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I am two classes away from getting my Associates in Business Management from a local college. Being 40 years old, I didn't think I would ever be able to get an education beyond the GED I received while in Basic Training for the Army. With my work schedule, bills and other obligations, I would never have been able to attend classes at the school in a classroom. Instead, I do all of my classes online. The only time I ever set foot in the school itself was when I registered. For those who have never done this, the way it works, at least with my classes, is you are given access to a special website for the school. Within this website are downloads for the text book in PDF format and you are given a schedule of when assignments are due. Along side this are forums in which you answer questions posted by the instructor and respond to other students' answers. In this way you can interact with your classmates and ask questions. Expectations are given for a certain amount of posts in the forums to earn full points each week and the instructor grades your assignments separately in an area not accessible by other students. Each course is 9 weeks and once completed you are given the appropriate credits. What do you think of online classes? For me it gives me the ability to work on my assignments when it is convenient for me, I don't have to worry about keeping up with books and have the flexibility I need for my work obligations. However, I wonder at times if I am getting the same education that I would if I was at a classroom in a school environment. |
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There is simply no substitute for the interaction between students that can only happen in a traditional college. The sharing of ideas, challenging assumptions and refining errant ways of thinking, and pushing the envelop beyond the "basic curriculum" is a part of what happens between classes that simply cannot be replicated online. Now don't get me wrong, online education does have its advantages...for many courses that can be standardized, the ability to get the cost down and create value simply can't be beat. However, higher level courses at least given the level of technology readily available to most will not be at the level of quality of a normal university setting in the near future. As a person who hires people with higher level degrees, the rule is simple...if they have experience in the arena and use the online degree to round out their resume, then fine. If I have two applicants that are essentially equal and one has an online degree and the other is a brick and mortar institution...brick and mortar wins hands down! |
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Well, my cousin is using online for post secondary/university and she is doing well apparently. Seems like it works well. |
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Quite accepted. Most of the institutions have brought in the online education to make up a better teaching. So as this would always be for a betterment. :) |
