Education is necessary to the advancement of humanity. Whether that is an academic education with degree requirements, general education, professional certifications, or learning technical skills, it is crucially important that humans participate in some form of institutional education. As the term goes, knowledge is power. This means that knowing things that others do not automatically makes you an asset to a company, political campaign, or even a classroom as a teacher. In ancient history, women weren’t even allowed to know how to read. Reading was something that was regarded only for the richest and most powerful. The high priests and government officials were the ones able to read because this gave them power over the illiterate. Now, education has completely transformed. As more and more men and women obtained high school and bachelor degrees, they were able to even go on to become doctors and professors in their fields. The people with the most education are often at the top of their fields doing research and working to advance their fields. Because college and higher education is so expensive, it is still regarded as something that only well-to-do families can afford. With student loan debt on the rise and the massive inflation for college tuition, some students are opting for technical or two year degrees.
Although learning and education used to be something that was just in a formal classroom with books and teacher heading discussions, it is quickly changing with the increase in online learning. Many classrooms online offer so many different things from ways to get Certificate III in individual support ageing to learning more about cooking or research. Online classrooms can be found in a number of ways. Just by using an internet browser to see what is available will help in online learning. Online classrooms are also available at many universities as well if one is looking to receive college credit.
There are basically two options when it comes to online learning. There is the decision to self-guided online learning or learning from an actual live professor. Self-guided is often compressing videos, powerpoints, and all the material necessary to teach oneself. This can be beneficial for those who need to learn at their own pace or just enjoy teaching themselves. Doing a self-guided session can have great benefits for people who have limited time to learn. Opting for an actual online classroom has many benefits as well. In this setting, students are able to actually learn via video chat classroom from an actual teacher. The live virtual communication platform allows students to actually participate in discussion as well as ask the instructor any questions they may have about the material and receive automatic responses rather than waiting for an email or doing further research alone to find the answers.
When deciding to do an online course, the main thing is deciding how much of a budget one has. Budgets are important because most education costs money. There are however, free websites that offer educational videos or materials, they may just not be as in depth as an actual online course is. If one chooses for their online course to be with a higher education institution, these often do cost money. Sometimes employers will pay tuition rates for their employees to take online courses as it benefits the company, in these cases it is important to discuss when the employee will have time to allocate to their student responsibilities whether that is in a work setting or at home.
Education and learning takes time. A college degree takes four years alone to complete. Educated people hold a great value in society. Deciding when one has time for an online course is another measure and decision in itself. With some who have families or careers it is hard to decide when to get an education or when they would have time to allocate to their online class. Often, online learning is much more flexible with time than a traditional formal classroom. This can be highly beneficial for working moms and dads or even grandparents looking to be more tech savvy. Finding a way to prioritize the online class over a short period of time, which in return have long term benefits. Although education may not be the most pleasurable way to pass time in the short term view, it has unexplainable long term benefits to individuals.
Online courses are completely changing education as a whole. It makes it much more available to students. With a computer and video chat, virtually anyone can now be a student. Although many online courses can be costly and seen as a financial burden for some, there are some free and less costly options where someone can get an education. With the internet at our fingertips, it’s just a click and a search bar away from discovering new ways of learning and growing through education.
