Since students are currently learning during a global pandemic, school is going to look a bit different this year. One of these differences is online schooling options. Many students have opted to participate in a virtual academic platform instead of face-to-face learning. This brings many students and parents to the question, are virtual academies a good way of learning? According to several sources, virtual education has many benefits that face-to-face doesn’t.

As stated by the American Safety Council, with no face-to-face instruction, online courses provide a safe and effective alternative to the classroom. Because there is no exposure to anyone during online schooling, the risk of exposure to COVID-19 is greatly reduced. 

Online education also provides many mental health benefits. Students have a much more flexible schedule during virtual learning because there are few courses that have required login times. Students also can complete schoolwork in their own home, decreasing anxiety caused by classrooms. It’s also much easier to receive additional help during virtual learning since teachers are just an email away. Teachers have more online forms of communication during this time because of restrictions on learning, such as email, chat boards and google classroom. 

Virtual academies also makes it much easier for some students to learn their own way. In virtual learning, students have a bit of freedom to do whatever helps them most to learn, unlike in face-to-face schooling, where students had very specific instructions on how to do assignments, how to study, etc. Virtual learning gives students the options to do what they need to succeed, like studying in a place where they feel comfortable versus in a classroom, or taking stress breaks if a student feels overwhelmed.

Virtual learning environments provide students with multiple educational benefits that face-to-face environments do not, such as less stress, more freedom and an easier schedule, making virtual learning an excellent way to learn during Covid-19.