The Advantages of Online Learning

You want to improve your computer skills or learn new skills in other areas. You want to improve other jobs skills, but you don't have the time or money to go to college. You would like to go your college degree, but you don't think you have time. You want to learn one more about one topic, whether it is a computer software program, writing, sign language, or whatever, but you don't want to go to college just for that subject alone.

Perhaps online learning might be the answer for you. It is possible to take earn online degrees, such as an Associate Degree, Bachelor's Degree, Masters Degree, a diploma, certificate, or Doctorate Degree-all from accredited online universities. It is possible to take individual classes, and sometimes earn a degree, online from traditional classes. There are also a variety of other educational tools online, including online tutorials that teach and show you how to do a particular task.

Online degrees can be earned from online colleges in such subjects as writing, MBA, IT, Web Design, Special Education, Psychology, Criminal Justice, Paralegal, Public Administration, Political Science, and many others.

The website, www.elearners.com, lists 97 online colleges and universities that can help you learn almost anything you want from the comfort of your home. A variety of the colleges are only online institutions, but included in the list are such schools as Boston University, Tulane University, Villanova University, Gonzaga University, and Indiana State University.

At some institutions it may be possible to earn a degree totally online. At others, you may learn almost everything online and have homework assignments your professors can review online, but you may need to show up at a college to take a test or final.

As a former college student myself, who took most of my classes in person but a couple online, I can speak of some of the advantages and disadvantages of online learning.

One advantage is the convenience. I took one class that was offered only online at the college I was attending. Had it been offered in person, the local branch of my college would not have offered it, because nobody here taught that subject, Web Security. I would have had to have traveled once or twice a week to the main branch of my college, between 30-40 miles away. Between work, family and personal commitments, and other classes I was taking that would have been a huge disadvantage compared to taking the class online.

There are some disadvantages of taking classes and learning online. If you are not disciplined enough to get assignments done on your own, without the pressure and help from a professor and other students, traditional learning might be better for you. If you are disciplined, however, that should not matter. If you have technical problems or questions you need answered quickly, that can be a disadvantage with an online course. If, however, if is possible to contact your professor or other students in person, by phone, e-mail, or instant message often, that might not be such a disadvantage.

It is also possible to use individual tutorials online to learn about a variety of subjects, and some of the tutorials might be free. Some are not. You can learn about such subjects as Web Design, HTML, digital photography, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Firewall basics, selling on eBay, creating business cards, AppleWorks, Photoshop, Microsoft Publisher, Flash, FrontPage, writing, accounting, and many other topics.

It is even possible to learn online about such things as sign language, other languages, including Spanish, how to play the piano, how to play the guitar, how to play the harmonica, and other topics.

In some cases, one can find the tutorials by doing a word search on a popular search engine. Other tutorials can be found at websites such as www.hp.com/go/onlineclasses,www.internet4classrooms.com, and www.tutorialsfindtutorials.com.

Whatever you desire learn more about, you can know doubt find someplace that will allow you learn online.