Onsiderations in Choosing Between an Online and Traditional Education

Education has long been the frontier for society and academic advancement in one’s life. Long gone are the days where only a handful of people were expected to enter into college and earn a degree. In 2014, there are so many colleges and universities that one can choose from. Not only is the choice, whether or not they attend school, but the choice is, whether they want to attend school online or in a traditional college setting of brick and mortar.

Everyone has their own learning styles. Going to school online might not be cut out for a person that needs to be face to face with an instructor. Or a person that has to have on hands training might not want to attend an online campus. It’s a tough decision when you have to make this decision on how you want to continue with your education. An education is an education, so it’s better to have one than not to have one at all. So it all really boils down to you making that decision based on how you interpret your learning skills. For me, online is what fit in my current life style. It’s convenient, comfortable, and less expensive. The

Many students have a difficult time choosing between online education and traditional education. Both styles of education offer advantages and disadvantages to the student. There are many things to consider when making this life altering decision, such as, cost, convenience, time, social interaction, and technology. This information is meant to inform prospective students looking to further their education of the pros and cons of both online education and traditional education. Taking the steps to further your education is a big decision and one that should not be taken lightly. One should weigh all of his/her options and be well informed and certain of their choice before taking that leap.

The topic I have chosen to focus on for my final project is Online Learning vs Traditional Learning

- College instructors spend time online with students. Chances are good that you will have as much personal interaction with your online instructor as you would in one of those big lecture halls on campus.

Online classes and the traditional classroom setting both offer many of the same advantages. They both provide the student with the same course content so there is no loss of curriculum between the two. Both demand the same time investment for learning, studying, taking exams, completing papers, and so on. Although it seems easy to think that with doing all of your school work online there isn’t any personal interaction with professors and peers, however, that is a common misconception. Online classes, like traditional ones, require a degree of contact with your peers and professors. It may not be as personal interaction as raising your hand and being called on, but you can e-mail your professor at any time and there are discussion boards and forums available for fellow students to communicate and help each other out.

There are others, like myself, who feel that online learning is better. The supporters of this back their claim by stating that online classes can be more beneficial for teachers and students. For example, fewer distractions in a classroom like other students disrupting class. Students can come into class late after the teacher has already started class and cause a disruption or talk during the class. With online classes the student can control their environment. Also, a teacher can provide in writing just the basic information a student needs for an assignment. This way there is less of a chance for the student to get confused on the assignment when the topic

With face-to-face schooling, students get the full college experience from meeting new people, going to special events on campus, and being able to go and talk to a professor or tutor in person. Students who chose to learn by online schooling may feel alone and isolated. Traditional schools provide students with the ability to

Student demographics and needs have changed dramatically. An increasing number of students attending universities today are working adults who desire a flexible and timely degree program. In order to best serve our students, Colorado Generic University needs to address the changing needs of students. The best way to meet student needs is to implement an online degree

However, advocates of classroom learning believe the online method isolates the students from one another as well as their professor minimizing the overall value of taking the course. They also claim that students learn better when working together with their instructor and their fellow classmates. Students learn better when they are given the opportunity to ask questions, join in class discussions, and they move the process of learning forward through their participation. Face-to-face advocates firmly believe that this kind of interaction is not possible over the Internet; and for many types of education, e-learning will never meet the potential of live human interaction in the classroom. An article in the New York Times titled, “Second Thoughts on Online Education,” backs up the points made above. A recent research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, comes to the conclusion; “A rush to online education

It seems that technology is growing, improving, and changing at an exponential rate. Technology now affects every part of our lives from the time we get up to the time we go to bed, and even as we sleep. One of the major areas that has been affected by technology is education. At one time, the only option for students to complete their education was in a traditional classroom setting. There has become a major need for non-traditional education because there has been a growth in the amount of non-traditional students that exist in our society. The advancement of technology has

There is a lot of poor communication in online classes. There will be students who will never email the instructors for more details about an assignments, or, there will be older students who don’t know how to email the instructors for more details. If the student doesn’t understand an assignment, and never emails to ask for more details, can result in a poor grade for the lack of knowledge in knowing what they’re doing. There’s one final drawback to not having social interactions with instructors; Students can potentially miss out on building relationships that can result in helpful guidance and recommendation letters down the road when needed.

Compared to classroom learning, the interaction occurring at online courses is more international. Learners can develop online conversations on forums and interview other students around the world by using web-conferencing technology (Kruger-Ross and Waters, 2013:182). However, it is reported that students prefer face to face contact directly with the tutor who was seen as the focal point of learning, a channel through all interaction that connects ideas, builds understanding, provides feedback and gives summary immediately (Sweeney et al, 2007:316). Additionally, establishing social relations may need classroom environment (Paechter & Maier, 2010:295). Classroom teaching and learning is a complex, multilayered, and social experience, which develops friendship, connection and satisfaction among students. Social community is considered to be relatively poorly experienced in online learning due to learners’ disconnection and could probably cause isolation (Baturay & Bay, 2010:44).

Time for a face to face class is very difficult if a person works 40 hours a week but an online course can put an ease on the time restriction because the person does the work at their own pace and time. It is also easier to sign up for an online class than a class at a college. Message boards are in use if the students need to leave a question or a comment about the subject their on. They also save time by not traveling to the college and trying to find a parking space.

Nowadays, education is becoming one of the fundamental things in a human lifetime; most people are trying to achieve a higher education. As technology develops considerably, it has bearings on every area of our life, even in the way of education. The development of technology has a large impact on education. Before this progression of technology, the education system was only traditional. Currently, the education system has been changed. The development of technology has allowed the education system online along with traditionally. Traditional and online instructions are both great ways to learn. While both types of instructions have the same purpose of educating students having good skills about everything, but there are some significant differences between them such as flexibility, learning the course content, communication, and the cost.