! ★★★★★ ( 2 ratings )

How to Write a Resume – Animated via YouTube

PRDV102: Resume Writing via Saylor Academy ★★★★★ ( 3 ratings )

Comprehensive guide for resume writing via Udemy Resume writing and template creation for all QA professionals. Learn some cool resume writing tricks to maximize calls

How to Make a Good Resume – Resume for Jobs Great Learning via YouTube Great Learning brings you this video on “How to Build a Good Resume’ where the video starts off by discussing the importance of a CV, followed by discussing six essential steps of writing your resume. ★★★★☆ ( 1 rating )

Free Screenwriting/Script Writing Courses

Write A Feature Length Screenplay For Film Or Television Michigan State University via Coursera Write a Full Length Feature Film Script.

The Fundamentals of Screenwriting via YouTube ★★★★★ ( 3 ratings )

An Introduction to Screenwriting University of East Anglia via FutureLearn This online course explores the key concepts and fundamental principles involved in the process of screenwriting. ★★★★★ ( 6 ratings )

Screenwriting Masterclass for Beginners via YouTube

Screenwriting via YouTube

Screenwriting Tips via YouTube

The Screenwriting Life via YouTube

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Grant Writing and Crowdfunding for Public Libraries University of Michigan via edX Learn how to increase your impact, innovate, and overcome often static funding through various fundraising and grant writing approaches.

Grant Writing Texas Instruments via YouTube ★★★★☆ ( 4 ratings )

Grant Writing for Beginners via YouTube Grant Writing For Beginners playlist provides you with insight to help you write winning grant proposals that get funded! These videos help you to learn grant writing quickly. ★★★★☆ ( 4 ratings )

Grant Writing for Nonprofits via YouTube We’ve included some videos on various Grant tips like Walmart Community 1 HR Grants, Grants in a Box and Grant Templates. Other helpful topics revolve around Program Officers, Letters of Inquiry (LOI), Unsolicited Proposals and various other Grant processes. ★★★★★ ( 1 rating )

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Comments 39

Sabihe Tavakoli 11/2/2014 at 11:26pm

I would like to write children books and I am interested in taking a course to help me with that.

Kiki 4/29/2019 at 10:07pm

Have you ever found any learning resources for that? I would also love to improve my children-book writing skills.

Looking forward to your reply!

Venu 11/12/2019 at 10:18pm

I really enjoyed this course. https://www.coursera.org/learn/writing-for-children

Purushottam Tamang 12/8/2014 at 10:20pm

I would like to improve my English writing skills that helps me for report writing and I am very interested in taking report writing course. please help me with that.

Augustine Kastherody 6/27/2015 at 1:44am

I enrolled already and want to do my master of Science in Infection Prevention and Control through online and I am interested in taking a course to assist me in managing my study.

P. Davis, Sr 5/21/2021 at 8:17am

I am a retired senior citizen [85 years] who enjoys writing. I have a Bachelors’s Degree and plan to enroll in a graduate humanities course that requires heavy writing. My plan is to refresh my writing skills and I am searching for an online [graduate level] academic writing refresher course. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. My e-mail address is [email protected] .

roV83 1/22/2015 at 8:55am

I am interested in non-fiction writing and want to learn the basics

J Sheen 5/27/2016 at 8:08pm

Have you found a creative nonfiction course online by chance you’d want to recommend?

mir shaukat ali 2/9/2015 at 2:43pm

Dear sir, I am engineer , i job iptv company but my writing English knowledge is very poor ,please tell me how to improve writing skill such as email writing, mag writing etc, please any body help me

Fatima Camelo 11/26/2018 at 12:39pm

My name is Fátima and I’m also an engineer but my friend you should read more and more because this way you’re going to write beter and will develop your english.

SH 4/27/2015 at 12:07am

This is a great collection. Thank you very much Mr Dhawal.

Nathanel TEGAYOMBI 4/28/2015 at 12:48pm

Dear sir,I appreciate your programs which help a big number of people from different corners of the world.So as a student of school of journalism,I would like to improve my English in terms of writing skills,and I wish you to help me become a future storyteller.Thanks

Yours faithfully

Cathy Johns 6/10/2015 at 5:32am

Am very intrested in this.

kakar 8/6/2015 at 3:32am

sir we have a lot of problem in English understanding as well as in writing so sir tell us the perfect way that help in all skill of english.

Arvind Ramanujam 8/9/2015 at 11:56pm

Thanks for the info.

Jaylee M Wayne 9/26/2015 at 8:49am

I would like to write a novel and I am also interested in taking coures

Alexiaga 9/28/2015 at 2:07pm

Whatever kind of English you want to write, mastering essential English grammar is essential. Here is a good site wher you can check out the main topics of English grammar, including points not always dealt with in grammars, such as style and sentence-structure. http://linguapress.com/grammar/

jaspreet singh 11/3/2015 at 9:51am

The one which i need to recommend is http://www.pariswritersretreat.com/online-courses.html this is not free but this can help you to enhance your skills

berna gurning 5/30/2016 at 8:41pm

Dear Disqus, i am interested in writing essays so i can write excellent journals, articles, and assignments as well

Mark Sandel 7/8/2016 at 4:43am

Thanks that an awesome course list. I was looking for “how to write better” courses for a long time until finding this one. The list looks reasonable and much longer than I have expected. However, I still have doubts, is it possible to learn how to write better, just interacting with a tutor online (and this is the best option) or watching the video? Well right now, I am pretty concerned with the quality of my writing and readers experience. Starting from the winter, I started to user style checkers http://www.paragraphchecker.com/ . They are a bit unusual for me but undoubtedly helpful.

kilopko 8/27/2016 at 5:12am

Free online courses are the best as well as sometimes it’s very much worthy way out to learn something innovative as well as profession in proper manner. in order to make the move precise as well as professional each stated way out is the key factors to do well in writing the essay part in proper manner so that anyone could get the possible approaches in precise manner.

