Learning Online – Advantages and Drawbacks

With the constant development of modern technologies, distant education is already not a surprise for public. If at first it was strange to apply for online universities, now it is one of the most popular ways of getting your education quickly and in a quite convenient way. For a new person, it is not really difficult to accustom to this pace of home study, but it is beneficial to know some facts before jumping into it.

Studying Online

There is no much difference in getting into online and conventional university. You will still have to do the same, like passing the entrance exams, providing recommendation letters and other documents. Some universities have unique entrance requirements, but usually you do not have to put much effort to apply. Moreover, there are a lot of universities that do not require any of these documents – you should simply sign up for the course, pay for the tuition and start attending online classes according to the schedule.

University Curricular

Regarding the classes, usually there are real-time and recorded ones. During the real-time, you join a group with a professor ahead and listen to a lecture, ask question and interact with each other. Usually, not to disturb the lecturer, there is a special chat room for questions with a particularly devoted time for discussion. During the recorded classes, any student can download a lecture with the necessary material from the Internet at any time. After that, there is a scheduled meeting, where students discuss the analyzed material.

Home Assignment

Judging from the fact that there is no control over completing home tasks, usually the deadlines are quite strict and short. You have access to all the available materials, so completing your home assignment must not take a lot time and effort. In the conventional educational establishments, there is more time for the homework, but the resources may be more limited.

Testing Issue

As the education is distant, there is hardly any chance to avoid cheating during tests. Even though some universities give students the opportunity to pass exams from home, some have implemented a system of proctors. These are the people whom you can find at your local schools, libraries or specialized testing centers. When it is time for you to pass the test, you contact your proctor and organize a meeting so that he or she can control your passing. In this way, there are almost no chances for cheating during tests.

Graduation

Here, the opportunities that universities offer are more than various. Some establishments invite students to their campuses to provide them with a chance to feel what real graduation is. Some people may get acquainted with their groupmates for the first time, so there is nothing weird if you see a granny standing next to a young man on the diploma delivery ceremony. Also, a quite popular service among online universities is online graduation. You are invited in virtual campus and also have an experience of graduation, but in the virtual world.