Over the past year and a half, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an explosion in the number of students learning at a distance, but even before the pandemic, distance learning was on the rise as a growing number of students chose to experience education outside of the traditional classroom. During the pandemic, as many as 93% of households with children engaged in some distance learning activities. At the college level, more than a third of students were taking at least some distance education courses before the pandemic, and that number has grown to a majority of students during the pandemic.

 

If you are considering distance learning as part of your current or future educational plans but aren’t sure if it is right for you, there are a number of benefits to distance learning that you may want to consider as you make your decision. In this article provided by professional essay writers from SmartWritingService.com, we’ll cover ten of the most important benefits for distance learning for students like you.

Set your own schedule

When you take distance learning courses, you’ll be able to decide when you want to take courses and when you want to work on them. Many courses will have deadlines for assignments, but aside from these requirements, you’ll decide when you want to work on the courses because the courses are asynchronous, meaning that the students and the instructor are not in the same place at the same time.

Learn at your own pace

Because you’ll be able to take courses when you want and set your own schedule, you can also organise your learning around your own pacing. For example, with asynchronous learning, you can devote more time to assignments and concepts you find challenging and less time to material that is easy for you, letting you customise your own learning experience.

More time to absorb information and prepare

The asynchronous nature of online learning means that you won’t be put on the spot to answer questions like you might be if called on in class. You will have time to prepare answers to discussion forum questions and to write and develop your course assignments. Having more time to prepare can produce better answers.

Save money taking courses online

In many cases, online distance learning courses are cheaper than their in-person counterparts. Many courses have lower tuition, but even if they don’t, going to school online can save you money in transportation and room and board costs, along with less expensive materials, since many online courses use open educational resources rather than traditional textbooks.

Experience multimedia learning

The old-style of “chalk and talk” lectures is rapidly going out of fashion, but you’re still much more likely to encounter instructors who talk their way through class time during in-person classes than online. In online courses, you’ll be more likely to experience multimedia course materials, including visuals, videos, podcasts, and interactive activities. 

Play games to learn

Online courses are more likely to make use of gamification to help make learning more stimulating and exciting. For example, some courses might deploy simulations or video games in order to give students practice exploring concepts in a real-world-style setting. Many students find that education through games make learning more exciting and engaging than lectures and readings alone.

Schedule online study sessions

If you and your classmates are going to school online, you can also study with one another online. Using apps like Google Hangouts or Join.me, you can work with your classmates to study course content, share thoughts on group assignments, and provide each other with support anywhere in the world. Online document sharing will also make it easier to work on group projects asynchronously.

Network with classmates and peers

While the stereotype about online students is that they work alone and rarely interact with others, online education offers great opportunities for networking with your classmates. You can discuss things besides courses in social media postings and online student lounges, and the online nature of your coursework will help you to more easily connect with them on platforms like LinkedIn.

Have access to your professor around the clock

When you take in-person classes, you are typically limited to seeing your professor during class and during office hours. But online courses often have much more access to your instructor. Because instructors work online, they are more likely to have extended online office hours and to reply quickly to emails and instant messages. Many will also do video conferencing with students.

Feel more confident and secure

Many students who are returning to school after a long absence often feel a bit insecure about their academic performance and might even feel self-conscious about being an older student in a classroom full of younger college students. When you attend courses online, you won’t have the same pressures and can feel more confident behind the cloak of anonymity that online education provides. And if you find that you aren’t confident in your academic skills, using professional online writing services  to help write your essays and papers can get you up to speed faster by seeing how a professional writer would approach your articles. When you use the help of professionals, you can gain confidence, feel secure in your skills, and know that you have a seasoned support team ready and willing to help you achieve your college goals.