Online Education Tell me how you think of it

[Ka Jolo 0]

I am a fan of online education. There are obvious advantages to online education: people can attend schools that are geographically distant, they can take classes at a pace and schedule convenient for them, universities can control and standardize course content, professors can be absent, etc. Of course, there are also weaknesses of online education versus traditional education models.Many traditional classes are not very creative; students sit in chairs and take notes while professors lecture. Occasionally some students (often just a small subset of the class) may ask questions or offer comments. The students read from textbooks outside of class, take tests, and may have other assignments to turn in. Certainly none of this is lost in a quality online program.In the school where I taught online, the lectures were recorded on video, and notes were provided; these resources were available as many times as the students desired, whenever they desired them. ALL students were graded on their course participation, meaning everyone was motivated to engage in the discussions (e.g. make forum posts). Books were mailed to the students, tests were administered online, etc.Many have seen "networking" as a weakness of online courses, but I disagree. Just because we have a new medium of communication (the Internet) that does not mean meaningful, personal communication does not take place. In the past people communicated intimately via letters, then by telephone; now we use the Internet. I personally know a dozen couples who met and got to know each other on the Internet enough to meet in RL and eventually marry. Why shouldn't relationships formed online be valuable and helpful later in life? I have RL friends I met through online BBS or forums, and often they are of a higher "quality" than ones I first meet face-to-face. Why? Face-to-face, my meetings are often random; I have no control over who I'll meet. On the Internet, though, I've become acquainted with authors of books or articles I've enjoyed, leaders of institutions I've contacted, etc.Online education (a form of distance education) may not be the best choice for everybody, but it's definitely "good."

[arjupun 0]

I think it is a system of education which helps to learn the new things by own effort in the internet, it also helps to be a self depend, to learn easily by searching as in the book and it helps in getting quality education. so, if you get chance then I think you should join the online education.

[webishqiptar 0]

I would end saying that online learning is difficult because of the need of studying through computers, and computers can harm your health and your eyes and it is a very tiring method of studying. I agree that there are lots of online educational sources, like wikipedia.

[inverse_bloom 0]

I definitely value what online education can offer. After recently taking a course at a technical college (Australian T.A.F.E), i've been put off by the service quality and the rotten attitude of people displayed there. I have since discovered the free computer science courses offered on the Stanford and MIT and count myself fortunate for doing so.

Edited May 17, 2009 by inverse_bloom (see edit history)

[webishqiptar 0]

Online education is something relative or limited by the name itself. You cannot learn practical methods using online education such as biology or medicine or physics, if not in reality. This is my opinion s far, but online education can be conducted for Internet source cpde as a science or technology itself. You can learn a programming language by school and you can learn a programming language by yourself with very advanced online education, but you cannot be a doctor by online education.So as every matter, this has its pros and cons. Maybe it would be good to discuss about online information, which is huge and helpful. You can find a very vast variety of things in the Internet. I appreciate a lot some of the licenses or certificates that w3schools created, but this can remain here and not developed any further. Yes, I'd like online education to help real onstage University education , let us suppose having theory lessons online, would be great and graceful.

[sabrina0708 0]

In my opinion, everybody can choose the training method by their requirements. Online education is good for somebody working who has not enough time to learn in classroom. These guys do not have enough time fly to other place for learning. The traditional education is good for kids.Welcome for your advice!Sabrina

[k_nitin_r 8]

Hi!Online education has its limitations. There are things that you can teach and things that you can't.It's a pretty good way to earn a second degree when you've got a full-time job that's important for your career. You ought to have at least some classroom education though because there are skills that you learn from a classroom (presentation skills, interpersonal skills etc.) that can't effectively be taught over an online session.We've got a lot of tools to take teaching online from Skype (an audio & video conferencing tool) to Moodle (a course management system). However, it takes more effort to organize than a classroom session.Regards,Nitin Reddy

[The Simpleton 2]

Online education sure has its fair share of pros and cons. One should definitely not depend entirely on online education unless there is no other choice because you can only learn so much online. Some things need to be learnt "offline" in the real world.I find that whenever you feel that you're not getting enough from your regular classes and are hungry for more then online education gives a good alternative - but if you are very satisfied with your regular education then there's nothing new you can find online.In the end it's all up to the individual - to each his own!

[Veradesigns 0]

It depends on who ever trys it example if you learn best by yourself then online ed is the way to go if you have troubble cocentrating then you have a problem and go see a teacher to teach you. My answer is yes, its the best thing that ever happend to people whom have little time and dont have transportation to study and cant afford a private home school teacher.

[The Simpleton 2]

yes I guess in cases like that it is best to opt for online education. I've got another good example where online education could be the only option for some people-learning foreign languages! The language that you want to learn might not be available in your college so in that situation only online education will help you, isn't it?

[Veradesigns 0]

yes I guess in cases like that it is best to opt for online education. I've got another good example where online education could be the only option for some people-learning foreign languages! The language that you want to learn might not be available in your college so in that situation only online education will help you, isn't it?

There are a lot of reasons why to take online courses, many are free, but then again if you are willing to learn.
Most people are skeptical what is there and what is not there to learn on the internet, there are websites that even show you how to make drugs. The internet is the place of knowledge but then again, who needs online classes when what you need is already in the internet that many would do for free?

[k_nitin_r 8]

Hi!@kasperooney: I think learning a foreign language online would be difficult. You wouldn't be able to get your pronunciation corrected. Sure, there are audio courses online but unless you get somebody to listen to you, you can't really figure out if you are doing it right. For written language learning, online learning gives you almost the same experience as classroom learning.With online learning, you would know about the errors that other students make so you'll have to actually make the mistakes yourself before you know about it.Regards,Nitin Reddy

[k_nitin_r 8]

Hi!@Veradesigns: I agree with you on the availability of free material on the Internet, but that isn't the same as an online course. There are some authors who create free online courses, but most of the stuff on the Internet is reference material. Learning videos that some authors create and post on Vimeo (YouTube's videos are too small to read text unless you put very few words and make the BIG) or on their own websites are mini-courses and they are just as effective as a classroom session. The Carnegie Mellon University creates videos, by recording their classroom sessions, to send to the distance learning students but they aren't for free.Regards,Nitin Reddy

[The Simpleton 2]

I think learning a foreign language online would be difficult. You wouldn't be able to get your pronunciation corrected. Sure, there are audio courses online but unless you get somebody to listen to you, you can't really figure out if you are doing it right. For written language learning, online learning gives you almost the same experience as classroom learning.

 

With online learning, you would know about the errors that other students make so you'll have to actually make the mistakes yourself before you know about it.

There are exceptions to this. Some sites do have volunteers who are available on skype to help you correct your pronunciation. Others offer this service for a small fee. And if you listen to the audio courses real good, then I don't see why you cant get the pronunciation correct. After all, by trying again and again anything can be learnt by default! I've already come a long distance in learning Japanese online and it's been a great experience so far for me!

 

For anyone with a good connection, streaming helpful videos online is a really good way to get educated as it is the nearest thing to classroom learning.

[ASHISHRANJAN 0]

i thing it is the one of the awesome way to sprerad your teaching to the world.people who had not aware of online we should make them aweare of it that how much it is usw \ful for us to get our information.it is 1 of the bwst way to get connected to the world .the people how are not geting their information in the book the wiil get it on line system