Onlive vs. Traditional Education Essays

Onlive vs. Traditional Education Essays Onlive vs. Traditional Education Essay Onlive vs. Traditional Education Essay Compare and Contrast: Online Vs. Traditional Education LaKrisha Lawson ENG 121 Instructor Peter Kunze November 19, 2010 Compare and Contrast: Online Vs. Traditional Education Whether I’m going to school online are going to school in a traditional setting; the main objective is to obtain a degree. The internet has brought us a new way of obtaining a degree that is convenient for many people in the world today. Many might argue whether online or traditional education is more acceptable in today’s world. With technology growing the way it is many Americans go to work and school in the comfort of their home, while others commute to work and school. Regardless if you are enrolled at a traditional college or with a university online there are some similarities and differences, it mainly depends on the individual and what suits that person needs. I’m going to discuss online education first. â€Å"Adult students are more likely to succeed in online education than a traditional college student because adult students have more maturity and responsibility. A lot of older adults have full time jobs or families and look at college as an education only not a social life† (Online Learning vs. The Traditional College, 2006). One of the benefits of online education is that it provides flexibility especially for the working adult with families; Because of the flexibility you don’t have to rush to work to make it to class on time. You have the flexibility to decide when to schedule school work, but you will still have a deadline. The flexibility can save money as well; you save on gas because you do not have to commute back and forth to school. Another way of saving money is not paying someone to watch your children while you attend school. One last note on flexibility is, your school work can be accessed at any time where there is a computer with internet. â€Å"Students who take classes online have not shown any sign of retaining less information than in class students. In fact, now nearly all traditional chools offer some kind of online option in their curriculum and have found it to be a very productive teaching medium. A 2006 study by the Sloan Consortium discovered that around 62% of chief education advisors thought online education helped students learn as good or better than traditional learning† (Education for Less Online, 2007). The disadvantages of online education are the lack of face to face interaction; this could be great for some and not so great for others. If you are a student that requires the face to face interaction from your instructors then online learning could be difficult for you. If you are looking to transfer credits to another institution to further your education, research is needed to make sure that you will get full credit. Lastly is being computer literate and always having access to a computer. Not being computer literate and not having access to a computer with the internet could put a strain on your online education. I’m going to talk about the traditional way of learning second. Traditional college students are between the ages of 18-21 and benefit from the social atmosphere that a normal college campus provides. For young students, college means newfound freedom because they can live on campus or with friends away from parents† (Online Learning vs. The Traditional College, 2006). In a traditional classroom you have to follow a schedule, and have to be in class on that schedule day; if you miss class the n you will miss that day’s lesson. Some traditional schools will offer night classes for students that work during the day. One of the benefits of traditional schools is the face to face interaction; you can have a question answered right away versus waiting 24 to 48 hours for a respond. Some students prefer the face to face interaction over emails because of misunderstanding; the student can leave the classroom making sure that he or she understands. If you are looking to have a college experience then traditional education may fit you better. Some would rather get their education the traditional way while others prefer the online learning. Regardless how you receive your education what matters the most is that you get your education. Deciding what school to attend can be a lot, but now having to decide whether to go the traditional route or the online learning route depends on the individual student; and what route fits them better. The bottom line is no matter how you received your education the outcome will still be the same. References New York University (2006). Online learning vs. the traditional college. Retrieved from http://nyu. edu/classes/ Fldcu. org (2007). Education for less. Retrieved from http://fldcu. org/online-traditional/