Parents are often confused when it comes to making a decision regarding whether they should opt for online learning courses for their child, and with good reason. There are so many options available today that the entire process of learning about online platforms and the different courses available can be daunting. Add to that the unfamiliarity of online platforms and you can understand why parents struggle with making such an important decision.
Whether you plan on enrolling for online courses, either as a standalone option or in combination with conventional schooling, you definitely stand to gain. These courses offer you access to different online learning platforms and have helped changed the face of education for the better in our country. Not only that, there are a select few online schools in the US that even accept students from abroad, which just goes to show you how far and wide online homeschooling has spread.
Student counselors have spent numerous sessions with students trying to explain how different studying online really is and how you can stand to gain by opting for one. There are several benefits of adapting to an online environment.
Online Learning transcends physical locations
Traditionally, the quality of education imparted to our children has been determined by the socioeconomic status of their parents and the location of their residence. This has always been a primary reason for the desire to live in particular neighborhoods. If you live in a great neighborhood then you usually have access to some of the best facilities like great schools, good hospitals, public services etc. But what about students who show promise of excellence but lack the social status or the means to access some of the best quality teachers?
Online courses in the US have been the solution to this longstanding issue. When you enroll with an online school, you have access to all their teachers irrespective of where you live. Also, the level of affordability offered by such schools makes it a very viable solution for children from diverse economic backgrounds. Online homeschooling has now made it possible for students to have access to some of the best teachers across the nation without any differentiation on the basis of socioeconomic factors. It also helps address the issue of shortage of skilled teachers in certain locations.
There are quite a few schools in the country that have been forced to discontinue certain subjects due to the lack of qualified staff. However, with the help of online learning platforms, geographic locations no longer play any role in limiting educational opportunities. Students from anywhere in the country can interact and exchange information with teachers residing anywhere else in the country. This certainly makes it much easier for online schools to employ licensed teachers they may not have access to in their own vicinity.
Online Learning platforms provide you with unimaginable flexibility
Contrary to conventional schooling, such online platforms offer you the opportunity to schedule your study time according to your own convenience. This helps students in a number of different ways. For example, students no longer are confined to rigid study schedules that are imposed upon them. They have the freedom to choose when to study, which when properly supervised and monitored can actually stimulate the learning process for them. Students tend to enjoy learning when books aren’t thrust upon them in a forceful manner.
One of the key advantages of the freedom offered by online learning environments is that it opens up more room for students to indulge in extracurricular activities. Children are free to explore other avenues like sports and music, activities that the rigorous schedule of conventional schooling may not allow. Moreover, the option of having all your course material online provides you with access to your school at absolutely any time and any place. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s snowing or raining outside; you can always snuggle up to your computer in the comfort of your own home, which in most cases is an option many students look forward to.
Online courses are especially preferred by students whose parents travel a lot such as those from the army or those with jobs that require them to be posted in different places from time to time. In such cases, distance education provides them with very feasible alternatives. The biggest advantage of online learning is that children (and parents) no longer have to deal with the painful ordeal of leaving behind friends and having to make new ones every time they move. With social networking facilities similar to Facebook integrated into online environments they can now stay in touch with their peers no matter where they go.
Students are not the only ones who benefit from Online K-12 courses
Apart from being teachers, many professionals are also parents themselves and would love to have extra time to spend with their families. This is something only online learning platforms can provide. Teachers can also enjoy the freedom of scheduling their assessments around their personal lives, and with virtual environments being available online 24×7, they can even opt to interact with students from home. The amount of time saved on traveling definitely makes this a very lucrative alternative for most teachers with parental responsibilities.
Being able to interact with several students in different ways also helps a teacher be more productive. While conventional schooling employs a ‘one-size-fits-all’ sort of methodology, delivering education via online solutions makes it a lot more convenient to ‘customize’ solutions and tailor-make them to suit each child’s individual learning capabilities. This works out to the advantage of students as well who would otherwise probably have ended up being labeled as mischief-makers. These are the ones who tend to be some of the brightest; they just need to be encouraged to learn in unconventional ways.
Teachers also have access to more career options via online schools without worrying about having to relocate every time. A licensed, well-qualified teacher would have the option of teaching different students from around the country without having to leave her own home. That is the power of technology today, and it would serve us well to leverage it to the maximum if we are to improve the quality of life for our children and those responsible for educating them as well.
