8 Reasons Why You Should Go for Online Courses
Education has taken a huge shift in content as well as process and structure. Especially, after a global pandemic, this change is more evident than ever. No longer are we forced to go to physical education institutions. Thanks to technology, we can access most of the course content on our computers through internet. It is called online learning. Even though it requires a different set of infrastructure, most universities encourage their students to attend online classes because you can do most of the research work online and also publish thesis online. There are several search engines and tools available these days which reduce the dependence on libraries and hard copy materials. There seems to be a lot of benefits in online learning. So people are welcoming it as a change.
Here are 8 reasons why you should go for online courses-
- Not Bound by Geographic Location – Online courses were initially popularized by digital academic platforms like EdX and Coursera; now we have many other platforms like Udemy and others. The best benefit of these modes of learning was that you will not have to visit any physical location which can be situated in any part of the world. You can meet your professors and fellow classmates virtually through video meets. You can attend classes by following recorded sessions; you can read materials from archived and uploaded course resources. This eliminated the necessity to be physically present in a brick-and-mortar classroom. When that was gone, any student could attend any course in any university, no matter where he is located. For e.g., a student aspiring for a certificate from MIT could access a course by MIT, on Edx, even from Philippines, because the online course doesn’t require him to be in the USA. Removal of geographical barrier made courses globally accessible.
- Provides a Flexible Set-up – It is much easier to engage in learning when you can do so from the comfort of your home or workspace. There are lesser factors that can distract you from learning, than if you were in a physical classroom. For example, in a physical classroom, if you talk about your research topic in front of 50 other students and 4 professors, you have to face the fear of being judged by each one of them, you may feel nervous, overwhelmed; the lights and noises around can distract you from your educational goal which is to publish your thesis. But when you are in a comfortable home set-up, engaging at your convenience, you send an email about your topic, the fear to facing rejection is reduced 50 times. You are mostly not bound by time to access your course materials or make submissions in the online courses, which is also motivating for engaging in education.
- Work-Life Balance – Probably, this is the second most important benefit of online courses. You can study while you work full-time or part time. Since you don’t have to take out separate hours for going-coming or spending inside a college, you can work on your courses at your preferred hours beyond office time. Yes, at times, you may have to join a brief call from your workplace or family function, but that is rare and quite possible to achieve. Mostly, the online courses are designed for self-paced individuals hence you can benefit for them, even if you work; you don’t have to give up your job to study.
- Less Intensity– Online courses can exert lesser pressure on a student, it provides some leniency on discussion posts, submissions, content rigidity, homework etc. With online classes, you do all the work at your own pace. As long as you meet your deadlines and participate appropriately online, you’ll be fine. But what is noteworthy is that you don’t have to waste your energy rushing between classes or traveling back and forth from college. Taking classes usually means showing up on class at a particular time, sitting through a somewhat lengthy lecture and then going directly to your next class. Or, if you’ve spaced your classes out, you may be able to take a break in between, but you still have to stay on campus. It can make for really long, really intense, really exhausting days. When you don’t waste time in the traffic, you have more hours to do some self-development, extra office job or enjoy some more time with family. Such flexibility on study pressure can often motivate education.
- Easier Attendance– You just need to sign up online to be present in a class. If you stay where it snows most of year, you don’t have to struggle getting your car out and then beating up the snowy street to reach the university with almost a mishap. Or if you are working to publish your thesis, you don’t have to leave your task at hand to run for an attendance to the college. It is much easier to do it at home by switching on your laptop.
- Feedback is Faster and Frequent– Believe it or not, online learners may actually have more contact with their educators than classroom learners. Online students are generally asked to complete more-frequent assessments so that professors can monitor their competence. Because of this, learning gaps can be identified and addressed faster, rather than allowing a struggling student to slip through the cracks until exam time. Remember, this isn’t just about GPAs. When you’re paying thousands of dollars for an education, you don’t want to hide in the back corner of the classroom. You want to ensure you understand the course material so you can apply it later. You are more comfortable to seek feedback as well, when you don’t have to face your professor physically, or your mates are not going to judge you.
- It is Much Cheaper-Online learning is often more affordable. Since online infrastructures doesn’t need heavy furniture, blackboards, lights and fans, air-conditions, canteen items, rest-room facilities etc. it is easier for administration to cut down costs on courses. Though some cost goes into web services, but that requires much lesser employees to function on an online course, hence they can keep the fees low, sometimes, courses are free as well. So it is a great way to build your professional skills when you pay less for it.
- Self-discipline, Productivity and Skills– Online courses are a great means to upgrade on your existing skills with niche certifications that accelerate your professional career. But you can be more productive while doing so, because these courses save you time, money, and energy. You can study while doing full-time job, you can spend good family time while doing a meaningful skill upgrade, you can have time for your exercise regime because you don’t have to get out two-hours prior to your first attendance every morning. If you have the goal of organizing yourself, scheduling yourself properly, online courses can actually help in doing so. You don’t cut out something but add something to your routine with online courses, and that often requires more time management, therefore, it won’t be wrong to say, that even if you are saving time, even if you are avoiding wasted hours in a day, you have to be more self-disciplined and organized to incorporate online courses into your life, you have to practice self-motivation more often to finish your work, submit within deadlines, set your own goals to graduate the course, especially when no one is always around to push you.
