Online vs. In Class

More and more students are working with computers at a younger and younger age and learning with online course work. Some students will always require face to face instructions because that is how they learn best.

Online courses:

Pros:

Online classes have the benefit of being worked around schedules. They provide students with the opportunity to take classes that they otherwise could not fit into a busy life style. Some students learn best on the computer and don’t need in person instruction. Online course work allows some people to move at their own speed and acquire the needed skills.

Cons:

Not all students are self motivated and fail to keep up with the rest of the class. Students feel free to express negative attitudes which are not helpful to the class. Because the instructor feels the need to make up for a lack of personal presents they assign more work which takes more time than a in class course. Some students lack the computer skills to work with an online course. Internet systems are not always available in smaller communities and are not always reliable in larger communities.

In person courses:

Pros:

They have an instructor who can guide the students and give feedback both verbal and nonverbal. The student can receive more one on one interaction between student and instructor. The student is provided with a structured learning environment in which to learn needed skills. Human contact and interpersonal skills can be taught to students more easily. Although students are sometimes required to live on their own in a new place this can foster independents and self reliance which would not otherwise be acquired by taking course at home.

Cons:

Courses are not always available at convenient times and often students must travel long distances to take advantage of courses. Students who work for a living must either take classes in the evening or take time off during the day from work in order to attend classes. More expense is required to maintain a college environment which increases the cost of course work.

Either Way

Over time some of the problems with the technology will be overcome and online courses will become available to students in more remote areas of this and other states within our country. The speed and quality of those links will also improve with the advancement of technology but the question remains will online courses ever completely replace the old classrooms that have been around since the beginnings of education in the United States.

Either way in which your students decide is best for them to learn our colleges and universities has both for them and the support staff they need to success. We can complain all we want to about CEO style administration and how they have failed to support those who work every day to education New Mexicans but in the end it is the people who work hard to provide a quality education for the students that make our colleges and universities a jewel for this state and they need and deserve the real honest and sincere support of both the voting public and state lawmakers. Without that support New Mexico will not be able to provide their voting public with the education that will get them the jobs of the future. Ask yourself what are the colleges and universities in New Mexico in the business to do for our state and how should funding be directed in the future to best ensure that it provides the best education that it can for the voting public now and in the future?