ONLINE EDUCATION

Figures from the National Center for Education Statistics show that there were more than 2800 distance education college degree programs . (Most of those programs were online programs.) And those programs had more than 3 million enrollments.
There is a good reason for these big numbers. Online schools offer advantages over their campus-based counterparts. If you are looking for convenience, program choice, and a more satisfying classroom experience, you may find that online schools are superior to traditional college campuses.
First, online schools offer a level of convenience that campus-based schools can't match. With online classes, there is no commuting long distances, looking for parking, then rushing across campus to a lecture hall only to find that all the good seats are taken. Instead, you can take courses in the comfort of your home or office. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection, and, in some cases, easily-obtainable software for classroom discussions and for communicating with your instructor. What's more, many courses have an asynchronous discussion format. This means that you can post questions and respond to other students comments at your own convenience, rather than being forced to attend a discussion section at a scheduled time. So if you are busy with work, or tasks such as caring for children, your classroom discussions won't interfere with those responsibilities.
Second, online schools offer you many more degree programs than what your local campus-based college can probably offer. Because the Internet connects you to the world, you can pursue programs offered by schools in other states, or even other countries. You can get degrees ranging from associate's, to bachelor's, to the Ph.D. And the subjects you study can range from business, to nursing, to criminal justice, to Web design, to culinary management, to name just a few examples. To get the same variety of choices via campus-based programs, chances are you might have to move. And finally, if you happen to be living in another country where there are few educational opportunities, online programs can open up a world of educational possibilities.
Third, online schools can provide you with a more satisfying classroom experience than what you would get from a campus-based school. If you are shy, and find that it's hard to make comments or ask questions in a lecture hall, you may find that it's easier to communicate with students and your instructor by e-mail and message boards. In fact, since course formats often require participation in discussion groups, you may interact with others much more extensively than you would in a traditional classroom. And you may find yourself frequently e-mailing your instructor, where in a large lecture hall you might not once talk with your professor. Students with handicaps can also find that the online format can make communication much easier. Another advantage is that since materials are delivered electronically, you'll be able to scroll back to reread something you didn't understand. It's hard to rewind a professor in a lecture hall!
Your classroom experience can also be enhanced by the international availability of the Internet. Your local community college probably enrolls mostly local students. Not so online schools. In many cases, students from several other countries might be your classmates. Coming from other cultures and countries, they can offer perspectives and ideas that you might not be exposed to in your home town.
If you've hesitated to enroll in a degree program because of the limitations of your local campus-based college, then try online schools. Their convenience, program choices, and unique classroom experiences can mean a great route to a college degree.

FOUR TIPS FOR ONLINE STUDENTS:
Nowadays, many people are taking online courses either for self improvement or earning a career credential. But not all will become a success online student and complete the online learning program. You need to be able to adapt to the online learning environment and fully utilize the online resources to help in your online study. Here are 4 online study tips for your reference:
1:Use Wikipedia As Resource For Reference
Wikipedia can be a valuable resource for online students. There are many topics cover in Wikipedia, find the related articles and information to your subject of study. Because of Wikipedia is a public written encyclopedia, you could contribution your portion if there is any information missing. Keep in mind that all information at Wikipedia is user-edited and it may contain errors, you should double check the information before you memorize it or use it as the references in your online study assignments.
Besides adding information in written format, you could help in recording the read out of the content for Spoken Wikipedia Project. The reading in aloud help you to remember better while the recordings help other Wikipedia users in future.
2: Join The Discussion Forum
A topic may have different views or opinions from different people; hence you could learn what other people think by joining various online discussion forums for the subject you are learning for. Post your questions to find the answers and answer other people questions will help you to understand better while broaden your view about the topic through the discussion. You could even setup your own discussion forum for the subject of your study and invite others to post their opinion and discuss about a certain topics related to the subject from time to time.
3: Publish Your Reading Note Online
There are many websites that allow you to share your reading notes with others who are interested or taking the same subject of study as you. Among the popular online notes sharing websites are stu.decio.us and JotCloud.com. Posting your notes online will help yourself to verify the subject you have learned because others who have read your notes will inform you if they found any mistake. In additional, the notes that you posted online will help others in their assignment as well.
4: Create & Broadcast A Podcast
Learning by creating podcast can be fun and it will really help you to understand the subject of study. There are many sites which you can learn how to create your own podcast; it's not difficult if you are willing to face the challenge by taking action to create your 1st podcast. The podcast can be shared with others through podcast broadcasting sites so that others who are interested with the topic can be benefited from your production as well.
Finding new ways of study help you to keep your learning fresh and you will be able to understand the subject of study better. The above 4 tips can help you get started; but there are many other unique ways which you can use to help in your online study.

MYTHS AND THE FACTS OF THE ONLINE EDUCATION
Although online education has been introduced for such as long time, there are still many misconceptions and myths about online education program. The myths if not cleared might affecting your decision if you are considering pursuing your degree online. Here are the facts for the common myths that you may heard before:
Myth:
Degrees earned through online format are not as valuable as traditional degree programs.
Fact:
The myth may be true during the initial introduction of online education, but the 2 digits growth rate in the past 20 years has shown online study format has gained it popularity. The proper accreditation by the accrediting agencies approved by Department of Education that guarantees on it education quality has made online degree no difference than the traditional degree. The online degrees are widely accepted in the job market. What the employers concern is the fake degrees issued by diploma mills. As long as your degree is from legitimate and properly accredited university, then it has no difference whether your degree is earned through online or campus-based university.

Myth:
Online learning is easier than a traditional campus-based education
Fact:
Both online and offline learning are the same in term of courses. Many brick and mortar universities are offering the same degree they offer offline to online students, same courses with same total credit hours to complete the degree program. Although there are fast track degrees where you can waive some credits with your life experience in the related field, online learning does require a considerable amount of time and effort. The online learning may look easier as it provides you with the flexibility and convenient learning environment where you can learn from your comfort home and at your own schedule.

Myth:
Online courses cannot transfer to other colleges.
Fact:
You will face the difficulties to transfer the courses to other colleges if you are getting online degree from unaccredited university. If you attend online courses offered by an accredited school, you should have not problem to transfer the courses to other colleges. But credit transfer will largely depend on the admission office regardless of online or offline courses, you should check for the feasibility of transfer credits during the enrollment process.

Myth:
Online learning program means that you can complete fast.
Fact:
Due to most online learning programs allow you to plan your own time that fit into your own schedule. If you can spare more time to speed up your learning process, then you can complete the education program faster then the required completion duration. But if you are a busy working individual who can only spend very minimum time on your study, then you may take a longer time to complete the courses. Hence, in the self-paced online learning environment, you are the one who can decide how fast you want to complete your courses.

Summary
Don't just make your decision to go for online or campus-based degree program based on the myths, get yourself understand the fact of each myths and decide which learning media is best suit you.