The pros and cons of online education
The growing trend and popularity of getting educated online in online schools with their many advantages and disadvantages as explained below
With an increase in the number of people who use technology and gadgets with internet connections the nature of education and the jobs of educators has changed drastically. There has been an increase in the number of students taking one or more courses online and there are also many universities that offer degrees online. Online education is a form of education that takes place through the internet and can be administered through video lectures, discussions, accessing and submitting assignments going all the way through to courses which are offered exclusively online. There are even courses in which video conferencing is used to keep an element of face to face discussions.
Correspondence courses have been in effect since the early 1800’s for students without access to a university campus for any variety of reasons. This type of education then evolved to education through the radio, through television sets where courses were known as Telecourses and with an increase in the number of people using the internet, the trend of getting an online education grew. This expansion of online education has not slowed at all, rather it has become somewhat of a trend among today’s youth.
Types of Learning
Online learning environments provide a greater degree of flexibility and offer more diverse representations of student populations where the diversity comes from interacting with students outside of one's geographical location. This can possibly offer a varied perspective on the content of the course as different minds coming together is sure to mean a lot of differing viewpoints. The two types of online learning are synchronous earning and asynchronous learning. The former focuses more on face to face learning where the teachers and learners utilize the online platform at the same time with the exchange of information feeling more like a conversation. The latter however focuses on the anytime-anywhere appeal of online learning where learners do not have to be online at the same time as the educators giving the learner more time to find facts and generate responses.
Advantages of an online education
Students can independently solve problems at their own pace without worrying about how fast other students are going and thus helping with self-esteem issues. The education being provided is individualized for each student thus reducing the number of struggling students. The biggest benefit however is getting educated for less than getting educated traditionally as costs like fuel and vehicle wear and tear are saved. With the rapidly increasing reliance of people on technology, getting an online education helps you become extremely tech savvy as well with the added benefit of having an extremely flexible timetable so you may get a part time job as well. There are so many options available to students today who want to get an online education as they can find almost any degree they want online. You can complete the program faster than with a traditional degree which means you can get out into the real world and earn faster as well. Students with disabilities can also benefit from these degrees as there are limited issues of mobility and those students with less control over their hands or feet in medical cases like cerebral palsy can use voice automated technology to help them make assignments also. Students with any type of social issues like anxiety can also avoid large classroom settings.
Disadvantages of an online education
However, there are two sides of the same coin. There is an issue of accreditation in these degrees as in case of earning a degree from a school with no accreditation; your degree will be classified as worthless. This is because of the presence of online ‘diploma mills’ which hand out fake degrees and as such can ruin your credibility. By getting an education that is completely online, you might miss out on campus life and everything it entails like a prom, graduation, game nights and other cultural events. This is also a factor whilst studying as building relationships with your classmates or teachers is an integral part of learning which cannot happen in an online course. There is also a problem of time management and organization skills needed to submit assignments and projects by their deadlines which is hard if a student tends to procrastinate. Students with disabilities also face a lot of hurdles as pop ups on the internet can cause seizures to those with photosensitive epilepsy and those with colour blindness may feel difficulty in viewing specific formats. Students with hearing impairments or blindness face different sets of issues also.
Author Bio: This article has been written by Sarah Hamilton, a researcher on social issues with a PhD in Education. Also Academic Writer at | Do My Essay