With the advancing technology, online education is becoming a popular channel for students and other professionals to take up a degree. Most institutions of higher learning, both public and private, are creating an opportunity where their students can study through online platforms.
The institutions have created online portals for students where they can easily pay for their tuition fees, attend virtual classes, do their assignments, get course material, interact with their tutors and network with other students from all over.
Here are six reasons why online education has proved to be a better alternative to the traditional classroom setting.
Flexibility and convenience
The flexibility and convenience that comes with online education have proved to be the main reason why most students prefer online courses as an alternative to the traditional lecture room setting. Students can advance their careers and continue with their profession concurrently.
Students can always find online programs that suit their busy work schedules. They can also plan their study time. With online programs study materials and guides are always readily available and can be accessed easily.
Effectiveness
Over the past years, online education has shown to be as effective as traditional education, and sometimes online students have even performed better than their peers in a traditional classroom setting. This has been attributed to the flexibility and convenience experienced by online students.
Higher retention rates
According to the American Research Institute, there is up to60% student retention rate with online education, up from about 25% student retention rate with offline education. This can also be attributed to the flexible programs that online education has to offer.
Pacing
Sometimes students may feel overwhelmed or frustrated with the pace of traditional education. Unlike traditional education that can be slow-moving and boring at times, online education programs usually offer flexible start and finish dates and allow students to work at their own pace. With a face-to-face classroom setting, some students may not find adequate time to understand the concepts.
Less investment in time
Face-to-face interactions can sometimes put off students since it usually involves moving from one class to another, waiting for other students and tutors to arrive, and sometimes commuting from home to the learning institution. With e-learning, students can easily save time by studying at home. Online education requires about 60% less of the student’s time than the traditional setting.
Lower costs
Although not all online programs offer less tuition fees than the traditional courses, they can be less costly in terms of meeting the associated expenses that come with it. Such costs include commuting costs and costs related to acquiring the required course materials.
Although online education is a great alternative to traditional education, especially for students who can’t afford the time and money to take classroom courses, it is worth noting that online courses are not designed for every student or field of study for that matter.
It is therefore advisable to weigh the two options carefully before settling for the one that suits you best.
