Online schooling is growing fast!
Online education in its various modes starting from distance education has been growing steadily worldwide due to the advances of new technologies, global adoption of the Internet, and due to a huge demand for a workforce trained periodically for the ever-evolving digital economy. Online education is on track to become a necessity by 2025.
You know, information technology has been influencing almost all aspects of our lives: the way we work, interact with others, process data into information, analyze and share information, entertain ourselves.
Now e-education or online education is changing the way we approach teaching and learning.
Online education growing fast
In 2016, there were over 6 million students in the U.S. who enrolled in at least one online course, and the proportion of students enrolled in at least one online course has risen to over 30%.
Over 6 million people in USA are pursuing atleast an online course
The number of online students has risen every year for the past few years and the most recent figures indicate that more than a quarter of all college students are taking an online class. This rapid expansion has prompted schools to increase the number of online classes and topics that they offer, which makes an online degree easier to obtain.
About 68 percent of online students are experienced professionals
Most online students are already professionals. More specifically, 36 percent consider themselves “industry switchers” hoping to move from one field of career to another, while the remaining 34 percent are “career accelerators,” or working professionals who want to advance their current career, therefore they look for acquiring advanced skills online.
Online education is cheaper than a traditional degree
Without staying facilities, meal plans, and formal classrooms, online degrees are often significantly cheaper than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. In fact, the total average cost of an online degree is $50,000 less than that of a traditional degree. With online students able to access scholarships and financial aid, this reduced cost burden is even bigger.
Evolution of online education
Distance learning in the United States has evolved over the last three centuries into what is currently referred to as “online learning”, via various delivery systems that reflect the tools available at the time: the postal system; radio and television; and interactive technologies backed by the internet.
In 1728, an advertisement in the Boston Gazette, which read “Persons in the Country desirous to learn this art may by having the several lessons sent weekly to them, be as perfectly instructed as those that live in Boston,” featured Caleb Phillipps, proposing to teach shorthand1 to students via exchanging letters all throughout the country. Not unlike today’s educators, he asserted that the level of instruction would be just as good as traditional face-to-face instructions.
Radio and television course delivery systems followed parcel post with a federally licensed radio station launched in 1919, by a University of Wisconsin professor and collaboration by universities with television stations in the 1950s to offer college courses for credit.
The University of Phoenix, known today for its fully online programs, began to use online technology with CompuServe (the first online service provider) in 1989, and then the World Wide Web in 1991.
The year 1998 marked the beginning of a rise in online programs, when New York University unveiled NYU Online, which along with many of the other online programs that followed but did not survive. This initial failure of online programs to meet expectations also led to the concept of “blended” or “hybrid” programs that surfaced in 1999/2000 and combined face-to-face classes with online classes. Online and blended programs incorporate available technologies with many delivery options and tools such as online discussion boards, chat rooms, and video conferencing.
Till this date, the distance education enrollments increased year after year.
The most recent year-to-year addition of 337,016 distance education students, a 5.6 percent increase, exceeds the gains seen over the past three years.
31.6 percent of all students now take at least one distance education course (a total of 6,359,121 students).
The number of students studying on a campus has dropped by over one million (1,173,805, or 6.4 percent) between 2012 and 2016.
Read more about distance education is USA here.
A diverse set of online learners
Online learners age
Online education is for all age groups. The age of students enrolling in various online courses are diverse. Age starting from 18 to 40. More and more students learning new skills online and going for professional certifications online.
Online learners location
54 percent of online students are part-time. Location is not a barrier now, anyone can learn anything irrespective of location. You don’t have to move or quit your job to take courses online. You can learn at your own pace.
Online learners race, class, language, and disabilities:
This year, several schools noted a wide variety of student populations entering their online programs in increased numbers. These include more students with disabilities, learners for whom English is a second language, underrepresented minorities, and economically disadvantaged students.
Types of online courses
These days one can study anything online, students seeking to study at almost any level including:
- Trade and Skill-Based Learning
- K-12 and GED Learning
- Practicing for Standardized Tests
- Personal Enrichment Learning
- Continuing Education Credits
- For-Credit College Courses
- Professional and Graduate Degrees
Additionally, online courses come at a variety of price points and various commitment levels. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) provide access to applied and theoretical learning from some of the nation’s top universities for free. Paid online courses come in every form from video webinars offered by educational institutions and professional associations, to full-fledged online degrees.
Which online courses are right for you and how you can choose it online?
There are a plethora of online courses out there. You can choose one according to your needs and career aspirations.
Popular research methods include reading online reviews from students online and researching rankings websites like authoritysignal.com
FAQ.
Online learning is when you take courses online instead of in a physical classroom. It allows you studying at your own pace or if you live far from campus, online learning might be for you. With online learning, you can work full-time while you study in your free time.
Some courses are absolutely free, You can learn thousands of course free of cost. while others are paid. It ranges from $1 to $50,000.
The 5 main benefits of attending online school are:
Location doesn’t matter at all.
For some courses age is also not a matter.
More flexibility in choose the course.
A chance for students to learn from home.
Opportunity for struggling students to thrive (they can learn at their own pace).
Better connections with family, friends, and Instructors.
Yes, the future of education is open as technology and connectivity beyond 5G communication increase ten or even 100 times. This enables learning anything at anywhere, and anytime. So we can definitely tell that future of education will be online education.
You require strong time management skills and self-motivation.
Online courses make it easier to procrastinate, be ready to tackle it.
Longer learning curve for the less technically savvy.
Internet and technology-dependent susceptible to network connections, browser compatibility issues, etc. But can be solved easily.
Minimal in-person contact with professors and classmates. For some students it can be uncomfortable.
You can pursue any number of online courses at a time. Its all up to what you can handle. There is no limit at all.
No, it will not replace the classrooms in near future. Even if there is an increase in online education, students have to attend some physical classrooms during their schooling period. But may be in next 100 years it will for sure.
You can learn any course online by joining various online websites that offer online course. Now a days so many universities offer online degree programs. And if you want to learn a new skill like programming, online marketing, or anything professional you can join udemy or coursera.
References
https://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/highered.html https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/annual-trends-in-online-education/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1097198X.2018.1542262 https://www.qualityinfo.org/-/growth-in-distance-learning-outpaces-total-enrollment-growth https://www.usnews.com/higher-education/online-education/articles/2018-01-11/study-more-students-are-enrolling-in-online-courses
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