The Pros and Cons of an Education Online
With the fast-paced world racing around us, furthering our education may seem like an impossible dream. The good news is it doesn’t have to be. An education online could be a way to manage our desire to improve ourselves while also fitting another responsibility into our lives. However, before you jump onto the bandwagon, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons associated with this option. Below you’ll find several of each to consider.
Pro – No Commuting
Instead of having to waste an extra 30 minutes or more to reach a college campus in traffic, you can just head into the privacy of your office or bedroom to do your coursework or to talk to the members of your class. By eliminating that commute, you could save yourself enough time to make getting through your studies worth it. Plus, if you’re located a good distance from a college, it might make going back to school feasible.
Con – Potential Frustrating Technical Problems
Computers can be frustrating anyway so what happens if your entire education online depends on them? That could be a recipe for disaster. You’ll want to make sure you have a reliable computer and Internet connection available before you get started. Make sure you have a back-up plan in mind just in case something goes wrong with your set up.
Pro – More Courses Becoming Available All the Time
When an online education was first becoming an option, the types of courses and degree programs available were pretty limited. Today, the field has opened up a great deal. More than 60% of all colleges and universities are offering some type of distance education option when once it was primarily vocational schools. You still can’t take courses that require hands-on learning, such as labs, but who knows what the future may hold for those types of classes as technology continues to grow and change.
Con – Courses Cost a Little More
Although you might think an education online would be less expensive than a traditional one, the reality is they usually cost more. Maybe it’s because of all the bandwidth you’ll be using up as part of your learning. The costs for the courses do vary. Individual classes may have an additional technology fee while online programs from virtual universities may be much more expensive. Shop around though because financial aid is sometimes available to help cover the costs.
Pro – Greater Participation Options
If you’ve been in traditional classrooms before, you know that what often happens is that participation is dominated by a few loud voices while everyone else holds their opinions in. That’s not an ideal learning environment; it’s actually pretty boring day after day. With education online, you don’t have that problem. Because most of the class discussions take place through message boards and chat rooms, everyone has an opportunity to share their ideas without worrying about being dominated by someone else. Plus, students can communicate with one another privately through emails or with their instructors one-on-one.
Con – Requires Great Commitment
One of the biggest problems students getting an online education face is figuring out how to motivate themselves to do the work without their parents or their professors forcing them to. No one can take attendance of an online class so you have to take the initiative and be dedicated to doing well. While you may be tempted to squeak by without any effort, chances are you won’t. Most education online professors will probably be aware of what students do so the testing and the assignments may also be harder than you might imagine.
Pro – Flexible Schedule
Because most of us have to work to support ourselves, we don’t have the luxury of just being a student. Even if we work part-time, a traditional college schedule might be difficult to maintain. Bosses may not always want to let you off for that 4 pm lecture or may not be interested in changing your work hours every semester. With an education online, you can incorporate your educational work around your real work instead of vice versa. It’s a more realistic way to combine the income we need and the education we want.
Con – Feedback May be Delayed
In a classroom, you could go up to your instructor if you have an immediate question. That’s not going to be possible with an online education. You can still contact your teacher either through email or through message boards but you may not be able to get a response right away. In fact, responses can sometimes be a bit slow, especially if the instructor is teaching traditional courses as well as the online course.
Pro – Meet People from All Around the World
An education online is something that can be enjoyed by students from all over the world. That means you could have an opportunity to interact and learn from people with very different backgrounds, cultures, and views. While that might sound threatening to some people, it’s actually the best way to learn. Only by questioning ourselves can we ever really be sure about the strength of our convictions. It’s an amazing experience that many people don’t get to experience inside traditional classrooms.
Con – Sense of Isolation
Although an online education can still involve communication between you, students, and the instructor, most of the time you will be working and learning on your own. That might not be a bad thing for some people; other people may become very bothered by the sense of isolation. If you’re a very extroverted person, an education online may be a challenge, especially if you’ll be taking away time you would normally spend interacting face to face with people. Introverted people should actually enjoy getting an online education more.
Now that you’ve see some of the pros and cons, you can begin balancing them for yourself to determine whether or not an education online is the right answer for you. Remember to be honest and weight them carefully. This is, after all, an important decision in your life.