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| Yes | 43% | 121 votes | Total: 279 votes | |
| No | 57% | 158 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesFor the emotionally mature and self disciplined student, on line education is a vastly superior way to learn. While it is best for undergraduates who have not had the college experience to attend a live classroom for a couple of years, at least, the on line experience allows the flexibility for those who are in rural areas, the military, working full time jobs, or who simply want to work on their educations from home.
The workload that is required to earn a good grade in an on line course is just as rigorous as it is for in resident courses, so looking for any breaks beyond not having to deal with the schedule, travel and other hassles from in residence coursework, will result in disappointment. In fact, it takes the same number of hours of study and participation per unit as the classroom course demands.
The benefits of being able to put all of one's efforts into reading the lecture and other materials, studying the texts, and responding to assignment deadlines on your own schedule are enormous. Not having to dress up, leave the home, travel, walk to and sit up in the classroom, means more time for study, research, improving the body of knowledge and improving writing skills.
The benefits of being able to read what the other students have written is one which will never be fully available in the in residence programs. This gives a student the ability to see the assignment and how it was handled by other people, from other perspectives, and in relation to other applications of the material in the real world, since many of the other students are experienced working professionals.
In addition, the class dialogue is extended in ways that go far beyond what is available in the classroom, where everyone flees as soon as the time is up. On line, additional discussion can go on for as long as the instructor and students wish for it to go on, and there are no distractions, since people do not have to start packing up and bundling up to leave in the middle of a good dialogue.
The material is just as advanced, the standards for grading are just as, if not more, rigorous, and the quality of the instruction is excellent. In that past, there was great controversy as jealous universities saw a potential drain on their customers from the far easier and more palatable life of getting a solid education without the campus involvement. The controversy and attacks have been proven to be useless, since many graduates of on line education have gone on to excel in the real world.
Learn more about this author, Elizabeth M. Young.
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No
With the advent of the Internet, information has become a lot easier to come by. While I agree that the knowledge potentially obtained through the Internet is limitless, it simply cannot be compared to that of a college education.
Years ago, the World Wide Web took the world by storm. Through this venue, individuals are able to access an insurmountable amount of data. The ideal library, the Internet provides users with such an extraordinary database that is easily accessible and at our fingertips. Unfortunately, websites can be created by anyone, and an adequate filtration for inaccurate or biased information does not exist.
When utilized accurately, the Internet can certainly be an exemplary supplementary to the knowledge attained through a more disciplined medium: school. Because anyone is capable of publishing their personal insights on the web, factual information can be hard to come by if not searched for properly. A college education, on the other hand, offers something individual study simply does not: structured learning. For individuals in their early twentiesa majority of college studentsthis method of learning is fecund.
Within a college setting, instructors are expected to adhere to a relatively strict syllabus. While they are given some personal leeway, there are guidelines to be followed, and expectations for what a student should walk out of class knowing at the end of the semester. Inside of these guidelines, students are offered appropriate information for their level and interest. Furthermore, they are encouraged to develop their own feelings and perspectives on the matter.
To further vouch for the importance of a college education, taking classes among a large campus gives students the opportunity to develop social skills that are necessary in life, as much as they are in nearly every profession. Learning to respect other individuals, as well as the opinions of others, can build some admirable qualities in students. In addition, another's perspective may challenge a student's own personal feelings on a subject, thus motivating them to take a closer look at the designated subject area, and perhaps reformulate their alliance.
Though I do not dare debase the giant leaps technology has taken by bringing information into our homes and only a click away on our computers, its importance does not transcend the significance of attaining a college degree. Critical thinking, social networking, and sometimes hands-on experiences (amongst other things) are just some lessons the Internet cannot (and will never be able to) teach.
Learn more about this author, Jen M. Hernandez.
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