The biggest challenges facing most people today are lack of time, flexibility and the cost of tertiary or professional education.
The biggest challenges facing most people today are lack of time, flexibility and the cost of tertiary or professional education.
For a working professional looking to pursue their studies online, these obstacles can be overcome and this is how:
1. Cost effective
Online studying generally tends to be a cheaper alternative than studying at a class room based institution. For a start, you hardly incur any travel expenses and study materials such as study notes, assignments or any other materials are normally downloadable saving you the expense of textbooks.
2. It doesn’t matter where you are
There are no geographical limitations with online studying. With the move to all things online, almost all fields of study have become accessible through the internet. No matter where you are in the world, the expertise can virtually be delivered to your door. As a consequence, education can now reach a much larger number of people.
3. Studying at a pace you are comfortable with
It stands to reason that most professionals are under immense stress if they have to balance a full time job with having to attend classes. Home based study can go a long way in alleviating this stress being that the professional can design a study routine that can accommodate their working schedule. In addition, being that internet connection is pretty much the only requirement in being able to study online, this allows the professional access to their classes or study material from practically anywhere.
4. Innovative instruction
Technological advances have transformed online learning into an incredibly rich, fun and exciting user experience. Multimedia innovation, exceptional graphic design and new technologies have revolutionised teaching methods in ways that conventional methods sometimes struggle to compete with.
Furthermore, online chat facilities, forums and email have made communication between students and their instructors much easier being that they don’t necessarily have to contend with waiting for office hours. In the same way, students are also able to interact more conveniently with each other via online chat rooms making discussions relating to their courses or other subject matter a simpler process.
5. Flexibility
Not being restricted by a class schedule means online students are not only able to study at their own pace, but they can take as long as they need to complete assignments, provided that they submit their coursework on time.
Online studying also means that students are sometimes able to select when they want to sit an exam if available online – and with technology today, immediate results and feedback have become commonplace.
6. Choice of degree programs
Conventional studying at educational institutions often means being restricted to a specific selection of subjects in order to complete a particular degree program. Many online study programs have eliminated this restriction in that students get to choose their subjects.
As a result, students can select subjects relevant not only to their major, but also to their profession. Being able to design a degree in this way often saves the online student time in terms of gaining their qualification as they get to create a program that caters to their individual requirements.
With more and more demands being placed on people in terms of work or family commitments, it is understandable that online education is getting increasingly popular.
Being that the internet has transformed the way we work, it was inevitable that education would follow the same course.
