Fight the #1 Enemy of Education with Online Learning
Posted on 23. Jan, 2012 by Alec in Online Learning
There’s no doubt about it, America needs to get more educated. Those of us who don’t have college degrees are at a serious disadvantage. Especially in the present tough economy, people are more motivated than ever to get an education, yet there are a number of roadblocks. Even young and energetic people who may have full time jobs and families are really going to be put to the test by trying to attend a traditional university or college. On top of the time required for studies, there is the time and stress of commuting, running around a large campus, and no full grown adult wants to spend a great deal of time dealing with partying 18-21 year-old collegians on a regular basis.
Especially for people who live in major cities with large populations, simply getting back and forth to school, finding (and paying for) a parking place can be a gigantic and depressing hassle. So can fighting for books, food, and other necessities at the student union. We love the 1980s Rodney Dangerfield movie “Back to School” at much as anyone, but not many of us really want or have time for the full, youth-oriented university experience when we’re in our thirties, forties, or fifties and beyond.
Especially for parents, who have the burdensome, though wonderful, responsibilities associated with raising children, the stress can stretch a person well past the breaking point. One second you’re panicking over a mid-term. The next thing you know your communing with the very nice people who wear those beige medical scrubs in the emergency room. For too many people, the need for education comes at the expense of health and happiness, and that is a trade-off that absolutely no one should have to make.
Online learning provides busy people with the flexibility they need and saves large amounts of time and money by allowing people to learn at home. Of course, nothing in this life is perfect and online learning has some minor drawbacks. Many students may miss being able to ask a live educator questions in a one on one fashion, though most reputable online programs do provide equivalents of various types. Also, live teachers don’t suddenly become uncommunicative when your ISP suddenly lets you down. Ain’t nothing perfect.
For those in nursing and other programs, a surprising number of options are available even if most students will only be wearing medical uniforms on rare occasions. Still, there will be some classes where literal hands-on training will be required. For example, certain kind of anatomy lessons that require working with animal or human cadavers simply can’t be replicated on a computer.
Nevertheless, the pluses of online learning are very great for busy people who need to get their undergraduate or graduate degree. Learning anything valuable is never going to be easy, but that doesn’t mean it should be so stressful students can barely function. Life should never be so painfully difficult that we are constantly miserable and online learning is an increasingly viable way to solve a difficult modern dilemma.