Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Online education is one of the most applied and desired way to enter colleges and universities and get degrees. The reason is that it gives tons of advantages comparing with old traditional form of education.
Networked learning plays a significant role in today’s higher education and adds a new dimension to contemporary education. Nowadays, classrooms have made way for computer monitors. It includes interaction which can be synchronous, asynchronous or both and takes place with online materials in the form of text, voice, graphics, videos, shared workspaces or combinations of these. Networked learning has changed the concept of education and widened its scope, making higher education accessible to a larger number of learners.
Networked learning is used in higher education either to supplement the facilities in a conventional classroom or to replace them. In the former case, some networked facilities like email ‘help line’, a web-based discussion space or a computer conference are added to an existing course. The idea is to provide students, especially those who are pursuing higher academic degrees, with additional facilities to discuss their queries or seek clarifications apart from conventional classroom sessions. In the latter case, a number of universities have now evolved a hybrid distance teaching system to replace traditional classrooms by networked learning. In this system, ICT is employed to substitute the role of conventional teaching facility. Websites, emails, computer conferencing and audio-visual aids are used to establish and sustain communication. Students spread over different locations can access a set of facilities and resources using network technology.
This enables universities to specialize and gain a wider market for their courses especially at post graduate level. In today’s competitive world, higher education becomes a priority to the job-seekers for employment; and to the employed for career advancement. This is where the significance of networked education becomes most tangible.
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Eager to Learn
January 2, 2007, the second day of a new year for many, the first day of school for 152 lucky South African children. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy opened today in South Africa and has the capacity to accommodate 450 new South African Students. Oprah handpicked the first class of 12 and 13 year-old girls, 152 were selected out of the more than 3,500 applicants. Thousands more will be interviewed to fill the remaining grade levels showing the extreme demand for education not only in South Africa, but around the entire world. Granted Oprah’s new facility is state of the art thus attracting an exorbitant amount of attention the question arises, what is going to happen to those students not accepted? Time will only tell however I can tell you this, those not accepted won’t be rejected because they lack an eagerness to learn, or they weren’t smart enough, or because they don’t quite fit the prototypical student persona. It will be because there simply isn’t enough room.
It’s an unfair pessimistic perspective however it is the truth. Not everybody is afforded a formal education and it is a very pertinent problem in the world. Its interesting how something so great can bring a harsh perspective of how the world really is. Oprah is doing a world of good for these children and they are wholly deserving of an opportunity such as this. It is a start, however it is going to take more then just one person to afford education to those deserving of it. I believe it starts with an initial spark of having an eagerness to learn. Everyone has an eagerness to learn, but those who display this quality will be the ones who get the extra help they need from a teacher, from a parent, from a friend. It starts with the individual.
Online Schooling vs. Campus Schooling
There has been some controversy as to whether an online degree is acquired easier than a conventional campus degree. Furthermore, there has been controversy as well with regards to whether an online degree is as credible as a campus degree. These are just two aspects that must be weighed when considering the difference between online degrees vs. campus degrees.
One thing is for sure, a degree is a degree, and it’s much better to have a degree then to not have one. Before the pros and cons are considered you must decide which degree is more plausible for you. Much depends on your status as the individual considering the degree. What time restraints do you have? Will you have time to attend a scheduled class several times a week? If these options are weighed and you are still stuck at a crossroads then the positives and negatives must be considered.
The amount of work that is involved and the time that is put in are questionable aspects when considering an online education vs. a traditional campus education. What will I get out of one opposed to the other? What will an employer think of my degree? How will it measure compared to a credible campus school? There is the financial portion that must be considered. Distance Learning Degrees
are generally less expensive, mainly due to the cut in costs of not having a teacher present, in the flesh per say. What else is compromised when you sacrifice the cut in cost? These are all questions that should be raised when considering the two.
The largest difference is the social interaction that will be missed when you work toward an online degree. Some may say that is a priceless facet that a four year college offers. Others may see no value in that and see value strictly in the lectures that are taught in the classroom. Quite often, the material covered in online courses as opposed to classroom courses will be very similar. However there are two different learning styles involved. An online course, it seems would require more personal dedication to keep up with assignments because there is no physical class to attend or instructor to motivate you to work, just you and your assignments.
It is a tough decision to make and with consideration of all these aspects, you can come to the correct decision. Simply, online degrees hold extreme value, whether it is more or less then a traditional four year bachelor’s degree is up to ones interpretation. Bottom line, an education is an education and it’s much better to have one then to not, no matter which route is taken to obtain that degree.
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