Traditionally, everything was learned sitting in a desk in a classroom listening to someone who studied the topic enough to teach others about it. The professor or instructor didn’t necessarily have life experience on the topic but instead studied it in school just like you. As technology has advanced, students now have new and better options for learning. These options include online learning and remote classrooms, as well as alternative education and free educational opportunities.
Here are five reasons more students are skipping the traditional classroom experience.
- The style of learning is not for everyone. The traditional classroom is not for everyone. The idea of sitting in one place, listening to one person speak while you take notes, so you can be tested on what was said is extremely difficult for a lot of people. That is why so many people for forgone the idea of going to college. They have always known they are not good at school and did not think they had other options.
- It can be expensive. College is costly, too expensive for a lot of people. Even if you go to a community school, you are going to put yourself in years of debt. The average student spends over ten years of their life paying off their student loan debt. Not everyone is willing to go into that kind of debt, and some people are unable. If you are living on your own or taking care of your family, going tens of thousands of dollars into debt is not a realistic option.
- It isn’t easy to work around a traditional work schedule and family. If you are also working full-time or taking care of family obligations, it won’t be effortless to go to college in a traditional classroom. You won’t be able to fit all the classes around your schedule, and professors are not always willing to work with students who have to miss multiple classes. Looking into options with flexible scheduling and online courses will relieve some of your daily demands.
- It takes a long time. Even if you go full-time, earning a college degree can take four to five years at a minimum. If you are going part-time in order also to work and care for others, you will need at least double that amount of time. Committing that many years is unrealistic for someone that needs to be supporting themselves and others. It is also inefficient because you get stuck taking a lot of classes that have nothing to do with your chosen profession.
- There are better options for hands-on learning. There are online learning options, vocational schools, certificate programs, on-the-job learning, and countless other ways to learn what you need for a rewarding career without having to endure the traditional classroom. Several colleges are now offering open-source classes that allow anyone to have full access to the class but without a grade. While you may end up with the diploma, you will have the knowledge needed, which is arguably more important.
Linfield College Online and Continuing Education online learning self-assessment provides people with an evaluation of what they know. Continuing education credits are required in many areas of study and industries. For example, most fields of medicine and education require some continuing education. These credits can often be learned online or through one-day seminars or conferences.
There is also a wide range of online programs that reduce what you need to learn for different positions. For example, an online JavaScript beautifier can vastly improve the appearance of your online content without you having to do any additional work. Previously, this would have been done by an individual that spent countless hours in a classroom learning javascript, but now it can be an automated process.
