There are benefits and disadvantages to learning on line.

Learning through online courses can be really beneficial because it allows a student to take any course they would like without having to worry about whether it will fit into their busy schedule. In addition, if a student knows they will have to travel at some point during the course session they can still take the class. Another nice feature of most online classes is that due dates for assignments are usually always due at the end of the course week which allows the student not to be quite as stressed about trying to fit assignments into their busy schedule. As far as learning is concerned, the student is asked to learn independently. The benefit is that students have to put more work into the subject and it helps to solidify the material.

However, there are some disadvantages to taking online classes. One is that many students think that online classes will be easier. This is a myth. Usually, they are more difficult because one cannot ask a teacher in the moment they have a question to clarify something they don’t understand. Also I have found on the whole that some online classes have taken more time than traditional classes. This largely depends on how much a particular teacher demands. If a teacher demands as much “homework” in an online class as in a traditional class then it is likely that the online class will demand more of the student’s time. One of the hardest things about an online class is that if the directions are flawed, misleading, or difficult to follow then students may spend an exorbitant amount of time trying to understand them and learn incorrectly. They don’t know that they are learning incorrectly because there is no one to let them know they have misunderstood the direction.

In order for an online class to be successful their needs to be excellent feedback from the teacher, directions need to be clear, and teachers need to be assessable if the student comes to an impasse. Also, a student must be self motivated and well disciplined.