With as many as a third of all students enrolling in at least one online course, studying online is undoubtedly becoming a preferred choice in education.
So much so, that even educational institutions are taking note of these developments and making adjustments to their course offerings to include online courses.
Why are they so popular? Here are eight benefits of studying online.
- It Supports Career Advancement
Today’s job market is challenging and competitive.
The skills that earned you a job will not necessarily help keep it, nor support your career development goals.
Simply put, you have to keep improving yourself. One way to do this is by seeking higher qualifications or taking up professional courses to update your industry knowledge.
At times, this is easier said than done. Take, for example, if you have a 9-5 job. This schedule leaves no room for school.
Online courses are an adequate solution to this as they allow you to study around your work schedule.
At the end of it, you can keep your job as you study, such as study language online, for an additional qualification.
- Accessibility
What happens if your dream school is in a different state or country? Typically, you would have to relocate or pick a different school.
This is not the case with online education.
If you opt to study online, you can study at an institution in any part of the world -in the comfort of your home.
All you need is to identify the school, enroll, and begin your educational journey.
- Affordability
Brick and mortar institutions have many overhead costs that are passed on to the student in their fees.
Think about any institution with a campus. There are buildings that require maintenance and insurance, utility payments, staffers and so on. These costs will be included in the amounts you will pay in school fees.
Online courses tend to be cheaper because the institutions providing them have minimal expenses.
Similarly, because you can study from anywhere, you save up on-campus accommodation fees and transportation.
- Flexibility in Schedule and Environment
This option allows you the flexibility to study at the most optimal times of your day.
This is a luxury you cannot find with physical learning institutions where class schedules are set in advance. Suppose you are reading something that you are finding very informative and you want to read it later so you can save that link as a bookmark. There are bookmark manager services where you can manage your bookmarks.
You also get to choose your environment. Whether you choose to study in a library, your house, or on a beach somewhere, it’s all up to you.
- Helps You Grow Your Self Discipline
Part of why students love online courses is because they are highly unstructured.
However, this lack of structure and control can be your undoing if you are not well-organized.
In a sense, choosing to study this way can incentivize you to improve your time management skills and self- motivation.
These are essential skills and traits to master as they will also help you in your career.
- Less Intimidating
Some people find social interactions and classroom settings intimidating. This might stop them from asking questions and participating in discussions.
Online education can foster better participation. This is beneficial in that engaged students tend to grasp concepts well and perform better.
In addition, online education allows you more time to do your course work and assignments and even to enlist help when need be.
For example, an economics student can find credible online economics tutors to help them catch up on their course work from time to time.
- You Can Review Lectures
It’s not uncommon for students to lose focus during a lecture.
When this happens in classrooms, the only option a student has is to find similar material to read up on. However, this leaves out extra study tips and other useful tips that lecturers mention in class.
With online education, a student can review lecture clips and transcribed notes to capture what was said.
- Diversity
Online education makes a course accessible to people from different countries and walks of life.
This means that by taking an online course, you become a party to this exciting and diverse environment. In turn, this exposes you to different cultures, communication styles, and world views.
These are important skills in today’s corporate world.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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