Today, I’ll try to debunk some of the seriously held misbeliefs about online education that some people are too reluctant to shed. Chances are that most of these wild assertions won’t disappear, since their basis lie on irrationality – stereotypes that become a part of your belief before you know it. A perception about a particular phenomenon that cannot be measured or geometrically proven will always have its share of critics. You can’t help it. And I have no intention to help it, because I have other more profitable jobs to do. But what sets one off is a constant drool of ideas and arguments that fuel such myths and feign to be on the track of truth. As someone pursuing an online degree with utmost ambitions, such cavil guesses don’t only make me sad, I believe they play a subtle role in jeopardizing my future and rob some of the opportunities of my success, to say the least. All these assertions are based on wild guesses, to this day I am still unable to find a valid reason that can independently stand firmly against this medium of acquiring education. Some of the most cherished one-liners darted by skeptics on the slightest discussion on the subject are:

·  Distance learning schools aren’t as good as traditional schools
·  Employers won’t accept degrees from distance learning universities
·  Distance learning credits don’t transfer to other colleges
·  Accredited schools always offer a good education
They won’t spare a chance, they won’t let you argue let alone give your arguments a serious thought. Firstly, the once clearly distinct line between traditional or brick and mortar schools and online schools is becoming hazier with time, today almost all major ‘traditional’ colleges and universities offer some kind of online courses just to utilize the outreach that the internet so economically provides. Therefore to say that online schools don’t provide us with quality education is to argue that traditional universities and colleges have compromised on their quality or else they would have never opted for the facility that the online medium provides. Secondly, the idea that employers don’t accept degrees acquired online is a fallacious and too childish a perception, since it is not mentioned in our transcripts that we studied for the program online or on-site. It’s the subject, coursework of the online degree program what matters.

Thirdly, this is also a laughable argument that the credit transfers gained in one online program is not transferable to another. As long as an online college or university is accredited it is almost bound by law to accept genuine documents that show the student has spent a certain amount of time studying thus they can enroll, provided that they have the essential papers, so this argument also doesn’t hold any water. Yes, the fourth point does have a point, in the realm of online education the greatest and the most embarrassing issue that crops up every time is of degree mills. It is true that accreditation is one of the first and the most important things to be watchful about. But then there is a question of the accrediting agency: is the accreditation of the accrediting agency valid or authentic? The fourth and last point is surely a crucible factor that determines your success and also your failure in going for online education.

Therefore, to say the least, these skeptics are suffering from a disease that can only be cured by the popularity and wider acceptance of online education world over, and I am glad that they will recover soon, since this is no more a dream but a distant reality.

Youngsters these days are usually found falling in love in their teenage years, a time in life when education should be their first priority. But with the onset of love in their life, education is forgotten and we hear wedding bells in the air. This might not sound as big an issue, but it affects the lives of numerous teenagers across the world in the long run as they keep education aside and focus more on building their family lives.

The major problem which arises here is that these teenagers are not capable enough to take on the responsibilities of a husband and wife and later on as parents. Why? Simply because they are not adequately educated, which brings about unemployment, or not being able to acquire good positions even if they are employed. Financial dilemmas arise for them as there are rarely any well-paying jobs for undergraduates these days.

But, thanks to the rise of online education, there is hope for all such young couples! Teenage couples can now go back to school via online learning and make up for lost time and acquire education, which they ignored at the time they should have concentrated on their studies.

Advantages of Online Learning for Undergraduate Couples
Though there are numerous skeptics of eLearning, there are several benefits of acquiring online degrees, specifically for people who wish to balance family, work and education at the same time. Some of those advantages, particularly for undergraduate couples are:

In-expensive Tuition Fees
The basic feature of online learning is that it is affordable. This is because everything is done over the Internet and every piece of information is acquired online. There is no need to buy extra books and assignments are completed over the Internet, which also makes the learning experience convenient.

No Need to Ever Attend an On-Campus Class
Online education is gaining much popularity and is becoming the most famous medium of education in the present day world. For married undergraduates who live in remote areas, studying through distance education is perhaps the best option. So instead of commuting to a particular campus everyday at a particular time, they can simply study online at timings that best suit their lifestyle and acquire accredited online degrees that are as worthy as campus-based degrees.

Self-paced Study
Unlike traditional schools, where students are expected to follow the teachers trail and study at fixed timings, online education gives distance learners the freedom to study at their own pace. This means, that teachers assign projects with deadlines, but it is up to the student as to when and how he/she works on it to finish and submit it by the deadline.

Assignments Can be Completed Through Research on the Internet
Whenever the faculty assigns online students a project or an assignment on English, History, Physics or whatever their subject is, it can be completed by simply browsing over the internet. Undergraduate students no more need to leave their spouse and/or their child at home and visit the city or the school’s library to acquire information related to your assignment. Online colleges and universities usually provide access to their online libraries for academic resources to distance learners.