Alexis 1/12/2017 at 6:22pm

If you’re looking how to make money online as a freelance writer, I highly recommend http:/ecareers.online. It’s a free e-course that teaches you how to get started as a freelance writer online. So far, it’s been amazing and membership is free!

Elisheva Reynolds 2/21/2017 at 7:52pm

I would like to write fantasy/romance/adventure type fiction novels…I would like to be an author, one whose books I would even read.

Damien Clarke 3/1/2017 at 9:12am

I am currently working on developing my writing skills, so as to tackle the various hot topics in my niche, which is technology. Can anyone advise if there are good topics, which work on this specifically ?

Susie Bell 4/30/2017 at 6:39am

I am writing stories for young people and adults. I have a learning difficulty so I can’t do any courses. I am a new writer who is an unsolicited writer, can’t find a literary agent. Susie Bell.

ellaalex 5/10/2017 at 1:30am

Article Snipper Online tool is a one-click article rewriter that requires no signup or registration if you want to use the free version. All you need to do is enter human readable text and you will get human readable text out. check our free article spinner tool: http://www.articlespinneronline.com

Wan Smith 1/7/2018 at 11:00pm

Surely one would be suggested with these online courses to develop a clear sense of writing and develop great story telling vibes in one self. if you lack the major ideas than you should take online classes as above mentioned that these classes provides well information and intense thinking skills.

homework doer 4/2/2018 at 5:05am

Firstly you have to know some basic tips for writer. They are pretty simple but forget about the. Reread on the next day. Many errors don`t come up right away. Re-reading the text immediately after writing will help cross out a couple of errors, but it’s best to do it after a while, ideally – the next day. So you can come up with a fresh mind to check your creativity, and I assure you that you will want to correct and remake a lot.

In the book “”American Psycho”” extensive descriptions of how the main character shaves, applies gel on the body and dresses in a suit from Brioni and shoes from Prada are an artistic feature. You’d better get rid of excess water. Don`t write as much as possible. Short sentences is only what is really needed. There is too much information on the Internet, and nobody will read meaningless paragraphs of the text. To write interesting, you should have interesting life. I came to this conclusion after spending five days at home, not going anywhere and doing nothing. I had no idea in my head, and there was no question of writing anything. You have to try something new, to leave the comfort zone, because without it you will be the same as everyone else. And you don`t want to, do you? Write every day

At least something. Don`t tell yourself that you have no ideas. They are always:

What you dreamed about today. What interesting things did you learn today / yesterday / this week. What would you do if you got a million dollars (you can even dream about a billion). Why this day was good. How could one live this day better. What would you like to change in today’s day. Why do you have no inspiration and what needs to be done to make it appear. What is useful you have done. What would you teach a stranger. Why do we need an appendix

Kathy Bretz 4/12/2018 at 10:13pm

I would like to learn technical writing, can I do this without a certificate or degree? thanks.

Author Thison Schultz 4/29/2018 at 7:12pm

I can’t afford a writing class, is this free? I want to follow my passion to become a writer. I need your advice how to write a novel. I really want to do this. I love to read mystery novels. I can’t do anything else, Except to become a writer. I can’t succeed if I don’t take this writing course. This is my only chance to become a writer. If don’t I will fail of my future. I can’t take this anymore. I really want to become a great writer. I don’t have the money to do it.

Isla 12/12/2018 at 3:03pm

i love to write and i wanna be a writer too

TB 1/10/2019 at 2:39pm

@ Dhawal Shah

I just wanted to point out that not all of these courses are actually free. For example the two UBCx How to Write courses are $295 each with no option, that I could find, to audit or even to take a limited version.

https://www.classcentral.com/course/edx-how-to-write-a-novel-edit-revise-10018 https://www.classcentral.com/course/edx-how-to-write-a-novel-writing-the-draft-3938

I’m sure there are others from this list as well, particular those on EdX as they (EdX) have been moving away from offering their courses for free.

mamta prasad 2/12/2019 at 11:20pm

great resources keep it up! ! !

Nihal Singh 3/22/2019 at 5:20am

Nice Article, Your article helps to improve the writing skills for all the thesis writers and the students and the online courses are helped to gain knowledge from home itself. Thanks for sharing.

Corpely.com 8/21/2019 at 3:51am

Learning how to write a good essay with a powerful introduction, clear arguments and well-crafted conclusion is a great way to build a foundation of writing skills. This 8-week course starts with the basics of grammar and sentence construction and quickly advances to thesis development and essay writing with tools for creating outlines and editing your work. Dr. Maggie Sokolik of the College Writing Programs at the University of California, Berkeley guides students through this excellent introductory writing course in which participants can get a great deal of practice writing and interact with other students from around the world. Links to optional online textbooks are provided.

David Walker 5/10/2020 at 3:28pm

I’m looking for a writing course that teaches you how to hand write smoothly and legibly. To have flow in writing , that looks elegant on the sheet of paper. Were all the letters are easily read by anyone. The art of writing.

DSW David Walker

David Walker 5/14/2020 at 2:22pm

Do you have a penmanship course?

Andrew Ralphs 7/12/2023 at 5:00pm

FutureLearn is NOT FREE – I hate the way these types of sites either deliberately mislead or do not get their facts right !!!

BRIAN LOPEZ 5/7/2024 at 2:42pm

This feels a bit outdated and the ratings are awkward so I have no idea how efficient some of these are. Having Technical Writing/Business writing in your pocket is not a bad thing! I forgot the other one…

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