Online education is a product of the information age. We have grown so accustomed to having access to anything we want to know at the click of a mouse. So naturally, many people around the world are embracing the idea of online learning and educational opportunities with great enthusiasm, and online courses free and paid increase in number and variety every day.
At the same time there are many people in the world who prefer the traditional methods of dealing with things. They like going to the public library and playing solitaire with a deck of playing cards. If you do not like to use the internet, then online learning may not be the best option for you.
But even if you enjoy using the internet, that does not necessarily mean that an online course will be ideal for you. Here we suggest a few questions to help you decide whether or not you would truly benefit by taking some of the many online courses that are being offered in today’s information age.
1) Do you have self-discipline? This may seem like a stupid question because we would all like to think that we have self-discipline. The problem is that when you are in charge of your own education you need to have more than a little discipline. You must be able to meet deadlines and take responsibility for actually learning all of the information that you need to learn in order to pass the course, even if you do not enjoy some parts of the course so much as others. Online education does not offer the same degree of helpful pressure from instructors and classmates if you fall behind, that you would find in a group class that you attend each week.
2) What is the best way for you to learn? Some people learn better from reading, others learn better from listening to spoken lectures. Although internet education is beginning to include some audio materials, it is still more reading-intensive than a physical class. If you have difficulty retaining information that you read, you may need to find another learning method or at least check this out with the course instructor before going ahead with an online course.
3) Do you have a strong desire to succeed? This is very important, because even with good self-discipline, if your ambition is half-hearted you may quickly give it up for something new. With an online course you can often work at your own speed but there are usually limits. The college or instructor is responsible for providing you with the material and helping you with any questions but you are responsible for almost everything else. Are you ready for the responsibility?
Whether you are a first time college student or a professional returning to education after a long break, online learning can offer you many opportunities, especially if you do not live near a college that offers the course you want to take. I hope this checklist will help you to move forward with confidence into the offline or online education program that is right for you.
