Advantages of an Online Education

Advantages of Online Education

Is online education a valuable innovation that improves opportunities for students or is it a poor substitute for traditional, classroom-based teaching? It has long been recognized that students and educators need to use a variety of tools in order to keep up with the skills that are needed in the contemporary world. Online education is becoming popular, but some people raise questions about its effectiveness in comparison to traditional learning. While teachers will always be involved in the education process, there is room also to consider new ways in which teachers, students and technology can work together. Technology is here to stay, and everyone in an industrialized society needs to learn how to make the best use of it. This paper argues that online classes have numerous advantages over traditional classroom learning such as the following: the internet offers faster feedback, more flexibility, convenience, and the opportunity to learn at one’s own pace.

Online learning can be defined as “a form of distributive learning enabled by the Internet” (Volery and Lord 217). The term “distributive learning” in turn implies two essential ingredients: “first, a heavy reliance on technology, and second, self-learning” (Volery and Lord 217). It is important to remember that both sides of this equation are equally important: the technology must be available to provide the learning opportunities while the student also must be actively engaged and able to adopt a high level of self-management and motivation in order to engage in self-learning (Volery and Lord 218).

A strong advantage of the internet over other delivery messages is that it is extremely fast. A student can access almost limitless amounts of...

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...st. The advantages of online education are so persuasive that people will not be able to resist them. Students will become more highly skilled and less dependent, and teachers will be freed up to concentrate on goal setting and encouragement rather than repetitive information handover. Online education can only be a good thing for everyone involved in the learning process.

Works Cited

Snart, Jason A. Hybrid Learning: The Perils and Promise of Blending Online and Face-to-

Face Instruction in Higher Education. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print.

Volery, Thierry and Lord D. “Critical Success Factors in Online Education” International Journal of Education Management. N.p.: n.p., 2000. 217-18. Web. 1 July 2011. <. >.