Online or Blended: 5 Questions to Know the Better Study Option for You

Before the pandemic, hearing the term “online learning” was something that’s very rare and was almost always reserved for people who were pursuing graduate studies. Though as the COVID-19 pandemic quickly spread, online learning suddenly became the norm. Now, almost two years later, schools and educational institutions are starting to offer another set-up as COVID-19 cases continue to drop. Called “blended learning,” it blends together the online mode as well as the face-to-face set-up of learning. Question is: Do you know which of the two is the better study option for you?

Don’t worry! Here are five questions that can help you decide which between online and blended learning suits you better.

1. What are you planning to do?

Of course, you are planning to learn and finish your undergraduate or postgraduate degree, but you need to have a plan that would consider other factors in your life. The road to finishing a degree is not the same for everyone.

When making yourself a plan, consider thinking about what you’re exactly going to do. For example, are you going to study full-time, as in 90%-100% of the time? In that case, blended learning might be best for you since your time is generally devoted to your studies. But, if you plan to do other things like work part-time to earn extra money or do internships on the side, a fully online learning set-up might be more ideal for you. 

We have different responsibilities that we need to take on while earning our degrees. Recognizing these realities and considering them when choosing the better learning set-up will greatly help you in planning your journey to getting that diploma.

2. Where do you plan to attend school?

Another consideration you have to factor in is which educational institution do you plan on attending — and this is very crucial.

For one, not all educational institutions offer both the blended and the online learning set-up. How can you choose between the two when the school you want to attend only offers one and not the other, right? So, you need to do prior research and see if the school you want to attend offers both so you can have the choice.

Another thing you should consider is how known or recognizable that school is in terms of the quality of its education regardless of the mode of learning delivery it employs. Of course, you deserve only the best school and the curriculum they offer. Thankfully, finding a university that has both isn’t hard to find! 

Mapúa University offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in both set-ups even before the pandemic. It is also a university recognized locally and internationally for its quality education: it offers the most number of Engineering programs that are recognized as Centers of Excellence in the country by the Commission on Higher Education; it has ISO certifications for both quality and environmental management systems; and it was the very first educational institution in Southeast Asia to have programs accredited by the United States’ ABET.

Never settle for anything less than ideal! Make sure that the school you want to attend can give you quality education so you will also be equipped with the necessary skills to be industry-ready and to be the best version of yourself!

3. Do you have the right environment?

Now that you have your plan and the school you want to attend, check the environment you’re going to study in. Do you have an environment that’s conducive to learning?

Both the blended and online learning set-ups require an environment where you can learn peacefully and harmoniously. This means that you need a learning space where you can really focus on studying and where you’re free from distractions. If you have a separate room inside your house or can rent a table at establishments like co-working spaces, then a fully online learning environment may be ideal for you. The main advantage of it is that you can take your learning at the comfort of your own home or a place of your choosing. 

However, if you do not have a separate room where you can almost isolate yourself and be at peace with your studies, studying inside a campus with relatively fewer online interactions might be better for you. In this case, you don’t have to worry about any distractions or further disturbances in the middle of your class, for example, because campuses are designed to be a very conducive learning environment.

Studying at Mapúa University, you have the option to choose either of the two! It delivers its online classes through its very own Cardinal EDGE platform, bringing the Mapúa University campus inside your own home, while its campus has state-of-the-art facilities that are both conducive to learning and even accessible to persons with disabilities!

4. What’s your learning style?

Now we have to talk about the more psychological part of deciding which learning set-up is better for you. Simply put, each of us has a different learning style that enables us to better retain and understand the information we receive. Needless to say, the two learning set-ups only allow for a certain learning style.

Are you more of a social learner, meaning you learn a lot better when you’re with other people? Are you also more of a physical learner where you better understand and remember information when you’re actually doing the tasks needed such as laboratory works? In that case, the blended learning set-up might be better for you. Having face-to-face classes gives you the chance to work and learn with other people and, at the same time, learn by doing. 

On the other hand, if you’re more of a solitary learner where you can better study when you’re alone, and if you’re a visual-aural learner where watching recorded lectures is where you retain information the best, then the online learning set-up might be better for you. The asynchronous sessions give you the freedom to study on your own as you watch pre-recorded lectures.

Mapúa University optimizes learning for all students of different learning styles. Mapúa’s years-long offering of purely online learning has been a tried and tested method of helping students study at their own pace. Its top-accredited programs, on the other hand, have been producing industry-leading graduates for the longest time! 

5. How much time are you willing to devote to learning?

Last but not the least, it’s time that you be honest with yourself: How much time are you willing to devote to learning?

Many of us can’t devote huge chunks of time to learning. Thus, if you’re one of those people, a more self-paced learning set-up might be better for you. And you will get that in online learning. Though there are synchronous sessions, these are fewer than the asynchronous sessions where you can manage your time and learn at your own pace.

Meanwhile, if you’re willing to devote 100% of your time to studying and you don’t mind going to your campus every now and then, blended learning might be the one for you. And yes, there’s still a level of self-paced learning in the blended learning set-up but the face-to-face sessions will more likely require much time on your hands.

Either way, whichever of these learning options you choose, Mapúa University ticks all of the things you need to consider! Mapúa University is a top institution that gives its students the flexibility and the options they need to successfully earn their degrees and be industry leaders later on!

Click here to start your application and be the next leading Mapúan!