We are able to do so many things with our phones from communicating and documenting our thoughts and lives on social media, to finding directions to our next destination—life would be pretty hectic without our phones. However, like with most advanced technology, phones have their limitations and one of those limitations is online learning.
Generally, when one thinks of online learning, an image of a student using a laptop to fulfill the demands of their studies is usually what comes to mind. But there are also people out there who believe that using a phone to take an online course is a viable choice and I am here to tell you that it is not.
Yes, it is possible to use your phone to take an online class, but I do not recommend you do this at all. Here are five important reasons why you should never use your phone to take an online course.
1. The interface is small and limited
Although smartphone screens have grown tremendously in size over the years, the interface is still nowhere near the size of that of a desktop or laptop computer. And yes, most websites nowadays have apps to complement their websites but there are still limitations with the interface of an app.
Everything has been compacted and optimized for the screen of your phone, which is great from an aesthetic and user experience standpoint, but not so much when it comes to shifting between different tasks.
As an online student, you will be doing a lot of shifting from tab to tab, especially during those heavy study sessions so you want to ensure that you have a spacious interface—a phone usually cannot provide this.
2. Writing papers on a phone can be a nightmare
If you've ever attempted to write a paper on a phone, you know the struggle. For some people, this may not be that big of an issue, but I believe we can all agree that writing a paper with a physical keyboard is much more functional than writing on a phone.
You can easily type, correct typos, skip lines, and pretty much navigate freely throughout the document you are currently writing.
Ease of navigation is crucial when writing papers so if you can help it, please always write your papers on your computer. Writing papers on your phone should be a last resort.
3. There are too many distractions
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This will especially be the case for those who have extremely busy phones—as in, frequently receiving calls, texts, and social media notifications all throughout the day.
We can all relate to that urge to go lurk on social media; usually, all it takes is a quick notification, and we're all in. Many can fight this urge but the vast majority cannot, especially not when the distraction has come as a result of a notification.
Phones are great but the unnecessary distractions they bring can be a real problem if you are using one as your primary study tool in an online class.
4. Performance can be an issue
Phones have become quite powerful over the years, but not everyone has the means or access to afford the latest and greatest device. With this, performance can vary depending on the device you have on hand.
Given the variety in smartphone specifications, you may run into many performance issues while navigating an online class. Some that may arise are software glitches, overheating, lag, and poor battery life.
Sure, all of these hiccups can occur using a laptop, but they are much more likely to occur studying on a phone as laptops are generally more powerful than phones.
5. Storage is limited
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Nowadays, phones can have just as much storage as laptop computers. However, given how much we store on our phones (photos, videos, apps, games, documents, etc.), storage on a phone is still somewhat limited in comparison to a computer.
Our society is very phone-centric so we are more likely to frequently store more on our phones than on our computers. This means that if you are taking an online class using your phone, storage is going to become even more limited when you begin storing things like papers, ebooks, study guides, and other class materials.
With most laptops, you have the luxury of expanding your storage with a portable hard drive, memory card, or flash drive. This is not so much the case with phones.
In recent years, many smartphone manufacturers have pretty much done away with the SD card slot. This has left many users with the option to either be stuck with the storage capacity already on their devices or shell out a few coins for those extra gigabytes.
In online classes, storage is important as you will be downloading many materials for class and writing papers that can vary in length/size so this is definitely something to keep in mind.
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In conclusion, using a phone to take an online course is not impossible, but I highly recommend you opt for the traditional laptop to fulfill your studies. Sure, your phone may come in handy when you're away from your computer, but that should be the only time you use it to fulfill the demands of your studies.
In other words, it should be used as a secondary tool or as a last resort when a computer isn't so accessible or when your computer is out of commission.
The online learning experience should be as unproblematic as possible but studying with your phone is sure to lead to some issues, especially as it relates to navigation, staying focused, performance, and storage capacity.
Have you ever taken an online course using your phone? If so, did you like it or was it difficult? Sound off below (anonymous commenting available).
Cover photo credit: Monstera on Pexels
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