Online higher education is at an all time high and it’s all because of a perfect storm of factors: The internet and its incredible popularity and reach, bandwidth levels rising across the world, and even the economic collapse has played a role in boosting online classes and courses. These factors have contributed to more and more people getting degrees online, but some people are still uncertain of exactly what online higher education is, how effective it can be, and whether or not it really is the future of learning. I hope to show you just what online higher education is in this short guide.
What is online higher education – The next wave of learning
Just about everyone knows and understands the concept of college – instead of getting by with the general foundation of knowledge that you get in high school, college was designed to give you the specialist skills and tools that you would need when you go into a career field. Just about everyone understands just how important it is to have a degree when looking for a job, and the pressure to make certain that you continue your education can be pretty extreme. Colleges understand that there are an incredible amount of people looking to get higher education combined with their overhead costs and so they charge accordingly – justifying the high cost of learning with the prospects for getting a great job.
Online high education takes that same approach but eliminates one of the biggest barriers of entry – the high cost of schooling. Other barriers have been dropped as well – courses and classes can be taken anywhere so long as you have access to a laptop and the internet, freeing you from being location locked. You’re able to set your own schedule for learning, work at your own pace, and still receive the kind of world class education you would expect from a college.
What is online high education – How effective is it?
Online higher education is becoming more and more effective each and every single day. While it has been around for almost 10 years, the infancy of online schooling wasn’t pretty. Class options were few, skepticism was at an all time high, and it was difficult to get the same kind of learning experience through the internet. Now almost all schools incorporate some level of online schooling in their curriculum, more and more people are finding it to be a cost effective alternative to the debt crippling option of the traditional route, and bandwidth levels are increasing allowing schools to offer more and more interactive ways of teaching along with audio and video lessons.
As to just how effective it is for people is an incredible personal answer – like most things in life, you’ll get out of it exactly what you put into it. Online higher education is definitely not for people who struggle self motivating or meeting deadlines – you and you alone will be responsible for the pace of learning and will need to make sure you remain dedicated. You’ll need to work just as hard (if not harder) than if you went the traditional route, but the advantages (working at your own pace, saving a ton of money, etc) definitely outweigh these minor problems.
What is online higher education – Is it really the future of learning?
I think that the answer is yes. More and more people are finding it convenient and effective to get their higher education from the internet and as the popularity and use grows so will the innovations. The internet has just about changed every other aspect of modern life, and it would seem reasonable to assume that the learning industry is no different. After all, learning is basically built around the premise of communication and the internet is the greatest communication technology ever built. Just about every part of the college life (including most social aspects) can easily be replicated through online higher education, and it looks like more and more schools are picking up and implementing this trend. While I don’t think that the traditional higher education route will disappear completely (and there are still some things that cannot be translated easily over the internet) I do so the traditional route becoming less and less attractive – especially with kids who are now dealing with crippling student loans and no job prospects. This experience is definitely going to color the rest of their lives decisions, and it wouldn’t be crazy to assume that they will have different advice for their kids when they come of age to go to school.
I sincerely hope that this has helped answer “What is online higher education?” for you, and that you continue to peruse knowledge in all of its many forms. Some will still choose to go the traditional route, but for those of you who are looking for the same level of education and degrees but without the baggage and cost, online higher education is an effective method to do so.