Thursday, November 22, 2012

Breaking from the Crumble: On the College Hunt



            When considering post-high school education, students have many options. They may enroll their local community college, attend a four-year university or travel internationally as a foreign exchange student. In each of these situations, the school most likely has an online option. Students must decide whether they are fit for the traditional classroom or a web-based course. Ultimately, traditional schooling will provide students with a better experience.
            There is a greater sense of responsibility in a physical classroom. When students attend these classes, there is a specific time when they are expected to be in the classroom for their lessons; whereas in online classes, students can work on their assignments within a large block of time. Procrastination is a danger to those who study online. When students wait until the last moment to work on a project, they are rushed and may not apply themselves as well as they could have if they had more time. It’s also possible that they put the work off so long that they forget to even begin the project at all.
            In the traditional classroom, students see their peers who can hold them accountable for finishing the projects assigned in class. The relationships between students are stronger in the traditional class than they are online. It is more difficult to form bonds with classmates in an online course when one does not see them on a regular basis. The relationship between students and professors is also stronger in the traditional class for the same reason. In the physical classroom, students additionally have easier access to the professors to ask questions than they would online. Because they hold students more accountable for their education and they facilitate deeper relationships between peers and professors, traditional schooling is superior to online education.