IELTS essay1

Universities are now able to put their lectures on the internet for students to read so the importance of attending face to face lectures has been reduced. Do you believe the use of the internet's informal education is a good idea? What future effects will the internet have on academic study?

Over the past few years, computer technology has started to change many aspects of our life. One of them is our approach to teaching and learning. Many people believe that the internet will greatly enhance students' lives. This essay will provide some explanation about whether the costs will be outweighed or not. (I think I would say whether the "value is outweighed by the cost or not")
One future effect of the internet on academic study is that the level of students' contact (with teachers or with other students?) that we are used to may be reduced. This might happen simply because students do not need to spend as much time at university. The same may be true of lectures. If they (teachers? I think you need to clarify the initial "they") are able to put their lectures on the internet, they may choose to do their jobs from home so there will be less time available for consultation. So it would be a great advantage.* In my country, tutors usually focous on the importance of regular, informal meetings and students' work could succeed them to progress in many fields. Thus, the student suffers from if their efforts are not efficient.

*It seems like lecturers being less "available for consultation" might be a negative, but you say in the next sentence "So it would be a great advantage." I might reorder your sentences instead to say : "<em>If teachers are able to put their lectures on the internet, they may choose to do their jobs from home so that would be a great advantage. However, there would be less time available for consultation.</em>"

Apart from the negative impact that the internet may have on students' relationships, we also must consider the disadvantages to students' health. The nature of studing is a very sedentary activity involving long hours reading books and writing assignments. In addition, these activities are usually done alone. As a result of study alone, a vast number of students may be (or "may become") depressed. Going to campus offers students a change of scenery, a bit of exercise, and an opportunity to meet and socialize with other students. If it is no longer necessary to leave home because lectures are made available on the internet, then students may suffer from physically and mentally due to this change.
To sum up, whilst I can appreciate that the internet will be a valuable source of information for students, I cannot agree that it is the best means of transmitting information (or I might say "of sharing educational media" because that sounds a little bit less stiff). It is believed that the internet is positive, if done correctly.

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Very interesting text! I actually think there are great benefits to having so much educational material readily available for free online. There's greater accessibility for people from a wider range of economic backgrounds. Obviously there are huge benefits from being in a face-to-face lecture too(!), but I'm not convinced that it is <em>always</em> better... I've seen huge classes of hundreds of students in massive lecture halls with a teacher way at the front who never gets to have a one-to-one connection with any of the students. But I find my italki French teacher to be brilliantly attentive and she is always happy to answer my questions. And, of course, people in the italki community are very good at stepping in and helping when help is asked for...

I think certain fields lend themselves more readily to in-person teaching though. For example, if I were doing a pottery class or any other tactile class, the benefits of physically being in the class are far better than watching videos... But I completely agree that being able to have a change of scenery and discussing topics with people on campus without having to previously arrange a meeting are so beneficial. Very interesting topic indeed and there are so many great points on both sides of the discussion! I think you've done a great job of talking about it and, overall, you were very clear :)