What is Online Education?

Online courses and degrees have become a best friend to adults and working college students. They allow freedom from the traditional classroom, have many of the benefits of a traditional classroom, and cater to the needs of busy students with other responsibilities and obligations.

What Are Online Courses?

Colleges and universities have offered print-based, self-paced, distance-education courses for some time, so the advantages of the Internet made online courses a natural progression in our ever-increasing technological world. Unlike print-based courses, online courses offer students the opportunity to experience much more of the ‘college experience\'. Online courses provide education in real-time, mirror the traditional classroom with lectures, peer and instructor interaction, and assignment deadlines.

Taught over the Internet on software platforms such as Desire2Learn or Blackboard, online learning transports students to a virtual lecture hall in the form of a message board. The message board provides students with a forum to discuss current lessons, current events, or assigned lessons. Each week, textbook reading is assigned, and lectures are delivered. Completed assignments are submitted to the professor through e-mail or a “drop box” on the learning platform. Only the student and professor have access to the assignment. Participation is key to online classes, and in many classes participation in discussion forums weighs heavily on the final grade.

What Are the Benefits of Online Education?

There are many positive aspects that make online courses and degrees both appealing and beneficial. Online courses offer freedom. Individuals have the chance to take courses without having to trudge to class three times a week. It also allows students the opportunity to work towards their degree and maintain a life outside of the classroom, whether taking care of family, working full-time, or just enjoying the college experience. Once, the only way for a working adult to attend school was to go to night school and wear themselves thin. With technology provided by online courses, that is in the past. The flexibility of online courses allows students to live their lives without disruption and work towards a degree at the same time.

Online courses also offer the opportunity to excel as a student. Since the lecture materials appear online in text form and are accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, students can more easily review the concepts and principles needed to succeed. Unlike traditional classroom students, online students have time to think critically about lectures and discussions instead of being pressured to answer a professor’s question before they are ready. Online courses are especially helpful to students who are timid or shy or fear speaking in front of a class. This also benefits individuals with learning problems and behavior disorders, such as ADD, dyslexia, or Asperger Syndrome.

What are the Disadvantages of Online Education?

It is estimated that the average student spends three hours per course credit per week on coursework. One enrolled in a traditional three credit course can expect to spend nine hours each week on that course. Add a full course load, and the time spent on education quickly equals that of a full-time job. Some students who take both online and traditional courses believe online courses are much harder work. Since there are no lectures to attend, learning is dependent on reading textbook and text lectures. In essence, students teach themselves with a professor serving merely as their guide. For those who have difficulty staying on task, an online education might not work well.

A common complaint from students enrolled only in online courses is the lack of face-to-face interaction with peers. Although online students interact in the online discussion forums and on message boards, the face-to-face interaction is something some students miss. If you are one of those, online courses may not be best for you.

What Should One Look For In Selecting an Online Education?

There are three important things to pay attention to when seeking an online program: accreditation, admission requirements, and financial aid.

Unfortunately, in the Intenet age, one can be taken advantage of very easily. Some intuitions that market themselves as legitimate colleges and universities are not acredited. (Accreditation means that the school has met a list of requirements and is endorsed by an accrediting agency or association.) Make sure that your program is accredited. To check on the legitimacy of an accrediting agency, call the US Department of Education at (202) 219 – 7011.

For admission, some schools require more than just an application for admissions. The University of Phoenix, one of the most well-known online institutions, requires students be at least 21 and working full-time. On the other hand, other online colleges require only a high school diploma. Make sure you know the admission requirements for the program that interests you so you will be sure that you meet those requirements or can work towards meeting them later.

As with traditional universities, tuition varies from program to program. Some colleges charge in-state and out-of-state residents the same tuition while others charge a slightly higher amount for non-resident students. Some online institutions offer no financial aid, others offer financing through the institution, and others offer Federal financial aid. If you need financial aid to attend school, pay very close attention to what the school offers.

As the world around us becomes smaller, online education is going to play a very large role in shaping the work force.