Online education, or e-learning as it is more commonly known, is becoming more and more popular among students day by day. Students are keener nowadays on getting employed right after school.
One can opt for these online colleges and earn degrees in higher education, side by side doing the job and getting paid. Besides, the means and manner of education are changing too. Classroom environment is no longer considered mandatory for the purpose of higher education.
In America, one out of every four colleges offer an online course. As a result of which in 2008 the number of students doing online courses reached 4.6 million. Majority of them are undergraduate students.
There are various media for online learning. It is often done in the form of video or audio lectures. It is also done through social media interaction or interaction over chat. Some online colleges even use games and PowerPoint presentations as means of learning and study material.
As a result of this growing interest of students in online learning, the e-learning industry is growing rapidly. It has projected a value of $49.6 billion in four years, since 2002.
There are certain disadvantages of online learning too. E learning hinders the rapport between students and teachers. The physical distance sometimes can be a little too much to cover. Besides it requires a tremendous amount of self motivation to successfully complete the course.
