Advantages of Online Education

Advantages of Online Education
Page content

Attend Class in Your Pajamas

Online courses allow busy people to complete classes. Just by logging on online, students can work toward an associates degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or doctorate degree. In addition, students can earn certificates by taking online boiler classes, online pastor classes or even obtain a CDA online. In today’s electronic world, the possibilities are endless.

**

Complete Coursework Anytime or Anywhere

The work can be completed during lunch breaks, while waiting on children to get off the bus, before breakfast or late at night when all of the house chores are complete. Anyone who has a computer and an Internet connection or access to the Internet can do the work and take advantage of not sitting in a classroom at a specific time or place.

Of course, real working people go to work in the morning, shuffle kids to practices, clean, cook, do laundry, grade papers, etc. It takes a great deal of tenacity and drive to get the work done when professors are not demanding your backside to be in chair in their classrooms.

However, online education courses can be a great help to busy moms or dads. Or, for that matter, anyone who is busy and does not want to troll for a parking spot at the local university or college. In addition, another advantage to online classes is that some colleges send the books directly to you so that you do not to take time to shop in the college bookstore.

You may think that it will be a great deal cheaper. However, if you are working toward a degree at an accredited university or college, the costs will probably be the same, except that you are probably living at home and saving money by not living in a dorm or apartment.

Negative Aspects

One of the downsides of taking online classes is that you will miss out on the social aspects of going to a traditional university or career college. In addition, you will not be able to be face-to-face with an instructor. For busy working parents or students who work odd hours, their social life is not always a top priority and some prefer email over a physical meeting.

You Still Have to Put Forth the Same Effort

Anyone who has ever taken online courses knows that you must set aside time to get the work done to be successful. The time that would have been spent in a classroom must be spent in front of the computer screen, reading the assigned text books or writing the papers. Again, one of advantages of an online education is that you do not have to physically go to a class, but you still must complete the work.

Online students need to make a weekly schedule that includes work time for their classes. It is best if students block off the time they would have been in a classroom to do the work so that the work is completed on time. If the class is worth three credit hours, then a person should set aside at least three to five hours each week to complete work.

Tips for Online Students

mechanical pencils

Parents may need to put the kids early to be so that they can log on to their university portal or website to complete work. If parents can afford a weekly babysitter to keep the children in check while they do their school work, this is money well spent.

It is also great for parents to do their work while their children do their homework. The children can see their parents being good role models and the parents can have some peace as everyone completes homework.

Readings, Discussion Boards, Drop Boxes, etc

The work may not be all on the computer. Usually, there are readings to be completed and papers to be written. In addition, students may have to post their ideas online in a group discussion or blog. In addition, you may be asked to place your work in online drop boxes or use online blackboards. Some instructors just have students email the work as an attachment.

Every course and instructor is different, so it is important to know the rules. Most instructors know when the work is turned in because the time will be right on the email or entry. Meeting deadlines is still very important.

Online Instructors

Communicating electronically with an instructor is a very important to your success. If you fall behind on assignments and do not contact the instructor, the end result will be very negative. However, if you are having difficulties and continually communicating with the instructor, sometimes the instructor will be more lenient on deadlines, not always.

Instructors are expected to check their emails daily and to help students find success. So, online students should not be hesitant to contact their instructors when problems arise or when there are issues or concerns.

Overall, the advantages to an online education are the flexibility it gives you. However, you must manage your time well, complete the work on time, and communicate with your instructor to find success.

Photo Attribution

computer photo: By Penarc [CC-BY-3.0 or GFDL], from Wikimedia Commons:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Personal_Computer_774.JPG; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License

References