Advancing Education Online or In Person?

The Internet has opened up a whole new world of opportunities, especially when it comes to education. People that may not have the time or geographical location to attend classes to advance their education, with the Internet can find the highest level of education for themselves from wherever they are. Online education specifically encourages nonprofit executives to pursue further education, which as previously reported, is becoming more and more sought after.

Online education offers all of the benefits as attending class in person including professor interaction and discussion of course materials. According to a statistic in The Nonprofit Times, the majority of online students are women that are employed in the nonprofit sector seeking their masters or a certificate in nonprofit management.

People that regularly use email and texting for communication and like or even prefer it could actually perform better in online classes. Jeff Greim is an assistant professor at Bay Path College in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, which is a school that offers a Nonprofit Management and Strategic Fundraising masters program and combines both online and personal teaching components to maximize students learning experience. Greim, who works in the program told The Non-Profit Times: "I think there are some people who thrive in the online world, because they are comfortable using technology to correspond in their daily personal lives. Online, half or more of the dialog is in that format. Some people don't even like to talk on the telephone. They like to socialize with their fellow students and professors, so it might take that type of person longer to adjust online."

Student surveys from the Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management at North Park University in Chicago show that, in general, students perform better in online courses rather than in person classes and the number of students opting to take courses online is growing. Wes Lindahl, dean of the school of Business and Nonprofit Management at Axelson wraps up the overall view of online courses from a teaching perspective, "You can create almost any setting online now. People are connected so much by the computer that it is good to learn in itself."

Technology is improving rapidly and the advance learning situations involved in online courses give students a push and a motivation to see course material in a different way. However, online classes aren't for everyone. The best way to find out if online courses will work for you is to enroll in one online course and try it out. You won't need pen or paper, just a good computer.