TheAdvantagesandDisadvantagesofTakingClassesOnline

1、1The Advantages and Disadvantages of Taking Classes OnlineEducation is important in todays world. How can one get an educationwhen working full-time and tending to a family? This article discusses theoption of taking college classes online.There are advantages and disadvantages to online education.

2、It isimportant to understand these in order to be a successful online student. Itis also importanttoremember that an online education is not right for everyone. By the end ofthis article you should be able to determine if online education will work foryou.On Your TimeOne of the biggest advantages of

3、 online classes is being able to enteryour classroom when it is convenient for you. Do you work all day? Thenyou can log on to your class in the evening or on the weekend. Are you anearly riser? You can log on to your class in the early morning hours. Yourvirtual classroom is open twenty-four hours

4、a day seven days a week.While logging into your virtual classroom at your owntime is an advantage, it can also be one of the biggestdisadvantages of an online course. Sometimes not being obligated to acertain day and time can lead to procrastination（延迟，耽搁）.Before youknow it the second2week of class

5、has arrived, but you havent started on week ones assignments.Once you get behind it can be difficult to catch up. This emphasizes twoimportant qualities that a successful online student should have:self-motivation（白我激励）and self-discipline（白律）.Good time-management skills andeffective study habits are

6、 also necessary.The Professors LectureIn a virtual classroom your professors lecture is written rather thanspoken. There are several advantages to this style of lecture. In a traditionalclassroom environment you would listen to your instructors lecture andhopefully take notes. You will then be requi

7、red to do your homeworkassignments outside of the classroom. What happens if you are doing yourassignment and cant remember what your instructor said about the subjectyou are studying? You can search your notes, but maybe you missed thatparticular point or simply didnt think to write it down. You ca

8、nremember your instructor talking about the subject, but you cant rememberany of the details. What are your options? You can ask some of your fellow3students for assistance hoping they wrote down the points in their notes oryou can wait until the next class meeting and ask your instructor.The virtua

9、l classroom is totally different. If you cant remember whatyour professor said all you have to do is re-read his or her lecture. In mostcases you will be able to print a hard copy of the lecture. You will be able toreview you professor s lecture without even going online again.Your Virtual Instructo

10、rOnline instructors have the same qualifications as an on-campusinstructor . They are experts in the subject they are teaching and usually havea masters degree or higher.However , if you are a person who needs personal contact you may need todo some adjusting. Some students will never actually meet

11、their instructorand those who do may only have such contact one or two times during thecourse.This lack of personal contact tends to be the biggest complaint of onlinestudents.So how does an online instructor interact with his or herstudents? The three main interaction tools are email, discussion fo

12、rums, andchat rooms.Student InteractionOnline students may find it difficult to socially interact with each other .4There are several reasons for this. One is conflicting time schedules. Anotheris the varying locations where students live. Often students in the samevirtual classroom can live in diff

13、erent states or even different countries.While discussion forums and chat rooms provide a means for studentinteraction, they do not provide the social connection of an on-campus class.The average online student is usually a working adult or a parent of smallchildren or both. If this description fits

14、 you, then your reasons for enrollingin college courses is not likely to be social interaction. Your goal is strictlyeducational so you can have an opportunity to earn your degree and get thatpromotion you have been hoping for or move on to a whole new career orjust feel good about your accomplishme

15、nt. Without online courses such agoal would not be attainable. Consequently, for most online students the lackof social interaction is not a major issue.An advantage worth mentioning here is the fact that students who tendto be shy about participating in a physical classroom are usually much moreconversational in an online classroom. They tend to be more will