Technology has revolutionized the education system in unprecedented scale and led to new inventions that were unimaginable few decades ago. Most learning institutions have harnessed the power of technology to accelerate and flex their learning programs and create online learning platforms. In these platforms, student enroll online and access the school the program behind their computers. Though some people have questioned the efficacy of the system, it is becoming a new norm and shows the possibility of technology in the ever-changing world. Thus, this article seeks to highlight and describe some of the many advantages of online college education over traditional schooling system.
1. Flexible hours.
When you have online schooling, you become the controller of your learning. You only access the content when you need it and particularly when you are free. You can adjust to take classes when it is convenient for you since the physicality of a classroom is eliminated. Mostly, online education requires on the student to study the material provided for examination purposes. Therefore, the human factor as the trainer or instructor is reduced making the student to manage their time. Teachers mostly prepare content and upload it on the system where student access it and read it offline. Tying down the learner to a specific time becomes almost infeasible and they determine their content as they are taught. Those taught by automated and pre-recorded content do not necessarily have to adhere to a strict time periods for classes, rather they can access the information whenever the student is ready to learn since the system will be there to help.
2. You can take your class anywhere you want.
It is not a MUST to access the content from a certain location. Getting a degree online means you can access the content anywhere in the world if you have an internet enabled device and you have been authorized to access the system. Your classes are not determined by your physical location, you can attend a class halfway across the world and even your colleagues may be from different nationalities. Online education transcends geographical challenges and you control where and when you attend your lectures. You can therefore do this in your car, coffee shop, airport lobby among other places. You can even pull over your vehicle and attend your class. You do not have to miss your lecture or class because you have travelled or on a holiday. The most important thing is to ensure you have the necessary devices that can enable you to attend these classes. You just need to connect to the internet and you are good to go. All you need to do is plan your activities early, have internet connection and slot in time for your classes. The flexibility of taking online courses makes it possible for students who have a lot of responsibilities to handle. If you’re taking up an online social work degree, you can finish up your course works and devote part of your time practicing your career by volunteering, for example.
3. The cost is generally lower.
The cost of earning a college degree online is relatively lower than the traditional program approach. This is because of varied reasons; no need to physically go to classes and move from one place to another to attend lectures. Instead, that cost of fares and time consumed while on transit is saved. Secondly, there is cost for maintaining lecture halls and other facilities availed in schools to facilitate learning are eliminated. This cost is always transferred to students and in online classroom they are eliminated thus the institutions who offer these programs have more to spare. The fee structure is also quoted lower than for students who attend physical classes. A single instructor with computers and internet connection can teach as many students as a class but the cost of enabling that class transferred to the student is negligible compared to a physical class. Staying in campus is also very expensive needless to say you still require more resources to survive in college even when not in active academic activities. On the other hand, online college education accessed at home can help save a lot of resources for the same quality education acquired by your peers in traditional schooling whilst ballooning their education loan.
4. You can complete the program faster.
The pace of online learning is determined by your efforts and is often not affected by long breaks and other unrests that plague learning institutions. Thus, if you work hard and write perfect essays for each assignment, excel in your examinations, you can be sure you will clear college faster than those who opted for the traditional system. As a student you choose the academic load you can comfortably do unlike in normal college schooling where some of your courses cannot be condensed over inflexible academic calendar system to guarantee covering the content in fewer weeks. Since you can have a more flexible program than in traditional schooling system, most students can accelerate their learning and finish the program faster than in their counterparts in traditional college programs. However, you should be wary of the institutions that promise coverage of syllabus in unrealistic time as they have likely diluted the quality of the education and it will cost you later in your career.
5. You will learn how to self-motivate.
Online college education allows students to learn on their own terms. They have to parent themselves and instill discipline to attend lectures and do any other academic stuff related to acquiring of the degree. As a student who learns on his/her own terms he/she must self motivation to ensure he/she diligently learn and get good grades. Online education is not any easier than normal traditional schooling and since the teaching part is not as practical and interactive as the traditional classroom, a student therefore must motivate himself/herself to learn. An online college student must do extra academic work to finish their courses in time and understand the concepts outlined in each course. Self discipline is key in this regard and ability to motivate oneself helps them tap the possibilities of online education and prepare themselves for their career appropriately. Good performers in online education have exemplary self motivation levels which they must have and nurture to ensure they do well in their academics. The self motivation aspect therefore goes beyond their academics and help them navigate life’s challenges.
Concisely, all the aforementioned reasons which have been compiled by experts from Essay Zoo show that online education is as effective as the traditional system. Each of the advantages of online education has been covered in details and they present a convincing reasons to consider doing an online college degree.