Guest Post: Online Education Advantages and Disadvantages

When it comes to online learning there are plenty of advantages and disadvantages. The reality being that it often comes down to a combination of the type of person that you are, as well as the other things going on in your life as to whether it’s the ideal route for you. So here are a few advantages and disadvantages you may want to consider before taking the plunge.

• Advantages:
  Affordability: More and more these days there are a vast amount of learning resources available online. Whether you are doing a basic course, or a degree there, are courses available that are vastly less expensive than going to a college or university. You can also save on travel expenses.
• Time management: For many students, further education often has to go hand-in-hand with working to support your education or being a parent. It can often be difficult to find the right schedule that allows you to pick your children up from school, or find an employer that is happy to schedule hours around time at college. Online education will allow you to do the opposite and to learn around the other important activities in your life.
• Learning at your own pace: Some of us learn slower or quicker than average. You may have the ability to race through a course, or due to other important factors in your life, you may only be able to commit to a certain amount of time every week. Online learning will allow you to work at the right speed and finish the course when you are ready.

Disadvantages:
Motivation: If you are considering an online course, it’s essential that you’re motivated. Whilst working within a classroom environment with hand-in dates is a great motivator, home learning can be a lot more difficult if you struggle to motivate yourself. Some people opt for classroom-based learning as they know that it may take them forever to complete an assignment without the pressure of specific deadlines.

• Less interaction with fellow students and your lecturer: There’s no substitute for interaction with others to stimulate your brain and to help formulate ideas. In a classroom environment, taking notes during brainstorming seminars and lectures is a great way to help you complete assignments when you leave the class. If you’re struggling to understand something, simply raising your hand can have a question answered, as opposed to having to mail an online lecturer, who may take a while to answer your question. Even then there can often be a lack of understanding online that you wouldn’t suffer from in the classroom.
• Fewer facilities: Whilst it’s true that online facilities are getting better and better all the time, there’s often no substitute for a college library or laboratory. Going to the library and grabbing a handful of books and taking notes is often the best way to get the valuable information you need. Colleges often share online journals, relevant to different courses. However, these may not always be available when studying online.

Before embarking on an online or college-based, course you should consider your own situation, assess the quality of courses on offer and decide whether it is right for you. Whilst studying at college may be just right for some, online education may be exactly what you need.