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[O213]Online Learning For Kids

by Art Gib, Art

Many colleges offer online courses for their students. Originally these classes were only popular with students who had to leave school for family or medical emergencies, but now they are widely used by young students and older adults who want to earn their degree but either lack the freedom or desire to attend classes on a college campus.

Limitations that often prevent students from earning their degree include time constraints, insufficient financial means or geographical boundaries. Fortunately, online learning can help people in all of these situations. For example, learning on your own time at home allows a lot of people, who need to work during the day, the chance to take classes they would otherwise have to forego because they are only taught during working hours. Or, if a student can afford the classes, but not the expense of moving to a new area and renting an apartment, online learning solves the problem again by allowing them to stay put. And, since online classes can be sent to a Podunk little town as easily as they can be sent to a big city, geographical boundaries are eliminated too.

Online learning also provides students with a lot of freedom. Instead of being bound to a class schedule and the pace of an entire class, online students can study where, when and how they like. If they want, students can even put extra time into a class to complete the course work earlier than required. Unfortunately, most people tend to procrastinate their online courses rather than propel them forward. Along with the added freedom comes a greater amount responsibility. If you don't have self-discipline, online courses can be a disaster.

If online learning does seem like a good fit for you though, you need to find an accredited online school that offers classes in your field of interest. You can search for schools by their rank, the programs they offer, or the degrees they award, but the most important thing you should look for is their accreditation. There are several unaccredited school, sometimes referred to as diploma mills, that offer students a degree after they complete a few short online courses. These schools usually offer cheaper and shorter programs, but every penny you spend on them is a waste of money because the degrees they send out are unaccredited and worthless. They won't hold up when you apply to other schools and they won't be honored by the employers you want to impress. So make sure you compile a list of online colleges that can give out accredited degrees when you are trying to decide which program to pursue.

With the advancement of technology, more and more people are enjoying convenience in fulfilling their various goals in life including that of obtaining education. A growing number of schools are now offering online degree programs in response to the need of busy working professionals and homemakers who lack the time to pursue a college degree. The convenience and flexibility these online schools offer are what normally attracts people to get an education via the Internet.

Online learning is gaining ground in the different parts of the world but is more popular than ever in the United States. A 2005 report entitled “Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the U.S." confirmed a very bright future for online education with an enrollment growth rate over ten times the prediction of the National Center for Education Statistics. It revealed that online enrollment in the U.S. rose from 1.98 million in 2003 to 2.35 million in 2004.

An officer of Career College Association (CCA) disclosed that more than one million students were enrolled in fully online programs in the U.S. in 2005 while at least 55 CCA member institutions have purely online colleges. Among the popular online programs at the undergraduate and professional levels are business, technology, education, psychology and human services, according to Bruce Leftwich, CCA’s vice president for government relations. He said that flexibility in the delivery of online education is the key factor considered by those who would not be able to attend a traditional school like single parents, persons with disabilities and working professionals. With online learning, these people are given a choice to meet their needs according to their specific situations in life. It is also affordable as most online schools offer scholarships and grants as well as other financial aid programs.

Since the inception of e-learning, the technology being utilized has also improved. Current technology has allowed many online universities to provide students with numerous ways to interact with their faculty and classmates such as through email, bulletin boards and discussion groups. Interaction has a more positive impact on a student’s motivation and performance than just sitting alone before a computer accomplishing his or her assigned work. In online education, students are usually given passwords for them to log on. Upon logging in, they must follow course requirements for a certain day hence, their attendance and participation are being monitored. They are also able to connect with course facilitators and interact with other students unique only in online learning. Compared to the brick and mortar setting, online learning provides one on one mentoring which really help some students to succeed.

Education authorities agree that public acceptance of online education will continue to grow and although it may not surpass the traditional university programs, it is more likely that most graduates who join the workforce will have obtained experience with an online learning format at some point of their educational pursuit. Leftwich added that a significant factor to the growth e-learning is that more business organizations are putting importance to online education. In fact, a study by the American Society for Training and Development revealed that an estimated 29 percent of corporate tuition reimbursements go to online or blended programs. This goes to show that some working professionals indeed find it easy to pursue an online education.

Article Source : Distance Learning Courses

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Both Art Gib & Philip Nicosia are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Art Gib has sinced written about articles on various topics from Supplements, Teachers and self improvement and motivation. For a list of colleges that reward accredited degrees to their students, visit Degree Search (. Art Gib's top article generates over 1830000 views. Bookmark Art Gib to your Favourites.

Philip Nicosia has sinced written about articles on various topics from Site Promotion, Site promotion and Phones. Podcastblaster is a site specializing in all aspect of podcasting and provides an extensive. Philip Nicosia's top article generates over 368000 views. Bookmark Philip Nicosia to your Favourites.