Online education is perhaps the perfect option for young couples, who during heir teenage years ignored their studies and focused more on attaining the love of their lives, thereby remaining undergraduates. eLearning helps teenage couples acquire education so as to get over their financial issues which they face because of unemployment or low-paid jobs due to inadequate qualification.

In a subtle way, the very culture of eLearning pours all the responsibilities of managing the process of online learning on the shoulders of the student, sometimes making him liable for issues that dwell beyond his maneuvering capacity. A case in point is the inability of teachers to manage, conduct or instruct an online class. For a debutant distance learner it is natural to feel inept despite insistent struggle to prove his competence, if the teacher is not well-trained.

Majority of the accredited online colleges and universities are generally well-prepared from their end. Their experience, achievements and persistent good performance lend credence to the level of aptitude and ability they so often boost as online education providers. But it’s not unusual that sometimes, despite their hundred percent efforts some online institutions fail to assess the competency of the teacher at the outset and confer him a place he doesn’t deserve to occupy.

Here are some of the simple features by which the student can assess the online teacher’s ability as an educator, no matter if you are a new student, completely clueless about the online learning process, these traits are universal and come naturally to a trained online teacher. If you find your online educator missing a couple of these attributes, then be certain that apart from you, there is also someone else who deserves to be blamed for your underperformance in the class.

Patience – It takes time to learn the ropes of online learning, some students take time to settle down, and a seasoned online teacher knows it very well. The teacher should not take the student (no matter how experienced) for granted. He should start from scratch, acquainting the student with the process of learning online and his personal teaching style.

Typing Speed – It may sound trifle, but the typing speed of the teacher actually tells us a lot about his interaction with the world of web. The teacher may be an expert in face-to-face teaching, but if he is not a good communicator from distance, there is no point in attending his class since slow typing speed runs the risk of turning the whole experience of learning boring and uninteresting.

Eagerness to Help – A student sitting thousands of miles away can easily guess the temperament of his teacher. It’s simple. If the teacher has a serene and calm way of instructing the student, who may sometimes ask the wackiest of question, an experienced teacher never gets agitated. Calmness and serenity is an unflinching feature of an experienced teacher’s personality.

Going the Extra Mile – A good teacher is one who loves teaching. An experienced online educator will never hesitate to help any of his students out of the way; teachers are species who love to wait for unasked questions. If your online teacher shies away from answering your queries even in informal meetings, it is possible he may be experienced but you can be convinced that teaching is not his first love.

Vitality – Though it’s a quality that is unfortunately not easy to find but the masters of online teaching surely know how to make you interested in the class. The true masters of online learning make you feel like a date – the most important person in the world, or in other words, the most brilliant student in the class. They give you countless chances to shed your inhibitions and participate in the class unhesitatingly as those confident top-graders used to ooze with confident at your school!

These features are not carved in stone, but undoubtedly these are few of the essential attributes of a seasoned teacher. If you think your teacher lacks these qualities then, as said above, your underperformance in the class is not your personal folly.

Life-Experience Degrees Online
Even though it sounds unoriginal, but you can earn a life-experience degree online. This option is perfect for those who do have trouble attending regular classes. Numerous online colleges and universities offer life experience degrees or credit for life experience that can help you acquire the undergraduate degree you always wanted and needed to move ahead in your line of work. But, what you need to know is the fact that legitimate universities are not just going to hand you a degree simply on the basis of information you put on a resume. Accredited and well-reputed online colleges and universities would require you to take challenge tests to exhibit your knowledge before granting you course credits. If they feel that you lack a vital skill, they might ask you to take a class or two, while the rest of your skills will be credited toward your online life experience degree. If you prove that you meet all of the life-experience requirements, you might receive your online degree within a month!

How Can Life-Experience Degrees Help Working Adults?
For adults who are already employed and have plentiful experience in a precise area, life experience credits can substantially reduce the time and money it takes to earn a degree through conventional methods and increase your worth in the job market. If at some point in life you had taken on a program but could not put up with it due to certain circumstances in your life, life experience credits may be very useful in helping you finish your program and acquire an accredited degree and increase your income.

Information on Life Experience Degrees

1. Prior Learning Examination
Online colleges and universities ask for copy of your transcripts and a portfolio which must include a written explanation and samples of your prior experience. After assessing these, the school appraises your transcripts and knowledge of your field, after which your chosen online college or university helps you devise a plan which you could take up to earn an online college degree. What is to be noted is that your plan may engage taking a series of exams to confirm your prior learning, along with supplementary course work.

