My Experience with Online Learning

With the Internet, the possibilities for learning are seemingly endless. Colleges now offer many classes online; you can even get your degree from classes totally online. That is one end of the learning spectrum. At the other end are countless free tutorials on numerous subjects. If there is something you want to learn more about, chances are very good you can find it on the Internet. The benefits of online learning are many. You can find a learning community that fits your needs and price range.

There are basically two types of resources to learn online: they are either free or pay. Both have their various advantages and disadvantages. Paying certainly makes you more accountable to do the work, but the price of free courses is hard to overlook completely.

One free online learning community I have really enjoyed is the Hewlett Packard Learning Center. Registration is quick and easy. Subjects are geared toward the business professional like using software products or building your first web page. There is a wide variety of topics that are routinely rotated. Each class has an instructor. Students work through each lesson at their own pace; usually there is extra reading assignments, homework, and a quiz after each lesson. Classes run about six weeks. There is a nice sense of community through a forum for each class where students can ask questions of the instructor and meet peers.

Another favorite learning community of mine is Virtual University. They are a paid website. For a nominal tuition of $20, a person can take up to four classes at one time. There is an array of subjects taught, ranging from JavaScript to writing courses. Lessons are also done at the students own pace. There is homework, which students are encouraged to post on the classrooms forum. Other students can see your work, and this is good for receiving feedback on your work. Students at VU can receive Continuing Education Units (CEU) from coursework. Some employers do pay the costs of CEU classes.

From my personal experience, I enjoyed Virtual University the most. I felt since I paid for the classes, then I must finish the coursework. The students as well as the instructors were very helpful and courteous. The cost is very reasonable, and the classes I've taken required me to buy nothing more for the class.

To learn online doesn't have to be as formal as a classroom setting in the above examples. There are countless tutorials ranging on every topic imaginable on the Internet. A little web searching will produce numerous tutorials, especially on productivity software like Microsoft Word or Adobe PhotoShop. W3Schools.com is a very nice resource of tutorials of all technical subjects dealing with the Internet. Their tutorials are easy to follow and include several working examples.

Online learning takes discipline, drive, and determination. You must hold yourself accountable to finishing the lessons and all classroom assignments. It can be very rewarding to learn online. The flexibility of the classes makes it convenient for everyone to learn more about something of interest to them. From tutorials to virtual classrooms, there is a level of commitment and cost that can suit everyone's needs.