Online Education Pros and Cons Research Paper

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Online Learning

Since the advent of the Internet, online learning has increased exponentially. Online learning is utilized by K-12 schools, by public universities and colleges, and there has been an explosion in for-profit online schools as well. Twenty years ago, the industry did not really exist -- distance education was usually some form of correspondence course . In 2014, Forbes estimated the industry to be worth around $107 billion in the United States alone, to say nothing of the rest of the world (McCue, 2014). This makes sense, because all the world's information is basically at our fingertips every time we go online -- structuring that information in a manner that is meaningful is fairly easy to adapt to the online environment.

The industry has come under some criticism, in particular for its model with respect to student loans and the high default rate thereof (Taibbi, 2013). Yet, such business practices are by no means indicative of online learning as a whole. Indeed, such situations may reflect a case where the regulation has not kept up with the technology, and in that it by no means should reflect on the nature of online learning itself. Stripping away the fallacy of conflating a few bad apples with an entire method of learning, we afford ourselves an opportunity to understand the pros and cons of online learning on their own merits.

The booming popularity of online learning speaks to the fact that it has many advantages. These include the cost of delivery, flexibility and convenience, and time savings.

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On the cost of delivery, complex educational systems can be developed, knowing that the cost of that development will be spread among thousands of students each semester. Thus, there are tremendous economies of scale available in online learning, especially if schools pool their resources together. Even if they do not, the larger online schools can achieve tremendous economies of scale on the delivery of key programs, and quality need not be comprised (Bradshaw, Chan & Clarke, 2014). Theoretically, such economies of scale should translate into cost savings, but that is not necessarily the case. The biggest cost savings in online learning actually derives from the convenience factor.

Convenience is a critical benefit of online learning. Online learning can be conducted whenever the learner has the free time, rather than occurring at a fixed schedule as would be the case in a more traditional education setting. The benefit of this is that the learner can typically continue to work, something that often is not the case for students in a more conventional education setting. Along with convenience comes pacing. Students are able to work at their own pace, which means that some students can basically work ahead of the class, while if others need to take more time, they do. This allows students to fit the education into the daily lives instead of pausing their lives -- and especially their careers -- in order to learn. The cost benefit is obvious -- someone who can continue working with not only earn money….....

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