2. What Counts Toward Prior Learning
If you are the kind of employee, who is regarded by other colleagues as the “expert” in your field or if you have complete mastery over a particular craft by means of a number of years of self-study, there is a high chance that you can translate that wide-ranging knowledge and know-how into credits towards a valuable college degree. Comprehension may come from work familiarity, military service, prior college work, professional development courses or certificates, community and volunteer services or travel.

3. Expenditures and Fees
An interesting piece of information here is that colleges have dissimilar policies on the subject of life experience credit, and some may necessitate a fee to evaluate your prior learning. A number of schools charge a per credit fee like those for regular course credit; nevertheless, a life experience credit costs less. It is necessary for you to carefully research your college’s life experience degree program to tell the difference between its costs and the procedure you must follow to obtain credits for your experience.

4. Choose Accredited Schools Only
Research. Find accredited online schools that go well with your academic goals, career objectives, schedule and budget. Regrettably, not all schools offer reliable life experience degrees, so make sure that you scrutinize your college choices comprehensively.

Studying online is definitely a difficult task, particularly the first couple of weeks when you are at a loss as to how the entire learning process works. Online students usually feel very disoriented in the beginning and at times even take such drastic steps like dropping out or withdrawing from their online program. In the first week, fresh online learners need to manage their studies, learn to navigate through their virtual classroom, communicate and get to know their virtual class-fellows and the online faculty without getting to see them personally, and balance their coursework with their already hectic lives.

Managing online education is not all that easy, but here are certain tips which can help distance learners thrive in their online classes from day one:

1. Is Online Education Actually Meant For You?
First of all, what you need to do is go through the online course requirements as well as your current personal and professional schedule. After considering both of these factors, decide whether you can handle the course work or not. Figure out if you would be able to handle work, family and studies at the same time. Think about your dedication to make sure that you do not drop out in the middle of the session. Remember that doing so might get you an “F” or a “W” on your record. So to make sure that your record stays clean, make this decision in the first week as by dropping out before your online institution’s withdrawal deadline can at times get you a complete or partial refund of your tuition fees as well as a clean record.

2. Get Yourself All The Necessary Course Material
If the online course you have taken up requires additional textbooks or other course materials, purchase them right in the beginning to ensure that you don’t lag behind in your projects. Apart from buying your course material you can also check your college or universities online library to find out if you really need extra books or not.

3. Install All Required Softwares And Attain All Necessary Hardware For Your Computer
Go through your course syllabus to find out what software or hardware will be needed through the online program. Programs like Acrobat Reader or Real Player are usually needed so as to access the multimedia components such as streaming lectures and text. Update your computer completely during the first week to avoid getting shocked about new software requirements when you have to finish your project within a week!!!

4. Introduction With The Online Faculty Is Necessary
Teachers might never get to know you in an online degree program as there are several virtual students in a class, so you need to take the initiative and introduce yourself to the faculty. To introduce yourself you can use your online course message board or send an email to your teacher with a succinct introduction. Remember that teachers who know you a bit might be more helpful and lenient during the course.

5. Be Interactive
Don’t ever hesitate in taking part in online class discussions, may it be simple posts on forums or interacting through chatrooms. Doing so would help you prove yourself as an active participant in the online course. The best part is that this would help you make new friends from across the world and through them you would also acquire a better understanding of the study material and online education requirements.

6. Make Friends! Trade Emails!
You need to make friends even if you are studying online. Infact, friends are much more needed if you are pursuing your degree online. Allies help you with your studies, answer any queries you have and also make sure you submit your online projects within the deadlines by reminding you about them! Most of all, your online class-fellows are like your support group as they know what you are going through when you are struggling between family, work and education.

7. Get To Know The Class Structure
All online courses are different in terms of their structure. What you need to do is confirm that you know how to access all of the essential components of your online class such as course material, lectures, chat rooms, discussion boards, multimedia presentations, assignment submission forms etc. Note down any optional features that you can use to complete your coursework.

8. Note Down Deadlines On Your Calendar
Your online teachers would not constantly remind you of your projects deadline. Teachers usually mention major projects right at the commencement of your online degree program. Make sure that you record deadlines of all projects, exams, written articles etc on your personal calendar right when you receive your syllabus.

9. Sort Out Your Study Schedule
Resolve how much time you will need to give your online course each week and then fix a regular schedule to follow. Inform your friends and family about your study timings to make sure that you are not disturbed while studying. Fixing a particular schedule for online learning would help you stick to your routine, thereby assuring success in your online program.

10. Give Your Online Assignments A Head Start
Start working on your online projects as soon as you can. This would help you feel more confident about your work when your project deadline draws near.
Studying online can at times be a bit hard, but following the above-mentioned tips would ensure that you have a smooth educational journey while pursuing your online degree.