Online instruction is the answer for our hectic lives

I enthusiastically endorse web-based learning, whatever minimal downsides might be involved. If I hadn’t had the opportunity to finish at least some portion of my general education requirements through distance education, I probably would not be in school right now, and I definitely would be a long, long way from finishing my degree.

The traditional classroom setting serves a valuable purpose, both educationally and socially. I also know that if you live off campus, work more than 20 hours a week or participate in any kind of life beyond academia, it can be incredibly tricky (and physically exhausting) to fit in a full load of classes.

If only for purely logistical reasons, the ability to do homework, take tests, find assignment details or interact with instructors and other students through an online environment is an incredible favor to the time-crunched student.

Even if you are able to devote most of your days to attending school full time, things such as killer flu, personal crises, flat tires, a lack of clean socks or a day that’s so perfectly gorgeous you can’t possibly sit in a windowless room for hours must be common to all of us, right?

I have instructors who absolutely don’t accept late assignments and who take away points from our overall grade for any missed class. With the increased flexibility of distance learning, you can accommodate educational demands and adapt to whatever curveballs life might lob your way.

Let’s not forget about the people who aren’t able–or aren’t easily able–to come to campus. Do you have to drop out of school because you have an incapacitating illness or injury? Not necessarily.

Should you put your education on hold to care for an ailing relative? You can do both. Do you have to, or want to, travel during the school term? Go right ahead! Accessing your homework online allows it to be possible.

Think about all the people who might be kept out of classrooms for various reasons: people with very young children, anyone who works odd or varying hours, people who work a typical 40-hour-a-week schedule, anyone with horrible social anxiety or those with attention-deficit disorders that make sitting still and paying attention for several hours at a time impossible.

This brings up another important point to consider: In every class I’ve ever taken, the same three to five people do about 90 percent of the talking. Whether this is because the instructor favors these few students, or because those students are just incredibly outspoken, or because everyone else is too shy or uninterested to speak up (or, most likely, some combination of all these things), classroom interactions are often imbalanced.

This creates frustration for those who want to be heard but don’t get the chance, sparking anxiety in those students who dread being put in the public spotlight, and providing an atmosphere where it’s easy to blend in and be forgotten if you’re not interested in, or prepared, to take part in class.

Online, these dynamics change drastically–even though its not “real” interaction, everyone gets to participate. As an example, studies have shown that when students raise their hands to give an answer, both male and female instructors more often call on the boys. As far as I know, computers are unable to determine gender, and therefore can’t discriminate on that–or any other basis.

And, let’s face it, like it or not, digital communication is the norm, not the exception. It’s the way we work, it’s the way we socialize and it’s the way we learn. Taking classes online does require additional self-motivation and time management skills. So? Doesn’t it seem as though those might be qualities that are expected of us at some point?

Instructors who teach classes partially or completely online aren’t being “lazy.” They are using an increasingly relevant medium to teach in a way that allows more people to participate to the extent of their abilities or interests.

Tomorrow I think it’s going to be disgustingly rainy and cold outside. I’ve had the flu for about a week now; I’m much better, but still dragging a bit. My bus stop is five blocks away; it will take about an hour each way to get to and from school.

When I come home, it will have been pitch black outside for several hours. If I were going to get anything remotely close to eight hours of sleep, I would need to go to bed almost immediately, but I have homework to do. You better believe I’d take my classes online, given the option.