Only The Best: Online vs. Offline Degrees

Only The Best: Online vs. Offline Degrees

Every person on the face of the earth has different capabilities and skills, which is why a huge range of techniques is used in the classroom to try and encourage people to learn. However, who is to say that the thinking behind this theory cannot be applied to ways of learning as well as methods? In fact, it has been applied to ways of learning with the invention of online universities and colleges. Instead of forcing an individual to sit in class every day and learn, any individual can now sit at home and learn however he or she wants and whenever he or she wants. As far as personal choice is concerned, online education wins hands down, but when you look at the benefits and advantages of offline education you see that the contest between the two is not quite as clear cut!

Many traditionalists will dismiss online degrees and college courses as a waste of time because they only accept the dregs of society who could not get into another educational program. There are published essays and articles published to that effect. Indeed that is not the case. In fact, online education leaves education open to those who could have gone if they were given the opportunity. They are no more or less intelligent than individuals attending a campus university, and there has actually been research to prove that online universities could actually be better for an individual' health than those individual students have to attend every day!

Drexel University studied online and offline students during the course of their research and actually compared them. The results were extremely interesting because individuals taking online degrees actually appeared to be far happier than those attending on campus degree courses. In fact, the lifestyles of the two sets of people were very different and suggested that an online degree is better for the mental well being of students. The workload is roughly the same, but online students did not appear to stretch themselves too far, leaving equal time for all of their commitments and juggling well. On the other hand, campus students were finding it difficult to cope with the demands of going to university. The tutors may be there to remind students of deadlines, but it was discovered that they were putting too much pressure on the individual student and actually dictating priorities in some cases instead of giving an individual the chance to determine his or her own priorities.

Drexel found that there was more enjoyment in taking an online degree than a campus one and, as a result, individuals were learning more, stressing less and generally enjoying themselves rather than panicking themselves into a frenzy! Offline students rarely change their lifestyle to accommodate the educational addition, whereas campus students alter their priorities and lifestyle completely in order to allow their degree to take over their lives.

That is not to say though that campus degrees do not have their advantages over online degrees because they do. Firstly, the full college experience is not always readily available if you complete a degree online. It can be a nightmare trying to fit your degree into your life, let alone visit the college itself, and if it operates solely online then you cannot attend in person anyway. The experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity. However, if there are other things going on in your life then it may be an expendable one. The one problem that this may cause online students is in terms of assignment help. It may not be possible for individuals to communicate with one another to offer or ask for help when necessary. In fact, an offline student would be dependent on a forum or other type of communication network in which others may not respond. If that were the case, then it would be up to the individual student to try and find the answers themselves! That is not to say that one is better than the other, but going back to the first paragraph, one will suit you more than the other!

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