The development of the internet has resulted in a lot of changes to everyday life. The effects vary from beneficial to harmful. One beneficial outcome of the internet is how it changed the traditional educational model of learning. Before, the type of education a person received was dependent on where the person lived, how much money they had, and how much time they had. With online learning today, higher education is available to many more areas. It is portable, less expensive, non-compromising of the quality of education, and flexible.

Online learning has changed the way students learn. In the traditional model for education, learning can become boring. Students learn differently because they are all individuals regardless of the fact that they are labeled as one group. Often times listening to a lecture becomes tiresome and at the end of the day, a large portion of the lecture discussed in the morning is forgotten by the next day. For some, audio learning is the best way to comprehend subjects and lessons. Although, online learning it is more interactive and allows students to become more engaged through a screen and customize lessons to match best learning technique. They can listen to lectures, watch videos that explain a lesson along with visuals, or they have the option to choose to be hands on and learn through experience.

Online learning is incredibly flexible and it changes the way students learn because this way the student is in charge of their own learning process. This provides a lot of opportunity for students to get the most out of their learning experience. Another problem with the traditional form of learning is that everyone is taught at the same pace as a class, disregarding the different levels of each unique students. In a typical classroom, the teacher or professor has to accommodate to the average pace of learning. However, for some students the average pace can either be too slow or too fast. If the rate of learning is too slow, the student is not challenging themselves as much as they could be and if the rate is too fast, the student is not learning and is not getting the attention they deserve and is critical to their education. Either way, it is a disadvantage to the student and their right to a quality education. Fortunately, online learning provides students the ability to work at their own pace.

Online learning can benefit a larger range of people than traditional classrooms. For example, people with demanding work or personal schedules can benefit by going to class on their free time. Being a parent and/or working a full time job makes it difficult for people to attend an 8am class Monday through Friday. People who do not have access to a school or university can also benefit from this new and innovative way to get an education. For those who do not live in the near radius of a university, it is impossible and unrealistic for them to drive 50+ miles daily to attend class. Online class availability motivates students to be in school because the circumstances now make it possible for people to attend.

Another factor that stops people from getting a higher education is definitely money. Luckily, online learning is usually less expensive since there are no additional costs for paper textbooks, parking, and dorm rent. This is extremely beneficial for people who want to improve their lives, but cannot afford the luxuries of the American “college” dream. Online learning is also beneficial to people with mental or physical disabilities. In cases where a person is disabled and are unable to leave their home, the introduction of universities online changed a lot of these people’s lives. A disability should not stop anyone from learning, and becoming smarter and stronger version of themselves. There are even helpful interactive tools to accommodate to different disabilities.

Online learning is a strong tool for students. They can choose to fully commit to online learning and can even get their degree through online courses. For others, online learning simply means another strategy to learn and study a subject that was difficult for them to grasp the information through the typical education model.

Jaelene Munoz - A Strong Tool