I am a lecturer at a European University. In 2017, I was told that my diploma would not be accepted by the educational institution where I was doing my Ph.D. because I was doing it online and I am still writing it. Nevertheless, I took the risk, continued my studies in Liverpool, and decided to prove that online training results are equivalent to traditional ones by selecting the relevant topic. In 2019, the Covid 19 epidemic began, and now the whole world is online, which gives me a chance to prove my point.
Online learning is becoming increasingly popular with the introduction of technologies such as Massive open online courses, Knowledge Management, and social networks. It provides more open access for students who could not attend university due to location, finances, or a tight schedule. Online learning also offers a more diverse course structure for students. Despite these advantages, universities still strive for traditional education, which means face-to-face interaction in real time.
One of the significant disadvantages of online learning can be a large number of breaks. Classrooms are designed to make it easier for students to concentrate and not get confused. A policy that controls higher education standards has been initiated in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. This has led to the fact that some degrees obtained online are not recognized in Turkey even though there is no convincing evidence against online courses and despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The purpose of the study is to find out whether there are differences in the understanding, results, and prospects of online and traditional learning and to pay attention to any similarities. The research question asks, “To what extent are online courses equivalent to the same course offered traditionally in terms of results and satisfaction?” The question and research are devoted explicitly to English language courses provided online and traditionally in person.
There is a YOK policy in Turkey, which the Council of Higher Education carries out. It operates autonomously and decides which courses and diplomas will be recognized by the Turkish education system. Unfortunately, this led to many degrees being received by people and not being accepted. Thus, the YOK policy is unsuitable for the conditions of COVID-19 since such a strategy can lead to mass non-recognition of diplomas, which will adversely affect the Turkish education system.
Online learning is defined as providing instructions via the Internet to a remote audience. Traditional training offers opportunities to develop other skills, such as social skills and critical thinking and is carried out personally. Any differences are based on assumed or observed learning outcomes, which have shown zero, negative, positive, and mixed results when comparing the two.
The study also examined the usefulness of mixed classes, that is, online and in-person. It was found that online groups do better with assessments such as tests and quizzes. Research has ultimately shown that online courses don’t slow down students’ education, and they end up getting better. It was also explored that online learning did not affect grades and average scores without revealing severe differences.
The proposed methodology is a mixed method, qualitative and quantitative, to better understand the results. Quantitative information will be obtained by statistical analysis and qualitative high-quality information will be based on an open-type questionnaire to obtain reliable results. Currently, there are not enough reliable sources and studies that would make it possible to determine accurately whether online learning is worse than traditional learning.