Looking to learn something new? Maybe head into a new career or just an interest in a new subject? There are many different ways that you can study, either in a class, as a group, or online. Depending on how you best learn, you should be well informed before making a decision.
Here, we are going to look at the reasons studying online may be the best option for you.
Time and Flexibility
Schools and universities don’t offer flexibility. You’re stuck with the Monday-Friday, 9-5 format (with some exceptions)—which is designed to prepare you for the 9-5 grind in our working lives. Many online courses offer the flexibility to be able to learn in your own time and complete your studies within a timeframe that’s suitable for you. Some online courses offer on-demand learning with no restrictions. Others set schedules it really just depends on the course you choose.
Expert Teaching
These days, online learning offers an excellent level of online teaching as compared to their traditional counterparts. If you’re learning an academic subject like data analysis, biochemistry, or advanced Spanish, you’ll discover most of the teachers are from top universities and companies. If you’re looking for quality of education, you can find it online.
Location
Online courses allow you study wherever you want and anywhere in the world. All you need to take an online course is a good internet connection and a compatible device. Many students prefer learning on their computer, yet as online courses are getting bigger, more and more students are learning on their smartphones or tablets. Most of the top online course providers offer iOS and Android apps, allowing you to take your studies with you wherever you go.
Teaching English online has become an extremely popular career in recent times. To become qualified to teach English, all it takes is to become qualified with an online TEFL certificate.
Choice
People who learn online are spoiled for choice. There are online platforms for test prep, online courses for getting a professional certification, online courses for studying an academic subject such as sbu.edu, and online courses for learning a language. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which take an unlimited number of students, are available and also feature one-to-one tutoring between you and an instructor.
You can choose self-guided learning, live online learning in a virtual classroom, tutoring, and more. You can sign up for a full degree, a short course, a few hours of tutoring, or a 1-hour lecture. As online courses have expanded, so too have the choices.
Price
Online courses are largely cheaper than traditional land-based courses as they have less overhead—no renting out classrooms, paying electricity, and finding space for all of those. The online learning market has grown exponentially in recent years, leading to more competition, and of course competition serves to reduce prices. A 4-year degree can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet you can get the credentials for less and private tutoring can cost hundreds of dollars per hour, yet you can find one-on-one tutors online for a lot less.
Career
One of the most underrated aspects of online studying is the ability to advance your career. Traditionally, you would finish school, get a job, and stay there until retirement. Nowadays it no longer works like this, and most people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are switching jobs every few years. For all this progress, people are generally hesitant to leave the workplace in order to go back and study, yet with online courses, you can keep your day job and take a course at a convenient time of the week to get that promotion.
More interaction and greater ability to concentrate
There is contradictory evidence about the rate of online student participation versus participation in traditional courses, but one thing remains certain; shy students who study online have the opportunity to participate in class discussions more easily than face-to-face class sessions. Some students even report better concentration in online classes due to the lack of classroom activity.
There are many different reasons why studying online may be the right option for you. What is important when you are looking at studying online is that you research as much as possible. Consider getting in touch with current students and then seeing what they have to say about the course and not just the content. Find out how a course is run and how easy it is to access your tutors, and think about how it will be living without being on a campus,for example. Accessing these support routes needs to be easy if you’re to get the most out of your studies.
