INTRODUCTION

It is a type of distance learning---taking courses without attending a brick-and-mortar school or university. Instead, online students and teachers interact over the Internet. To meet the definition of online education, according to education expert Dr. Sabri Bebawi, a course of study must offer two-way communication between teacher and learner and fall under the oversight of an educational institution.

SCOPE

It's originated at the college level, but today many professional certifications are available online. U.S. Department of Education surveys show that online classes are popular with adult learners of all races, with all levels of prior education. Online career and continuing education reaches learners from trade and service careers as from professional careers.During the academic year 2006-2007, the U.S. Department of Education found that 65 percent of two-year and four-year post-secondary institutions offered college-level online learning for credit. Community colleges make the greatest use of online learning to cut costs and reach a wide audience of learners. A full 97 percent of two-year public institutions offer credit-granting online learning.

BENIFITS OF ONLINE EDICATION

1. Flexibility

Students have the freedom to juggle their careers and school because they aren't tied down to a fixed schedule. In a traditional classroom setting, class meeting times are set, and the student has no power over this, forcing them to work their schedules around these dates. Most people who choose online learning tend to have other commitments, and prefer this mode of learning as it gives them power over how they will delegate their time towards their different projects.

2. Networking Opportunities

Online education also provides students with the chance to network with peers across nations or even different continents. This often leads to other opportunities in terms of collaboration with other individuals in the implementation of a project. At the same time, it makes them culturally sensitive and able to fit into other environments easily given their exposure to other cultures.

3. Reduced Costs

Online education can cost less due to a variety of reasons. For example, there is no cost for commuting. Assorted costs that are related to transport, such as fuel, parking, car maintenance, and public transportation costs don't affect the online student.

4. Increased Instructor - Student Time

Students in traditional classrooms may not get the personalized attention they need to have concepts clarified. Although class sizes are small at CCA, most colleges have classes of students that number in the hundreds. This is not a problem for this type of education because online guided discussions and personal talk time with their professors and lecturers is a hallmark of online classes. This increases the chances of a student performing well due to the time their instructors give them. This also enhances their problem-solving and communication skills, as well as knowing how to defend their arguments to superiors if needed.

5. Documentation

All the information that you will need will be safely stored in an online database. This includes things like live discussion documents, training materials and emails. This means that if there's ever anything that needs to be clarified, the student will be able to access these documents fast, saving valuable time. This is especially useful for individuals that need to carry out research for a project and submit their findings to a panel.

6. Access to Expertise

An online college education might give students access to specialized degree courses that may not be available in an easily accessible or local institution of learning. For example, at CCA you can pursue a degree in Marketing or a certificate in C++ Programming without having to live near the institution. Online classes allow the sharing of expertise that helps more people have access to education that is not readily available in certain geographic locations.

This type of education has grown over the last few years and has experienced mainstream acceptance. With an online class, you get to control your learning environment, which ultimately helps you develop a deeper understanding of your degree course. New models of learning are always springing up in the market, providing students with varied opportunities to fashion their education into something that fits them, not the other way round. It also provides individuals an opportunity to finish a degree they might have started and were unable to continue with for one reason or another. The future of online degree education looks promising, and opens up education to a larger section of the population than ever before.

ADVANTAGE OF ONLINE EDUCATION

1) Extendibility, Accessibility, and Suitability - Users can proceed through a training

program at their own pace and at their own place. They can also access the training

at any time, receiving only as much as they need. In other words, “just in time and

just enough."

2) Quicker (and cheaper) turnaround of finished product.

3) Collaborative and exploratory learning environments.

4) Easy and affordable training delivery - Chances are (and you’ll want to access this

before embarking on WBT) your audience has access to a browser. Validate what

browser(s) your audience has and what version(s) and you can capitalize on the

delivery vehicle.

5) Inexpensive worldwide distribution - No separate or distinct distribution

mechanism is needed (i.e., distributing CD-ROMs for CBT training). WBT can be

accessed from any computer anywhere in the world while at the same time keeping

delivery costs down.

6) Reduced technical support - Web-based training courses decrease some of the

more “potent and deadly” technical support issues that often enshroud technologybased

training.

7) Cross Platform - WBT can be accessed by web browsing software on any platform:

windows, MAC, Unix, etc. Basically, you can deliver your training course to any

machine over the Internet or company intranet without having to develop a different

course for each unique platform.

8) Ease of content update - The changes you make to any of your content are

immediately available to your learning audience across the world.

9) Installation options on private networks for security or greater bandwidth. If you

opt for intranet delivery, you have more control over plug-ins and bandwidth, giving

you more options for inclusion in your WBT.

10) Vast, untapped market for training - The untapped WBT market is still large. If

you’re looking for commercial markets, the Internet also offers a huge audience

hungry for material via the Net.

11) Travel cost and time savings - Learning is delivered directly to the learner instead

of the other way around.

12)Web browsers and Internet connections are widely available - Most computer

users have access to a browser, such as IE4 or Netscape and are connected to a

company's intranet, and/or have access to the Internet.

13) Direct access to many other training resources - The Internet gives access to the

largest library in the world. Capitalize on the offerings that have already been

created, and use them to enhance the learning you are distributing.

14) WBT-based development is easier to learn and pick up then CBT-based

development. You should be able to draw from a larger pool of WBT developers

than is available for creating traditional CBT.

15) Access is controllable - You can direct and monitor who receives web training -

when, how many times, and in what sequence.

DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE EDUCATION

1) Limited formatting of content in current browsers - The WBT you create will not

resemble the CBT you might be familiar with because of Net bandwidth constraints.

So if your content relies on a lot of media “bells and whistles,” or particular

formatting, the Net might not be the best delivery medium.

2) Limited bandwidth means slower performance for sound, video, and large

graphics. Know the bandwidth available to your audience— and what’s reasonable

“wait” time for them— before you commit to the Net. On average, most mobile endusers

are still running on a 28.8 kpbs connection.

3) Student assessment and feedback is limited - The Internet provides a wonderful
means to get all kinds of information back and forth to your audience, but it also

makes it harder to assess some types of student feedback and information.

4)Bandwidth/browser limitations may restrict instructional methodologies -

Again, you are constrained by the technology. If your content relies on a lot of video,

audio, or intense graphics, and your audience isn’t on a T1 line, Net delivery will

only frustrate your learners.

5) Someone must provide web server access, control usage, and bill users (if

applicable) - The Net doesn’t magically solve all of your resource issues. Plan on

having someone oversee some of these issues.

6) Time required for downloading applications - Again, be very, very aware of

download times— and we still recommend looking at delivery options considering a

28.8 kpbs modem if you are delivering training to an external audience or over the

Internet. Your training might be great, but if your audience isn’t patient enough to

wait for it to download, it doesn’t matter.

CONCLUSION