Online Learning – Does It Pay Off?

At one point or the other, we have all thought about learning online. The question is, is it worth it?The ease of access to the internet has tremendously increased the scope of online learning. But is it really worth it? Let's take a look at the benefits of online learning for students (especially programmers and developers).

FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE

Probably the hardest thing about taking up an online course or learning something new is to find the time to do it. Everyone is engaged in activities relating to their personal lives and other commitments. There is a significant amount of time spent in traveling (especially for students who live far away from their respective institutions), reaching the classroom, sitting and waiting for the lecturer to arrive, and then the hassle to travel back. However, the importance of education and building a future for yourself and your family cannot be ignored. Through online learning, you can balance both of these very important things. Courses are available at different timings in different time zone settings and it is entirely up to you to choose which one you want to sign up for. The duration of the courses are not very time consuming. It is believed by very many online learning platforms that bite size sessions of the course module everyday result in much better concept and understanding among the students. Development and Programming courses such as Android development and Python require understanding, and practice which can be very difficult if the brain has to process a lot of information at once. 


COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE

It is also to be noted, that learning a new skill is something that is complex and consumes a lot of time and energy. It really requires the person to be focused in order to achieve successful results. Thus, a person who spends a certain amount of time in travelling from here to there will probably lose out on the focus that is required due to possible fatigue, weather and constant change of environment. Through online learning platforms (Zeolearn, Lynda, CBT Nuggets, edX, Coursera) learners can now plan and sit through live or recorded sessions from the comfort of their homes, without having to move. Students learn best when they are in their comfort zone and with the technology that they are familiar with. 

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE 

Other than this, online learning accommodates all those people who work-study. Institutions do not offer enough flexibility for their students to work and study at the same time. Those institutions that do offer evening courses can be extremely hectic for most people. However, if a student opts for an online course, the range of timings that the classes are available at can easily provide the student with ample time to complete any other work on his schedule. 

Also, there are different kinds of students out there, some want to learn from scratch, some want to upgrade their skills or maybe just broaden their horizons. They may live in far off countries, or towns where proper programming or development training centers do not exist, that is where online courses really prove themselves to be worth it. As long as you have an internet connection, you can start learning from wherever you live. 

There are people with injuries and disabilities, these circumstances make the housebound and compromise on their education. This issue can be overcome through subscribing to their preferred online course right at home. 


COST EFFECTIVE

Any expense in education is an investment, but raising funds is not an easy job. Tuition these days is very high for good reputable institutions, and for those people who are studying and taking an extra course could be spending a fortune. Online courses are cheaper (sometimes free) compared to traditional courses at a learning center and you also save a lot of travelling expenses, which further decreases the gross amount that you are spending. Additionally, a lot of online learning websites provide free resources for students to download which can be very beneficial. It is not discriminatory towards those who can have a better financial condition compared to the other. The money spent of lavishing classrooms is saved, and in turn, the quality of the information being provided is where the money is actually spent. 

VARIETY OF TOPICS

There is a very high possibility that the learning academy near your house does not have the course or the combination that you want. You do not face such problems with online learning, there are various courses available to which you have full accessibility from everywhere and you are also allowed to create your own packages and combination. Example, you can opt for Accounting and Finance as well as a course in iOS development. It all depends on your capability, interest, and focus.

EXPERTS AND INSTRUCTORS

Do not be under the impression that the online learning is something less equivalent to traditional classroom education, it is not. You will experience, that there are many highly qualified professionals and experts that are available to teach students about what they do and how they do it. This allows the learners to understand the practical dynamism of the courses that they are learning. If a student has taken a course on Android development, through practical walkthroughs and industry based projects in his course module, he can just as easily be skilled in iOS development as well. This is what is great about online learning with expert help because they educate you in things apart from the text book. Any piece of information can guide a programmer what iOS development is, but it will take experience, and practical application to understand what sets Android apart from iOS. This is where online learning can really pay off.

If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback, do drop it in the comments section below. I appreciate the support and it motivates me write more so do share this article if you find it useful.