by Maria Papadopoulou

Created on: July 12, 2009   Last Updated: August 08, 2009

Online education is ideal for people who want to advance their training and gain an extra degree, switch careers, have an extremely busy schedule and family commitments and therefore are not able to attend courses on campus, or are first time job seekers who need specialized training in order to stand out from the other candidates. However, there are certain things that need to be thoroughly straightened out before deciding to enroll in an online course:

Myth 1: I have a very busy schedule, but thankfully, studying online means that all I have to do is hand in my homework assignments whenever I can.

Truth: It is important to actively participate in an online course, asking for necessary clarifications and exchanging opinions with the other students. If you don't, there is a chance you will not fully comprehend the course material. Also, even though there is a certain degree of flexibility offered, it is wise to arrange to hand in your homework assignments within a specific time frame, otherwise you run the risk of procrastination which in turn may result in the late completion of the online course.

Myth 2: I can attend an online course while doing household chores, answering the phone, watching TV, and generally while doing something else.

Truth: Even though it is possible for someone who is good at multitasking to successfully attend an online course while doing something else, exactly because there is no tutor supervision, it is of crucial importance for the student to be especially motivated and disciplined, so as not to fall behind.

Myth 3: Since online courses are so flexible, i can enroll in as many as I want.

Truth: Even though it is possible for someone to be able to attend successfully several online courses at the same time, it is wise to start with one course, monitor your progress for a while and then decide if you can really handle enrolling in more online courses. If you see that you are easily distracted and tend to procrastinate a lot, then it would be better to stick to just one online course.

Myth 4: I am used to learning by listening to lectures and keeping notes, but I think I will have no problem having to learn by just reading the online course material.

Truth: Students who attend online courses are required to have very good reading comprehension skills, without needing the direct or constant guidance of their tutor. If you notice that you usually need a lot of time to understand the written text, or you are not sure if you have understood

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