<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over the last 12 months I have been exploring and researching online education vs face to face in relation to the Biomechanics Education programmes. Online education is something I am asked about on a daily basis both nationally and internationally. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It has challenged me to struggle between my ‘commercial head’ and my passion driven bias towards actually being face to face in a classroom. </span>   <span style="font-weight: 400;">With the evolution of technology and the fact, we are all leading busier lifestyles crammed with ‘things to do’ we are seeing a huge increase in the demand for accessing information online. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are clearly pros and cons to this platform of information delivery and it’s obviously got some benefits over accessing information face to face like the ‘old fashioned’ way at libraries or colleges for example. However, my question is this…….is it diluting quality? and specifically in the delivery of the </span><b>education of practical skills like Personal Training</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">?  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now obviously times are changing and us old folk need to keep up with modern culture…..but is it at a cost?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this particular Juicemail I want to ask YOU, the readers, to think about this; When it comes to face to face education vs online while learning practical skills specifically, what do YOU feel are the pros and cons of each AND is online movement education diluting quality in your opinion?</span>  </p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><b>My Thoughts On The Online vs Face To Face Discussion</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here I will look at examples of both, where they work and where they don't work based on my research and experience</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Now to be clear… when I talk about Face to Face (F2F), I mean physically in a room with a teacher. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">When I talk about “online training” (OT) I am referring to courses that are accessed online.</span>  </p>
<h3><b>Online Learning Pros</b></h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Usually cheaper</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Easier to access</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Convenient</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Set your own pace taking breaks anytime </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">More easily accessible for learners with special requirements </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Offers visual (video and images) and written information</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">No peer pressure </span></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Online Learning Cons</b></h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Less personal </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">No immediate feedback </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Can't get immediate answers/help</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lack having physical experience</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lacks judgment of tutor to offer individualised training </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lack of diversity / professional discussion </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Practical correction unavailable </span></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Face To Face Learning Pros</b></h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Interactive and personal </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sense of camaraderie</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Human connection </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Experiencial, more memorable meaning more chance of retaining information</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Change of scene can be good </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Different points of view </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Immediate feedback from the tutor</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Empathetic teaching </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Networking with peers </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Great for questions on physical techniques / practical application </span></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Face To Face Learning Cons</b></h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cost is usually higher</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Travel and accommodation costs </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Time away for paid work / family</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Possibility of feeling judged </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Possible peer pressure </span></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>So How Do We Decide?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, I think we each have a personal responsibility to ensure our own education is of a quality that enables us to provide/deliver an appropriate and insurable duty of care. One issue I have here is </span>  </p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know!</span></i>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So research is hugely important and my guidance when asked is generally </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“you will get what you pay for</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">” however there are some charlatans out there so, once again...do your research. </span>  </p>
<h3><b>What Does The Research Say?</b>  </h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, there are a lot of studies (see references) on the F2F Vs OT debate but when you whittle it down there is a clear response that a blend of BOTH is shown to be most effective. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now personally I do pay for online education for all of the ‘pro’ reasons listed above. So while I prefer F2F education experiences I also believe that once we have a good quality base of education we can then apply our learning disciplines to easier to access platforms. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In all honesty, I am very biased towards F2F education certainly for gaining practical ‘qualifications’ BUT I am also practicing what I preach in terms of challenging my bias.</span>   <span style="font-weight: 400;">So let me now ask you a question….</span>  </p>
