Traditionally most forms of study require the class to be physically present at a school, education centre or – at a pinch – a community hall somewhere.
The knowledge is presented in the form of a teacher communicating and the students furiously taking notes. Or completing exercises in books or on hand-outs.
It’s an approach designed to communicate information quickly and efficiently. Not necessarily effectively.
While socialising with fellow learners is great, it also means taking time out of your busy day to attend the class in the first place.
This can mean cutting into valuable family time at the weekends, juggling work commitments or arranging childcare. Not to mention the hassle of getting to the class in the first place.
Moving to an online method of learning allows anyone to study at any time of the day or night, providing they have a computer and an internet connection.
This is because online learning doesn’t restrict your study to a timetable designed to suit the person delivering it.
But this is just the beginning…
Learning Opportunities
Because online learning doesn’t require a classroom, course providers can offer a far broader range of learning opportunities.
This is partly because online courses don’t have the tremendous cost of running a physical educational institute attached to them.
Regardless, it means that you have the benefit of choosing from dozens of different courses to meet your professional and personal needs.
Beyond this, however, online learning allows you to learn the way that works best for you. According to research this will help you to retain more information too.
According to IBM students carrying out courses online learn five times more than those who study in a traditional setting.
This partly due to the interactive nature of the learning. Students in an online setting are learning in a multimedia environment rather than just reading content out of a book. Or being dictated to by a teacher at the front of the class.
Linked to this, a higher proportion of online learners study their courses through to completion than their bricks and mortar counterparts.
Best, of all most people studying online can complete their courses in less time too.
Online Learning
If you miss a class or something the tutor says is mumbled in a traditional educational setting, then that opportunity to learn is lost.
Considering how fast paced traditional adult courses can be, that’s a big gap in your knowledge. Especially when it comes to sitting an exam.
With a distance learning course, you can consume the information repeatedly until it sticks. That means you never miss a crucial detail and you have almost limitless opportunities to consolidate what you’ve learned so far.
Moreover, online courses can be continually updated with the latest information and the most up to date learning examples.
While many prefer working out of a traditional textbook, in most instances they are out of date the moment they come off the print run. The costs of keeping these books updated can be prohibitive so the resources become less reliable over time.
When you factor in the convenience of an online learning portal and the support of a dedicated course tutor and online learning becomes very convenient indeed.
Comfort and Convenience
Online learning allows you to study in a way that suits you. Not just sparing you the post-work mad dash to the wherever the course is being held.
Online learning means you can tailor the way you study to your environment, circumstances and preferred way of learning.
This is especially advantageous for anyone with busy family lives or who work shifts. Traditional learning rarely caters for someone working a 7 til 7 overnight.
By studying a course online, anyone working shifts can fit their studies around their work in a structured way. As opposed to having the stress of trying to swap shifts or negotiate a late start.
If the evening is when you’re at your most productive, schedule your study plan accordingly.
You can work your studying around children, family commitments and even holidays. Providing you’ve got everything planned out.
A bricks and mortar institute will assign your course a classroom and you have little choice but to put up with that room no matter what state that’s in.
Study an online course means where you choose to study is entirely up to you. No more draughty classrooms or condemned adult learning centres for you.
Taking a course online allows you to study in your living room, at your kitchen table or even in bed if you so choose. Although we would recommend using a study or a sturdy dining table.
It’s important to make sure wherever you study, you’ve got enough room to work, it’s comfortable and devoid of distractions. Apart from maybe a smart speaker to play some background music.
If you have to work at the kitchen table, make sure the chores are done. The last thing you want is unwashed dishes or a pile of laundry pulling focus from your studies.
But don’t forget, all you need is a reliable internet connection and a space to work. Creating a quiet space at home or sitting in your favourite coffee shop is all fair game. Providing you can get the work done.
Learn Online Today
The range of courses available through online learning providers means that the opportunities for advancement are huge.
Whether you want to go to university, return to university or learn something new, there will be a course for you.
Online learning gives you the freedom to study what you want, at a time and place that works best for you. Not the person running the course.
You still get the benefit of tutor support, the qualification and expanding your knowledge but without the hassle.
You can organise your learning around your circumstances and tailor your studies in way that works best for you.
And don’t forget, online learning usually offers a flexible way of paying for the course so you can manage your finances better too.
Stonebridge Associated Colleges offer a wide range of Access to Higher Education Diploma courses in order to help you realise your ambitions.
Checkout out our Access to HE Diploma courses or contact a member of our sales team today to learn more and enrol.
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