3 Advantages of Taking Online Courses

3 Advantages of Taking Online Courses Image via unsplash.com Online courses come with flexibility   When you are taking a regular course, youre expected to show up at a certain time and place. You take a gamble when it comes to your professors attendance policy you can either be expected to show up to every single lecture, or attendance can be voluntary. However, when it comes to taking an online course, youll get more flexibility when it comes to doing coursework. Depending on the online course you are taking, attendance can be accounted for in a variety of ways. There could be scheduled discussions or classes where you will need to be online at a certain time in order to complete an assignment. Or there could be recorded lectures that you will get to listen to on your own time. Its important to pay attention to deadlines, especially when you do not have a professor reminding you in-person. For the most part, you will get to choose when to complete your assignments, discussion posts, or online lectures depending on when it works best for your schedule. You can watch a lecture on your break during your part-time job, or at home in your own pajamas on a free day. Online courses give you the power to have more control over your own schedule. Online courses allow you to choose your  productive space   It is no secret that everyone performs differently in different environments. Some may excel in their own personal study space, but others may only get work done in a classroom or library. Choosing to take an online course allows you to take your online course where you feel most productive, and in turn, make the most out of your learning experience. Some people wont be most productive in your typical lecture hall space. There are distractions of fellow students: talking, electronic devices, moving in and out of their seats. When you are taking an online course, you can do coursework anywhere you see fit. You can watch lectures in the comfort of your own bed, at a calm park, or in a coffee shop with enough coffee to fuel your studies. Another perk of taking an online course is being able to limit the number of distractions you will face when doing your coursework. You can listen to music if you need to, wear noise-canceling headphones, eliminate extra electronic devices, and so on. The lecture in your typical college course may be going too fast for you as well, and you cant exactly ask the professor to slow down or stop every single time you have a question during the lecture. When taking an online course, however, you get to stop your online lecture if its prerecorded. You get to have control over how quickly or slowly you are learning, depending on what works best for your learning style. Online courses can limit the amount of socializing   This can be seen as a disadvantage or advantage, but socializing isnt for everybody. Online courses allow you to learn from the comfort of your own home, away from the eyes of your fellow classmates. On bad days, you can get up and grab your laptop, and do your coursework in your pajamas without having to put effort into socializing. You dont need to worry about slapping on a smile when you are exhausted, and you dont have to awkwardly sit in silence when your professors tell you to turn to the person sitting to your right to discuss readings when both of you havent done them. You may still have to do discussion posts where you interact with others taking the online course, but it isnt the face-to-face interaction that many dread in typical classroom settings. You can comment on peoples posts without having to worry about facing them in person, and you can take your time articulating your thoughts into words instead of feeling like everything you say is the wrong answer. Taking online courses isnt for everybody, but if these advantages sound appealing, they may be the perfect fit for you and your schedule.