COVID 19 has affected every aspect of life across the globe including schools producing the new next thing:online classes. The “newer, safer” choice has more flaws than most meets the eye.

Education First, an online website, talks about how in person learning isn’t accessible for every one. Whether it’s a finance issue, location issue or an at risk issue, online school offers an alternate, easier education program.

“Digital education facilities have enabled many learners to gain qualifications and even retrain for new careers at any stage in their life, by offering online learning courses that can be taken over a long period of time,” Victoria from EF writes,“This opens up formal education for those who can’t leave full-time employment or other commitments to attend university, allowing them to study and achieve at home and at convenient times.”

But even the easier option of online education isn’t always smooth sailing. This new addition to education isn’t only a challenge for students to adapt but teachers as well, and many are finding it difficult to teach their content and connect with students behind a screen.

“Delivering online learning requires different approaches and skills to delivering lessons in a physical classroom…This could well have slowed down the progress of education, particularly as students also had to adjust to learning online.”

This dependence on technology has revealed inequity in access to quality internet, especially in newer suburbs and rural areas-N.F. Mendoza of the Tech Republic website, found particularly stark inequalities in Wyoming.

Our survey found that 71% of students anticipated lower grades because of poor connectivity,” Mendoza writes. “Low-income families and students living in rural areas struggle most with accessibility, which creates a possible class-based performance gap.”

The Online learning depends on self discipline but that’s particularly difficult for teenagers who can easily switch tabs and become distracted, Tom, a writer for college prep education system Petersons who preferred to keep his name anonymous, emphasizes this lack of self regulation’s effect on students.

“Online courses usually have deadlines for assignments, tests, commenting on lectures, etc. That’s not the problem. The problem is the time management and organization skills necessary to stay on top of your work, allot an appropriate amount of time to complete each task and balance your coursework against other priorities in your life,” Tom writes. “If you tend toward procrastination, then you might need to strengthen your skill set before choosing an online course or program.”

Pedro Noguera, a professor of education at UCLA who studies inequality in schools, explains the inequality of online school.

Education has become a matter of inequality, with reliable internet.

“If you live in a more affluent community, you take it for granted,” Noguera told Vox. However, “we have lots of urban and rural areas where internet access is not available.”