Educating yourself on the web!
Educating yourself on the web!
Online degrees are becoming more and more popular, it is starting to reach the point where you may wonder why everyone doesn't get an online degree. Some people have even suggested that in the future there won't be any traditional schools, everybody will learn online. This may be possible but there are some disadvantages to getting an online education and it is important that they be kept in mind.
The biggest disadvantage of an online education is the lack of support that is available. Students at a traditional university have easy access to their professors as well as the support of their fellow students This isn't the case for online students, and that's a huge disadvantage. As an online student you are going to be on your own and are going to have to solve your own problems. Most schools offer tutorial support to students if they get stuck but this really isn't the same as having access to your professor. Getting an online education requires that you be a strong independent learner, it also requires that you be able to keep yourself motivated. There will be nobody there to make you attend class or do your assignments, you are responsible for this yourself.
The other big disadvantage of an online education is the lack of a social life. For most students the social aspect is a big part of attending university, and this is completely lacking if you study online. There are no fraternities or football games or for that matter any extracurricular activities if you are an online student. People often make life long friends while at university, that isn't really possible for the online student. This is why most people recommend that students straight out of high school attend a traditional college rather than getting an online degree. The social aspects are important and shouldn't be ignored. An online education is intended more for working adults who have already moved beyond the point where they would gain from the social life at a university.
Despite being very common these days there are still some people who look down on online degrees. An online education used to be considered very much second class but that has by and large started to change. However there are still some sectors where an online degree will be considered as second class. This applies mainly to the world of academia, it is unlikely that you will be able to become a university professor with an online degree. To a lesser extent this applies to certain business degrees as well, however this is becoming less and less common. It is mainly the university professors who look down on online degrees, in large part because the trend towards an online education is a threat to their job security. Regardless of why, in some fields a online education may be viewed as being not as good as a traditional degree.