Online courses aka MOOCs (massive open online course) are revolutionizing formal education system, and have opened a door to numerous opportunities. They try to provide educational materials such as video lectures, readings, quizzes and assignments so that there is more interaction between students and professors. They also aim at achieving immediate feedback. These courses deliver a series of lessons to a web browser or mobile device, to be conveniently accessed anytime and anywhere. MOOCs are considered to be an upgrade in the education system.
During Quarantine, the popularity of these courses has increased drastically. Everyone is choosing this method of learning. They were first introduced in 2008 and emerged as a popular mode of learning in 2012. One in four students now takes courses online—either as a part of an entirely online program, or mixed in with on-campus classes. This is because the perks of taking online classes are numerous.
Online Courses vs Traditional Learning
Advantages of Online Courses
Flexibility:
Learning from online courses is highly flexible. It can be extremely helpful to busy students, but that same freedom also creates additional pressures on those enrolled. It totally depends on the student, to remain focused and on track.
Difficulty in understanding:
For some students, online courses are a great option if they are not able to cope with their peers.They give you the ability to pause and take thorough notes or even re-watch parts you didn’t quite understand the first time. Plus, you can always reach out to your professor through a message to ask questions about material you didn’t understand.
Comfort:
Some people believe that online courses are more effective and efficient because we can interact with professors more comfortably. We can choose whether to send them a private message or to speak aloud to ask a question during class.
Diversity/ Wide Range of Options:
Online learning can give access to hundreds of quality worth, certified programs with no need for a big shift. Perhaps, many of the educational institutions or academies do not offer the degrees or courses someone’s always interested in; therefore, sometimes learners drop off their dreams because of unavailability. Online education allows learners to pick and access a wide range of courses as per their choice and requirement.
Disadvantages of Online Courses:
Procrastination:
It depends entirely on the student to take the initiative to keep up with his work when enrolled in online classes. You must take out time for the same. It can be easy to let assignments slide and miss due dates because of the flexibility that come with online courses.
No face-to-face Interaction:
Online courses can be less engaging. You can go through multiple online classes without really connecting to anyone. Friendships, mentorships and networking can all come from traditional education, but is that still the case with online courses?
Are online courses the right option for you?
Taking online courses may be a departure from the traditional classroom, but it’s definitely a change for the better. This option brings the experience straight to you, allowing you to work at your own pace to make a better life for you and your family. Best of all, taking online courses lets you integrate your studies into your schedule at your convenience. So, accordingly, one can say that online courses are the way to go in modern times.
Here are a few websites which offer the most popular online courses:
Coursera
Coursera is an education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take. It offer online courses, specializations, and degrees in a variety of subjects
Udemy
Udemy is an online learning platform featuring 130,000+ video courses taught by expert instructors.
Udacity
It’s most efficient site to master your skill. The main moto of udacity to bring higher education into the world in accessible, affordable & in effective ways.
Test prep training
Test prep is a distance learning platform worldwide as it meets the needs of today’s students, employees and organizations.
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