The evolution of technology and the growth of internet over the past few years have made online education, one of the most promising academic choices for most students. Online education provides knowledge on any subject, topic or stream of interest. Due to the convenience and choices it offers, it is evolving to be more popular than classroom education these days.
Online education encompasses anything that can be taught and learnt. There are different types of online education available on the internet today. They are categorized depending upon the technology used, the method of education and various other parameters. Live distance learning is real time in nature and uses technologies like video conferencing and online classrooms, to give the feeling of a virtual college environment. Students choosing this type of distance learning get to interact with the tutor and fellow students, which connects the student with the rest of the classroom. This makes the learning experience wholesome and enjoyable. Also, interaction is a very important aspect of any course, and getting the experience on interaction real time, makes the learning bottlenecks easy and fast to resolve. Because this is real time in nature, students have to take the classes at a decided time as opposed to scheduling them at their choice of time. Also, it could be a little difficult for students at different time zones to come online at the decided time.
Online education that does not take place in real time is known as asynchronous online education. Educative materials are mostly stored for later access of students. Interaction happens mostly through student forums. Students post the problems and questions on the forum and tutor answers them at a later point of time. Course materials are posted on the internet, and can be accessed by the students at any point of time. Also, tutors can record the videos of lessons and can post it on the forum. This method of distance learning enables students to schedule the lessons whenever they want to, and decide the pace of their degree.
People can opt for a mixed online education where they get the benefits of both systems. They can schedule classes at their own pace and access course materials posted as well, and can be a part of live webinars and online classroom sessions. For students who cannot make it to the online classroom sessions, the recorded versions are almost immediately posted onto the internet for their access. The activities and exercises that are posted on the forum for students can be discussed in the online sessions to give full advantage of both of these learning methods to students. The combination of both these methods will give the students a full rounded education plan required to excel in the chosen course.
Because of the vast nature of the programs and courses offered, choosing a course that suits the needs of students might be challenging. Going through all the features and technology that online course offer before deciding can ensure that the students will get the best out of the options available.
