Over the years I’ve done a lot of studying online. I’ve studied branding, community journalism, IT and marketing, to name just a few. And, no surprise, I’ve completed a course in Personal Development via distance learning too. I studied the course, completed assessments and gained a qualification without ever meeting a tutor or any other students. For some of you, it may feel a little lonely to miss out on that human connection and social interaction with your peers but don’t worry; you can communicate with other course members through forums and email.
For me it was a really convenient way to learn; it meant that I could study as little or as much as I liked, and could complete the course in less time as I wasn’t attending a certain number of lessons or spending time on class discussions. Plus, once I’d competed each course, I could proudly add it to my CV. I really like this way of learning and here a three reasons why you should consider it too:
Paper-free studying – The course materials are all the same as with a regular course, just that you’re able to experience them ‘paper-free’. No more textbooks or journals cluttering up your home, or files full of notes on your desk. With online learning it’s all contained within your laptop and assessments are usually online or submitted via email.
Study when it suits you – The course can be accessed whenever you have a spare bit of time to dedicate to it, so I found myself picking up the laptop after dinner and doing half an hour or so whenever I felt like it. I didn’t have to wait a whole week for the next class to come round (I’m so impatient that sometimes I wish that I didn’t have wait a whole week for dance class to come round, but that’s pretty difficult to learn online!).
You never miss something important – If you don’t have time to study at all one week, you have to miss out on learning something crucial. With a regular class, you might get a brief recap, but once you’ve missed a lesson, the class won’t go back over it just for you. With online courses each class is still there waiting for you to work on it whenever you have the time. And if you can’t remember a fact or some from a previous lesson, you can often go back and re-read the last module to bring yourself up to speed.
I’m actually studying two courses online at the moment; Italian and Spanish. Okay, okay, I’ve found out that it is almost impossible to learn two languages at once so I’ve parked the Italian until next year and am concentrating on learning to communicate in Spanish. The fact that four of my friends live between the UK and Spain is definitely a motivating factor and I want to learn a few important phrases before I’m invited to stay (hint hint).
So what about you? What course would you like to study online? Can you think of any type of course that isn’t offered online? Leave me a comment below to let me know or tweet me to chat more about your studying plans @Cassiefairy. Also, I’ve just heard about a competition on the NCC Home Learning blog to win a Creative Writing Diploma course that you can study from home and complete in your own time. So if you’re a budding fiction, poetry or creative writer enter the competition before the deadline of 30/11/2016 – good luck!
This article is a sponsored collaboration. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂
