by Sue Langeder

Created on: March 15, 2009

The advantages of online universities are enormous for a sector of the community. Having been to both traditional university courses in the early 1990s, I have decided to take on the new age of online universities and discovered a new me.

Firstly, the convenience of online universities must be addressed. You can study where ever, when ever (within the week) to complete your lectures, tutorials and assignments. As long as you have an internet connection, you could be in the comfort of your home or trekking through the Andes, and you can still complete the necessary tasks.

Online university is perfect for mothers staying home in the first 5 years of your children's life. You can juggle doctor's appointments, kindergarten sessions, swimming lessons and Mothers Group, while still keeping the household sane. At the same time, those who want to progress with their careers can still maintain a full time job and study after hours, in their lunch break or on the weekends - whenever time is flexible.

The cost and time waste of traveling to university is completely eliminated. Yes, you may need to frequent local libraries, university libraries or even state libraries, but you can still do this in your own time.

Now, that is your first thoughts when considering online university. What happens when you dig your boots in and tackle the course you plan to take.

When sitting in a lecture theatre, the lecturers state all the issues that pertain to the subject and you spend your time scribbling down the points, however you don't have time to take in the points, and may miss a few along the way. Online university eliminates all of that. With a CD ROM giving you all the lectures, you can take in as much or as little as you want as you can listen to the lectures at your own pace. It makes you think, what are they trying to say to you? How does this information pertain to me? How will this help me? Does it inflict an emotional response? It makes you think, not just dictate, and I think that is what university life is all about.

For me, I am the kind of person who sits back and observes others, therefore I don't contribute much when put in a group face-to-face situation. However, the format of the online tutorials forces you to make comment, and allows you to speak your mind without getting up someone's nose. I find it quite liberating. Discussion boards, like 'Blackboard' offer easy to use threads allowing conversation to take place. You meet your tutorial class mates in a more intimate setting as you get to know their writing style, their personalities, their backgrounds and they are not just another person in the room.

I have only been doing my online university course for 2 weeks, and I must admit, I am doing a Masters in Writing, therefore practical and scientific requirements do not enter my line of study. However, for anyone studying arts, law, commerce or social sciences would benefit immensely from studying online. Go on, break away from the rut, and learn something about yourself and the person you want to be by studying online.

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