How an Online Degree Works
Online Education takes advantage of all the technologies available to create the best education experience available. As technology changes so does online education. Some new technologies, such as VoIP and podcasting, are quickly being adapted for online learning applications. Other technologies, like Flash, for example, are being improved constantly for more effective use in online learning.
Online Learning Works in Several Ways
Entirely by Email
In this, students and instructors will exchange email addresses. This is one way of supplementing the traditional in-class discussions and relationships. Some professors may have websites with forums set up to also facilitate a similar online discussion.
Many of the first online courses used this method of email only. Course materials were emailed to the student, and the student emailed completed assignments and essay back to the instructor. This was an improvement over previous models of distance education that relied entirely on “snail mail,” as many distance education programs still do.
Web Services and Secure Logins
This is the dominant model of online learning. These might use applications made with Flash or JavaScript, in which students fill in forms (for tests and quizzes, for example). In many cases, tests and quizzes are self-grading, and the professor is not required to mark these at all. For written assignments, the student may fill in a text box, and the professor will read the essay online and return a grade to them quickly.
The exciting application here is that students can get instruction through media such as Flash movies (still the most popular format). Students can view the instruction as often as they want.
The login may also be used to give students access to:
- An exclusive library of materials, including lecture notes or interactive materials that the professor may adapt for the course (and which they will explain to you)
- Web forums or chat rooms where students can interact with each other, discussing class material and more
The material will depend a lot on the type of course being taught. Some courses lend themselves very well to text only materials readily adaptable to online learning. Other courses of study (requiring more interactivity or ‘hands-on’ instruction) will be more viable with the advent of newer technologies still on the horizon.
Online learning also makes use of traditional materials. You can learn more about this on our page on Online Learning in the Present.
