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| No | 27% | 156 votes | Total: 572 votes | |
| Yes | 73% | 416 votes |
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Add to FavoritesFirstly l have done both, study in class and online (distance learning), while working.
There is no way you receive the same standard of education or interaction from online college degree programs. The level of education in a class room situation is far more trusting to be true and accurate. The teacher can assess students' levels of ability.
From there the teacher knows if the student is using their own mind for the class, or someone else's.
If you are working online , the teacher has no idea who you are or what you are capable of producing. In a lot of the online college degrees you have multi-able choice answers. I know people have cheated totally and had someone else complete their studies . Who knows, how can the school know?
Also l have found myself and through talking to others that when it comes to workplace experience, students can be left to struggle to find the placement for these hours that are required as practical hours in the workplace.
Unless you are lucky enough to know someone that can assist you with these workplace hours, it can be a battle to achieve this as employers have their own issues with workplace safety, etc.
Myself l would not employ a person if an online degree was all they had to provide, it would give me no faith in their ability or what they had to offer. Even for people who are employed full time there are courses day, evening and night to cover most workplace requirements within the field of work they wish to follow.
I do feel that there are many places conducting courses which are not up to standard. If l can give you this real life example. A young girl follows the system, registered with centrelink, and also a private employment agency. This young girl was accepted with a training provider. She was to study for her Cert111 Aged Care. This provider's program had a 5 week in class and 2 weeks' workplace hours. Then candidates may be accepted for traineeships.
This young girl was not the only person connected with the training provider. In the class was a middle aged women who was awaiting a shoulder operation, two young girls full of makeup and left because they did not want to touch people, one female who had a serious drug problem, and one other female on the run from a drug affected boyfriend.
So this cut the class to half - the only reason these people were there was because they did not want to lose ther payments.
Even the level of this learning process is so low. Before this class could gain their traineeships the training provider went bankrupt.
So all the people left missed out and were told they would have to start again. Moving to a new training provider was not easy as what they had been studying was all out of date. Even the first aid certificate had to be repeated.
Learn more about this author, Jennifer Arthur.
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Yes
Online education is truly the wave of the future. The internet has made it possible for working adults and homemakers to pursue higher education without uprooting their lives. Online universities are now offering degree and certification programs that equal or surpass those offered by traditional schools. As online schooling is becoming more frequent and widely accepted, the high quality of education provided by many online universities is being noticed by potential employers.
As a non-traditional college student myself, I have had tremendous success. As a result I am highly supportive of online education. I earned my Associate of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies - Educational Paraprofessional from Kaplan University Online. In the fall I will be attending Phoenix Online to begin working toward my Bachelor of Science - Elementary Education. So far my experience with online degree programs has been favorable and highly regarded among employers. I have found that my supervisor has been impressed with the overall quality of my education and my knowledge as an education paraprofessional. I have never had an employer or faculty member question the credibility of my university or my credentials.
I researched both traditional and online schools before deciding on Kaplan University. The degree program offered by Kaplan covered the same courses offered by local colleges, and the professors were all highly qualified. The entire faculty had a either a Masters or a PhD and several years of experience. The courses offered were excellent in comparison to other courses I have taken in traditional college classrooms.
Online education is constantly improving as technical advances are made. Many colleges are now offering video and audio courses as well as interactive classrooms. These classrooms provide all of the support and opportunities that students will find in traditional schools. Another advantage to online education is the personal attention that students receive from their instructors. A lot of traditional universities use lecture type classes that are very impersonal and do not provide a lot of communication with the instructors. In online schooling, the professors read and respond to each student's work and questions personally. Classroom discussions are also used in online education. Students will post essays and answer questions in a forum, and respond to the work of other students. This allows students to learn from each other, debate points, and enhance their understanding of the material. This was one of the features of online learning that I valued the most as a student. I am extremely happy with my online college experience. The education that I received from Kaplan University was extensive and relevant to my degree program and the academic support I received from Kaplan was excellent. I found it to be extremely beneficial to my career and I highly recommend online education to anyone seeking to pursue a degree or certification while maintaining a career or raising a family.
Learn more about this author, Kathy Million.
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Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- Distance Learning
- Are online educational programs common today due to the growth of technology or globalization?
- In terms of cost, convenience and academic potential, is an online education more beneficial than a traditional education?
- Can you learn as much from the Internet as you would get from a college education?
