If we divide approaches to learning coding into two main groups, probably most often it will be training entirely via the Internet versus “live” offline courses. As, for example, in the case of working remotely from home or in the office , these two approaches have their pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses. We'll talk about them today. 
Disadvantages of offline programming training
As you might guess, we at JavaRush are passionate about the online approach to learning programming, we consider it more effective, convenient, and simply modern. Although we do not deny that it also has its shortcomings. But offline coding training, in our opinion, still has more disadvantages. Let's talk about them first. Namely: what's wrong with numerous offline programming courses in general? Let’s immediately make a reservation that we are talking about typical offline courses and their characteristic disadvantages, and not any specific cases.-
Dependence on the teacher and his individual style.
One of the main problems with offline courses is the fact that the quality of the education received in this way will greatly depend on the level of the teacher or teachers you get, if there are several of them. How seriously the teacher takes his work, how high his professional level is, and what approaches to teaching he prefers to follow will directly affect the quality of the education you receive. Among the teachers of offline courses for coders, there are probably quite a few very good professionals and talented teachers, but there are still more outright mediocrities, as elsewhere. Are you ready to risk your time and your money in the hope of getting to a really strong specialist, or is it better to trust an online course that was compiled and thought out by serious professionals? We will not give a definite answer to this question, decide for yourself.
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The need to study in a group with lagging and weak students.
One of the basic unspoken principles of education goes something like this: a person cannot be taught anything by force; he can only be helped to learn on his own if he has the desire and ability to learn. And one of the main advantages of offline courses is that you will study in a group, making the learning process more fun. But this is also, perhaps, the main drawback of offline courses from the point of view of efficiency: in the group there will always be several people with a low initial level of knowledge, without strong motivation to learn or the ability to do it, and simply with frankly low intellectual data. Such students slow down the entire group and take up a lot of the teacher’s attention, which directly affects the overall results.
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Rigid and unregulated class schedule.
Another most significant disadvantage of offline programming courses is that they do not give the student much freedom in choosing a class schedule, and no freedom at all in planning training and distributing time resources depending on the topic. That is, typical offline courses do not have an individual approach at all, which is why the training schedule they offer will not suit everyone; some topics will require additional time for individual lessons, because they were not discussed in sufficient detail, but some , on the contrary, will seem too boring and simple.
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Extension in time.
From all of the above, another key problem follows: any standard offline programming course will be significantly extended in time, which is why the amount of information that, if desired, can be learned, for example, in a month, will take six months or more. Yes, this helps to take your time and, often, better assimilate information, but this approach also means that students in offline courses from the very beginning begin to lag behind their colleagues who learn in other ways, which cannot but affect their competitiveness in further.
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Completion of education as an end in itself.
And finally, there is another important problem with the approach that most offline courses follow. The final goal of any offline course is its successful completion and ceremonial receipt of a certificate, and not the acquisition by the student of knowledge that is actually applicable in practice. It is because of this that many graduates of express courses find themselves unprepared for real work as a programmer and are faced with the need to retrain or deepen their knowledge in order to find a real job.
What are the benefits of online programming courses?
Online learning, as a counterweight to offline courses, also has a number of advantages and disadvantages. This is why learning via the Internet, in our opinion, is much better suited for those who want to become programmers.-
Free schedule.
The ability to determine your own learning pace is a very important advantage of online courses. It allows you not to depend on the average pace, which should suit everyone, but to develop individually. The only downside to this approach is that effective study in this format requires some self-discipline, and not everyone has it. But you can teach yourself this too. Fortunately, now there are quite a number of services and systems for combating procrastination and planning training .
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High-quality presentation of material.
Because most online courses provide information directly to students rather than through a hired instructor, it is almost always better-written and presented than offline courses. Since the presentation of material is almost the most important individual distinctive feature of each individual online coding course, as a rule, the most careful attention is paid to working on it. Therefore, when choosing a well-known and well-established online course, you can be sure that it will contain truly relevant and useful information without unnecessary burden and unnecessary “water”.
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Focus on gaining practical experience.
As a rule, online courses try to focus on practice, while in offline learning it’s the opposite. It is the focus on practical tasks and solving real problems that is why online programming training is becoming increasingly popular, displacing offline ones.
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Price.
Online learning is almost always cheaper than offline courses. For obvious reasons: online teaching does not require premises and equipment, as well as many other costs. In addition to the price itself, it also makes sense to take into account the costs associated with offline training for traveling back and forth. And just the time spent on all this, which, as you know, is money.
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Possibility of individual customization and adaptation of the program for yourself.
This includes potentially adjusting the program towards those areas that are primarily or more required, not having to move at a pace that suits the entire group of students, and the ability to obtain the same information in different ways, which is often the case in online courses, but rarely found in offline learning.
Adviсe
Well, in conclusion, a number of tips for those who are just starting to learn programming online and want this process to be as useful and effective as possible.-
Use tools to combat procrastination and study effectively.
We have talked about the fight against procrastination several times, and most recently we launched our own tool : “Kick Schedule,” which makes it possible to set up an individual schedule for learning Java at the time and with the intensity that you need.
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Get involved in your community.
To avoid feeling lonely and lose motivation, communicate with other students of different levels on forums and social networks. For example, you can do this on our forum and in the “Help” section.
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Develop yourself and try new things.
Every month new courses, educational games for programmers , channels and blogs appear on the Internet. Try to regularly access new sources and try fresh approaches to gaining knowledge.
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Keep your goals in mind so you don't lose motivation.
Since it is often difficult for a single person to maintain the enthusiasm that helps move forward, try to focus on your goals. This will help build motivation, which will ultimately lead you to your goal.
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