We do just about everything online these days. If you really didn’t want to go out into the real world and interact with real people, you could easily handle your finances via online banking, order your groceries through a variety of online vendors, and make your income online as a web developer. I’m not saying that we should all curl up into our little isolated cocoons, but there is something to be said about the power and convenience of the Internet.
Yes, many “forward thinking” industries have already taken that plunge. There are tons of online media companies and online magazines, for example, where the majority of employees work from home. As a freelance writer myself, I have happily adopted this kind of lifestyle, since I don’t have to commute to a physical office every day. Many tech companies have embraced a similar telecommuting structure for much of their staff.
Getting Schooled on the Web
The industries and organizations that are the most resistant to this shift in structure are also the longest-standing and the most traditional, the most notable of which may be education. I got my degree from a university where I sat in a real lecture hall, read real physical books, and wrote tests in the same room as all my other fellow students. But online education is definitely growing and it’s really starting to take hold.
From the school’s perspective, they can save a lot in cost when they don’t have to maintain giant lecture halls with a bunch of tables, chairs, projectors, chalkboards, AV equipment and all the other infrastructure needed to run a brick-and-mortar school. For the students, they don’t have to commute to a classroom halfway across town on a very specific schedule, because online classes can offer the flexibility to study at their convenience. The material is there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is particularly useful for people who are working part-time or full-time, in addition to engaging in online studies.
My Life Is Online Already
This kind of approach can certainly be appreciated by the new generation of gamers who have grown accustomed to online and digital delivery for everything. You don’t to go to a store, buy a disc and wait for it to install on your computer, because you can just buy and play your game online. The same can be said about online education.
Perhaps the shift to more online education makes the most sense in the tech industry and in sectors where computers are already such a mainstay. Bryant & Stratton College, for example, offers security training online with its Associate of Applied Sciences Degree program. Students learn the ins and outs of what it means to handle information security for the modern online workplace.
Education for Everyone
And one of the biggest advantages to online IT online training courses is that the student can be just about anywhere in the world. Even if you lived in a big city, you were traditionally limited to the schools in that major metropolitan area unless you were willing to relocate somewhere else. Everything would need to change. With an online education, the rest of your life can stay reasonably intact and you don’t have to move anywhere. This grants you far greater access to whatever education you need.
It doesn’t matter if you live in a small, rural town or you live in a high-rise in the big city, because as long as you have reliable Internet access, you can earn your degree.
Have you taken an online course before? What was your experience?