Online education is prevalent today, but some misconceptions persist, so it’s essential to know the truth if you’re thinking about online education in healthcare at lastminuteceus.com, business, or almost any field. Keep reading to learn more about what online education is about.
No Interaction
Just because you’re not sitting next to your classmates and in front of your professor doesn’t mean you won’t interact with them.
Online professors must engage with students and teach them the material in the same way they would on campus. While it’s understandable that some believe that taking classes online could lead to more isolation, this isn’t usually true.
Many professors often design the classes, so there are frequent checkpoints – sometimes every day – where students must interact online with their instructors and classmates. Also, professors build the syllabus with more structure for the units studied and assignment descriptions, so there is as much guidance as possible.
But just like in a face-to-face class, students need to ask questions if anything is unclear.
Img source: pexels.com
No Networking
One of the most valuable benefits of getting a formal education is that you meet other people who can help you move forward in life, both personally and professionally. Many students rely on student networks to find their first jobs or get promotions in jobs down the road. Your college network can help you find out about lucrative and exciting jobs before they hit the job boards.
But can you build this virtual network without face-to-face meetings? Many universities work hard to ensure that their online programs offer as much interaction with other students and professors as possible to encourage networking.
Also, some programs have on-campus meetings once or twice a year where there are face-to-face networking and educational sessions so you can do your networking the old-fashioned way.
You Don’t Know Your Professor
In a regular university setting, professors typically have office hours where a student can come in and talk about an assignment or exam. Depending on your professor, they could be approached after class or by email for follow-up questions. These interactions can reinforce the material and make you learn it better. But what about online?
Many professors use social media and chat programs to connect with their students. However, it’s up to the student to leverage every tool the university gives you to interact with your professor to learn as much as possible.
Img source: pexels.com
Lower Quality
Academic standards for online classes vary by school, but most professors must train to ensure they know how to teach the material online. Instructors also need to know the standards to be held when they teach the online material. They receive evaluations after they teach every online course, so they must keep their skills sharp.
In some cases, students even say the online class instruction is superior to the on-campus version. Online education requires teachers to teach and communicate in new ways. Some professors say it makes them think harder about engagement and effectiveness, so they become better teachers.
Online Courses Are Easy
Hate to break it to you, but if you’re taking courses in an accredited program from a major university, the class won’t be any more accessible than the on-campus version. It’s wise to expect your online course to be just as difficult as anything you take face-to-face. They can be more challenging because you need more focus and self-discipline to do well in classes when you’re home alone with various distractions, just a mouse click away.
Also, students should want the online classes to be challenging. College isn’t cheap. You’re paying good money, so you should want to be learning things that will make you more knowledgeable and skilled as you enter the workplace.
Img source: pexels.com
Online Classes Are Lecture Only
Not everyone learns the material by watching or listening to lectures. But people who understand in different ways shouldn’t be put off by online courses. While video lectures are part of most online programs, you should expect a lot of hands-on project work with your fellow students.
Many students report that the hands-on work in their online classes is the most valuable – when they are instructed how to do something, not just lectured about it.
Some online classes give you real-world business projects to work on that reflect what you’ll do when you enter the workforce. These projects give you a chance to apply your new skills and show you understand the material.
Employers Reject Online Degrees
This can depend on the employer, but more employers today recognize the validity of online degree programs, predominantly from established accredited universities. Many of these schools give college diplomas that do not differentiate between a degree earned online or on campus.
As so much education is occurring online today and most if not all traditional universities have online degree programs, you shouldn’t expect too many employers to question your online degree credentials.
img source: freepik.com
Online Credits Don’t Transfer
It should be noted that some students will have difficulties transferring credits whether they are completed on-campus or online. This often happens when the student took classes at a for-profit school and wants to switch to a traditional nonprofit college.
That said, most students don’t have difficulty transferring online credits taken from a nonprofit university to another nonprofit offering an on-campus program. The university probably won’t even know that the credits were taken online.
Doing A Degree Online Takes Technical Know-How
If you use a smartphone every day, you see how easy it is to perform so many daily tasks with apps, from ordering a book on Amazon to watching educational videos on YouTube. Well-designed online education platforms are made for people who don’t have a technical background.
These platforms are becoming better designed and easier to use to engage more easily with instructors and the material. There are reports of students as old as 80 getting degrees online!
Now that you understand what online education is like, hopefully, you will feel more comfortable signing up for some of these practical classes to take you to the next step in your career.
