Distance Learning Online Courses

Until recent times, further education was a problem for
many people. Busy lifestyles and demanding jobs meant that
individuals could not commit to attending night school at
the same time each week. Daytime classes were completely
out of the question. However, the growth of the Internet
has started to change options as well as attitudes. There
are now many distance learning online courses to chose
from, ranging from certificate to doctorate courses.

The big advantage of distance learning online courses is
that you do not have to physically attend classes to
improve your education. You become an online student
instead. So they are ideal for people who are in full time
employment. It is important to note though that it has
brought the famous universities to you. You don't have to
relocate to study at Oxford or Cambridge in the United
Kingdom or Harvard in the United States. You can enrol for
distance learning courses at many famous universities,
provided you pass their entry requirements.

Distance learning online courses are not an easy option
though. It is true that they are more accessible for many
people. However, the universities do maintain academic
rigour with these courses. A distance learning degree is on
a par with a degree studied full time.

Flexibility is the name of the game with distance learning
courses. There are generally minimum and maximum time
frames in which work has to be completed. Many people try
to keep on top of their studies and complete them as
quickly as possible, but have that reassurance of knowing
that if a domestic problem arises them can ease right off
with their studies until the problem has been sorted. Many
students report in their feedback that it is this
flexibility which is the greatest benefit of distance
learning online courses.

You may be thinking online courses may well be flexible but
what about the quality of the tuition. The answer is that
in many cases the online student gets more attention than a
student who attends traditional classes. When you enrol
online you are allocated a tutor who you are able to keep
in touch with constantly. You have 'one to one' access.
Whereas in a traditional class there are generally too many
students for the tutor to give much time to individual
tuition.

The benefits of distance learning

The first benefit and for many it is the biggest benefit is
that distance learning is not as expensive as the
traditional method of attending college. Most institutions
offer flexible payment options so you should be able to
work out a plan which fits in with your budget.

A second benefit of distance learning is psychological. It
gives you the opportunity to develop in ways that you could
have missed out on in the past. This leads to increased
confidence and increases your marketability to prospective
employers or even give you the impetus to start your own
business.

The third benefit of distance learning is of convenience as
mentioned earlier. For many people once they have started
to study online they carry on taking higher level courses
or studying a topic just for the sake of learning itself.
Whatever the reason there has never been a better time for
going back to college and you can thank the Internet for
that.

Distance learning is not for everyone so you need to decide
if it is for you. You need to have a learning style that
would work with this style of education. If you are good at
motivating yourself and are self disciplined, that is, you
can keep to deadlines then you are ideally suited to
distance learning. If you need to be pushed along or are
easily distracted from what you should be doing then
distance learning may not be your cup of tea. In this case
the traditional method of attending classes may be best so
that you can get the 'face to face' support you require.


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Michael Saville has written more articles about distance
learning. These can be found at
http://www.vicariously.net/career The site provides
information and advice on distance learning online courses
and ways to study.