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Advantages and disadvantages of online education Introduction It is basically credit-granting courses or education training delivered primarily via the Internet to students at remote locations, including their homes. The Online courses may or may not be delivered synchronously. An online course may need that students and teachers meet once or periodically in a physical setting for lectures, labs, or exams, so long as the time spent in the physical setting does not exceed 25 percent of the total course time. Online education encompasses various degrees and courses.
Through online education, one can opt for many online degrees or online courses from various online universities which provide this facility. Advantages Accessibility: The Distance from a university campus is no longer a barrier in the education of students. Today’s generation have the advantage of utilizing time effectively, since there are numerous choices in distant online education for them. For the student to access online education, all he or she needs is a personal computer with internet access with which he or she can find the desired courses online and enroll.
The online education systems ensure that the student’s put all their energies into studies. Travel is a one of the major issue that is associated with taking on-the-campus classes if the students reside in remote rural areas. Online education has provided a remedy for issues with those residing remotely. Now, they can attend online classes and save time and money. For example, a child of a farmer can help the family out in the morning with the farming chores then go to an online class later on.
Student-Centered Learning: As a student of online learning, it is you who dictates your learning experience. As your tutor will not be teaching you all of the time, you can prioritize your schedule and complete any and all assignments accordingly. You will also be given the choice of which learning methodology you wish to use, such as audio, visual, or oral components. Fair Playing Field: Online education is in vogue also as it provides a level playing field for all the students.
Learning online provides a situation where decision-making is not based on the candidates’ gender, ethnicity, physical appearance, or race. Instead, the evaluation is only based on your performance. The provision of this fair-playing field has significantly contributed to the popularity of online education. A Flexible schedule: The good thing about an online education is its effective use of time. As a student of online education, you have the ability to maintain a flexible schedule, which is of particular help when you are working simultaneously.
For many people, in the today’s busy world, a face to face class is very difficult. If a person works 8 hours on daily basis he could hardly manage taking regular college or university classes. But an online course can put an ease on the time restriction because the person does the work at their own pace and time. It is also easier to sign up for an online class than a class at a college. Message boards are in use if the students need to leave a question or a comment about the subject their on.
Amongst the advantages of distance learning, online education, likewise, offline (traditional college) classes have the same course materials, merely one is expected to sign up for an online class. The online course structure is also the same as the normal classes themselves, but students are asked to order books from online book store. Students can entertain the class participation and discussion on problems they encounter in the course in the chat rooms and forums. Most students write their views on the issues.
Students who have weak language skills can keep an easy pace with the discussion made and view posted. Online education’s major source of face to face interaction is through live video and sound with special equipment As the price of education is attaining its altitudes, the rates of students applying for online educational classes are continuing to get greater. Teachers can also record themselves on the required locations and the student can download the film in case the session is missed. This gives a student the chance to catch up on a class session if s/he missed out on that day.
With online education’s advantages, people have a general comment that some students do not have to put up with bad influences from regular schooling. They help build their own identity without social pressures that traditional schooling may have. Disadvantages Employment: Not many industries will acknowledge an online professional degree. Oral Communication: Since, the majority of online learning systems encourage communication through e-mails and text chatting only, the student’s may be deprived of the ability to improve their oral communication skills. Fraud: A large number of online courses are not accredited and hence are not valid.
Courses: Not all of the courses which are available elsewhere are available online. Online education fails offering the atmosphere as in the real class under the supervision and support of an instructor and everything is usually done by the student. Everything depends on his or her ability to understand the material and be ready for term papers and test. Some knowledge of computers is necessary if the student wants to be able to stay in the class as being computer illiterate is a big issue determining if the person will pass or fail because most of the work is done online.
Lack of interaction is also an issue with online education; one can’t know what question the other fellow has asked as interacting questioning in the classroom environment can help removing lots of ambiguities. Some low-income learners might be influenced by the computer matters because desktops and laptops are costly and many may not be able to pay for such luxuries. Another problem is if a person always needs an extra push or reminder that a up coming report or test is coming because there is no instructor there to provide the push and it is all up to the student remind themselves.
However, the disadvantages stated above can also be implemented in helping students become more responsive. Some believe that in online education the face to face education and personal interaction is not really important because there are some individuals who will become office workers and might work in a cubical providing the same atmosphere that the online class provides. In this addition, students doing everything by themselves in an online class allow them become more independent.
They are taught that there is not always an instructor there to guide them in a problem, as we all require one in our life. One of the major and the career threatening disadvantage with online education is that NOT EVERYONE on the world wide web CAN BE TRUSTED. There are hundreds of colleges, institutes and universities that are web-based and offer distance earning programs. One can’t know who is offering what, sitting in the internet cloud and whether or not the source is real. And here the issue of accreditation rises.
With the issue of the computer as they are costly and some students can not afford buying personal computers. Such students can use public resources to access the internet such as the library and so on. Many organizations also offers loans, grants, and other forms of financial aid they can obtain to provide them with the tools they need to get started in an online class. The computer training they are acquiring in an online class can provide an opportunity in the competitive job market. List of online courses | | |American Language Institute |Graduate Certificates | | | | |Associate of Arts in General Studies |Master of Education in Research and Assessment | | | | |Associate of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies Program |Hospitality | | | | |Bachelor of Science Degree Completion |Master of Arts in Diplomacy and Military Science | | | | |Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems Security |Master of Public Administration (M. P. A. in General | | | | |Certificates of Completion |Master of Public Administration in e-Government | | | | |Continuing and Professional Studies |Master of Public Administration in Public Policy | | | | |Crime Scene
Technician Certificate |Master of Science in Information Assurance | | | | |Diploma Programs |Master of Science in Information Security | | | | |Engineering Professionals |Master of Science in Instructional Design | | | | |Executive JD Program |Juris Doctor Programme | | | | | |Master of Science in Information & Telecommunications | | | | | | |