<h3><b>What Would YOU Do?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">…….. if YOU needed to employ yourself a coach, trainer, therapist, PT, doctor how would you feel about being seen by a professional who had gained their practical qualification/s online with no F2F training?</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of the above professions, I believe ONLY the Personal Training skill set can be accessed purely online.</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why is this?</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Would you confess to being qualified purely online? If not why not?</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Is there a problem with it?</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We can get coached online, so why not educated?</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">How do you feel about online coaching?</span>  </p>
<h3><b>Education &amp; Learning / Bad &amp; Good</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I have been involved in education and learning for 46 yrs, both as a learner, a teacher and also a teacher of teachers. Having had some incredibly life-changing bad F2F experiences I completely understand how people can be put off. Also, we hear so much about kids having bad experiences at school it does make you wonder. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, my experiences gave me a huge passion for creating the best learner experiences I can for others. My Master Trainer team are taken through an apprenticeship that requires a particular standard of delivery with an inclusive focus that, I believe and the feedback suggests, we have gained a reputation for.</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The inclusive and diverse nature of fantastic F2F education experiences cannot be denied and is still shown to be </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">one of</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the most successful ways to gain knowledge and skills. Sadly the research doesn’t seem to be up to date enough to provide evidence in terms of the very latest technology trends and also doesn’t seem to take into account the subject matter. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The ‘experience’ of F2F for learning, at least initially in my opinion, is still vital for becoming ‘qualified’ in a very practical skill set like being an exercise professional in some form.</span>  </p>
<h3><b>When Is Online Movement Education OK? My Opinion…</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Look I am a people person, I love forging relationships, being with people, looking in their eyes, feeling their emotions and basing the moment on that. Since online there is less chemistry. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">BUT </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">I also accept that others are NOT like me.</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In my opinion, when OT is an upskill or CPD as an additional resource or a taster it is a brilliant compliment to a F2F qualification. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here at the Biomechanics Education Academy, we offer BOTH F2F and OT through our various platforms to get our message out there BUT I am super keen to hear your views, so</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> leave a comment below and tell me what your thoughts are on F2F Vs OT.</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Also, I just want to add, that I LOVE the fact we are having this discussion because it means people are committed to learning and continued development. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ultimately as professionals, we should always be taking our skills to the next level, and as humans, our minds LOVE progression. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">So whether your learning online or face to face I am delighted to know that you are committed to learning!</span>  </p>
<h2>References</h2>
<p>Alsaaty, F., Carter, E., Abrahams, D. and Alshameri, F., 2016. Traditional Versus Online Learning in Institutions of Higher Education: Minority Business Students’ Perceptions. <i>Business and Management Research</i>, 5(2).</p>
<p>Ananga, P. and Biney, I., 2021. COMPARING FACE-TO-FACE AND ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION. <i>MIER Journal of Educational Studies Trends &amp; Practices</i>, pp.165-179.</p>
<p>Elucidat. 2022. <i>Online learning vs face to face learning | Elucidat</i>. [online] Available at: &lt;https://www.elucidat.com/blog/online-learning-vs-face-to-face-learning/&gt; [Accessed 18 June 2019].</p>
<p>Keis, O., Grab, C., Schneider, A. and Öchsner, W., 2017. Online or face-to-face instruction? A qualitative study on the electrocardiogram course at the University of Ulm to examine why students choose a particular format. <i>BMC Medical Education</i>, 17(1).</p>
<p>Keramidas, C., 2012. Are Undergraduate Students Ready for Online Learning? A Comparison of Online and Face-to-Face Sections of a Course. <i>Rural Special Education Quarterly</i>, 31(4), pp.25-32.</p>
<p>Khazan, O., 2022. <i>The Myth of ‘Learning Styles’</i>. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: &lt;https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/the-myth-of-learning-styles/557687/&gt; [Accessed 18 June 2019].</p>
<p>Szeto, E., 2014. A Comparison of Online/Face-to-face Students’ and Instructor's Experiences: Examining Blended Synchronous Learning Effects. <i>Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences</i>, 116, pp.4250-4254.</p>
<p>Voxy. 2022. <i>Research review: Online versus face-to-face learning outcomes</i>. [online] Available at: &lt;https://voxy.com/blog/2017/12/research-review-online-versus-face-face-learning-outcomes/&gt; [Accessed 18 June 2019].</p>
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