Online learning

Online learning

Online learning is a way of studying for an internationally recognised qualification without needing to attend classes on campus. It is aimed at those who wish to study for a postgraduate qualification alongside work or other commitments.

How is online learning different?

All of the University of Edinburgh's programmes - whether delivered online or on campus - are subject to the same rigorous criteria, which means they must meet strict academic standards before being approved by the University’s governing body, the Senatus.

Online programmes are of equal value to on-campus programmes in terms of entry criteria and overall workload. The only difference is in the way the course is delivered.

As an online learning student, you will:

1. earn an internationally recognised degree
2. be able to study anywhere that has an internet connection
3. have the flexibility to study when it's most convenient for you
4. be taught by academics working at the leading edge of your field
5. become part of a rich and varied online community
6. have access to University support services

How will I learn?

Programmes are delivered in courses that you can complete at times convenient to you.

Our online programmes deliver programme content and opportunities to interact with other students in a number of ways.

We use a variety of platforms to deliver content and allow you to interact with other students. Platforms may include one or more of the following:

1. virtual learning environment, e.g. Moodle, Learn or Blackboard Collaborate wikis

• blogs
• discussion boards and forums
• video streaming services, e.g. YouTube or Vimeo
• virtual worlds, e.g. SecondLife

During your programme induction, your Programme Director will introduce you to the platforms that will be used for your programme. We don't expect you to know how to use these platforms before your induction.

What are the technical requirements?

To study one of our online programme, you will usually only need a computer with internet access.

If a programme has more advanced requirements, these will be outlined on the degree finder. You can check with the programme director if you have any queries or concerns.

You will be part of a diverse online network of fellow students from around the world and should feel confident interacting with this network through discussion boards, blogs, online tutorials or joint assignments.

Advantages of Online Learning

1. You can learn whatever you want!

You can pick the program of your dreams in traditional education, too, but that would involve traveling away from home, living in a completely unknown city, and struggling in an extremely competitive learning environment. With online education, you can take any program or course present in traditional four-year universities

       For example, let’s say you’re mostly interested in neuroscience. All it takes is a Google search for such online course, and you’ll easily find the online programs offered by some of the most prestigious universities from all around the world. You can take such a course even if you have no aspirations to apply that knowledge in your future profession, but you’re simply curious to discover new interests and understand how the human brain works. The great variety of online programs and courses is a huge advantage of this type of education. It doesn’t matter where you live and what you want to study – you can always find a suitable course or even a degree program that you can follow from home.

2. Comfort.

         Forget about attending classes for hours, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, and suffering from back pain by the end of the day. You will not be bound to physical class session when you opt for online education. All lectures and needed materials are provided via online platforms, so you’ll easily access them from the comfort of your home. You will not take public transport to get to campus, you won’t have to spend money on gas for your car, you won’t have to get up early to get dressed for class… the list of conveniences goes on and on.

         Comfort is a strong advantage, but it can go both ways. You mustn’t allow yourself to get too comfortable when studying from home, so it would be best to abandon the couch for few hours a day and set up an inspirational studying environment in your home. All you need is a large desk and a nice, comfortable chair.

3. Online courses look great on a resume.

     It doesn’t matter where your career stands at this moment; an online program will always look good on your resume. It will show potential employers that you’re committed to learning and you’re eager to obtain more knowledge and new skills. Hiring managers don’t see online degrees as inferior to traditional ones. A degree is a degree. If you obtain an online degree from a prestigious university, you’ll boost your career with the speed of light. You will certainly become a better candidate for a job promotion, and your resume will look much better when you apply for new positions.

4. Self-paced learning.

         When you start browsing through interesting online courses and programs, you’ll notice the Self-Paced label on most of them. What does this mean? Self-paced learning means that the students can start completing the targets at any time, and he can arrange a learning schedule that meets his individual needs.     

        When you enroll in a traditional college program, you’ll have to forget about work, hobbies, and even family. In such setting, studying has to be a priority. That’s why many single parents and people who work decide to forget all about their dreams to get a higher degree.

       A self-paced system enables them to make progress with rhythm that suits them. This type of system does not require attending live sessions; you can access the materials at any time that works for you. If you have to work or take care of your home and children during the day, you can study at night. That’s an advantage the traditional educational system cannot beat.

5. Lower costs.

     The fact that online programs are cheaper when compared to the ones held in a traditional campus setting is enough to convince you to consider them. The average tuition for online courses depends on multiple factors, so it varies from one program to another. If, for example, you want to enroll in the Big Data Specialization program provided by University California, San Diego through Coursera, you’ll pay $399. You also have an option to pay $49 per course. Financial Aid is available for learners who cannot afford this fee, so that’s something you should always keep in mind.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Learning

     Learning is often considered to be a normal part of working and personal life. Both learning for achieving a job as well as for achieving knowledge should not be neglected. Online environment is changing continuously and it represents a great opportunity for learning. It is very important to discover how to learn using all available communication channels and choosing the ones that best suit a person’s style of filtering the information.

Online Learning Advantages and Disadvantages

      Nowadays, online learning turns out to be more and more practiced. Many traditional universities started to share their courses online for free. It represents an easy and comfortable method to achieve knowledge in almost every field, from law and accounting, to human sciences, such as psychology and sociology or history. Online learning is a great alternative to traditional universities, especially for people who can’t afford the time and money to take real courses.

Advantages of Online Learning

       Although many people still consider traditional universities as the best way to achieve knowledge and get a diploma, online learning proves to be a great alternative. Students have the chance to study in their own time and especially for free. It represents a great way to study many fields and to boost the level of self-motivation. Online learning is so effective because students can finish their homework quickly, and there is more time left for hobbies or for finding a job.

An access to all resources of a traditional course helps participants learn wherever they are, leaving them the freedom to choose the time for study. With basically an Internet connection, a person can attend different courses. Among the advantages of online learning there are the responsibility and self-discipline of students.

Disadvantages of Online Learning

     Only in a small group a person can develop properly. At school, students learn how to make friends, be patient, get rid of disappointment, and especially to compete. Competition between colleagues can be very stimulating and students will only benefit from it. Online learning cannot offer human interaction.

     Another disadvantage refers to the fact that online courses cannot cope with thousands of students that try to join discussions. Also, online learning can be difficult, if it is meant for disciplines that involve practice.

      In conclusion, online learning should be seen as a complement and extension of classical forms of learning. Not even the best online course can fully replace the personal contact with a teacher, or the human relationships that develop in a group. So, traditional classes shouldn’t be replaced with online learning.

Online Learning Advantages:

A Happy Accident for Students with Dyslexia

       Technology is a boon to learning for students with dyslexia, though benefits are often discovered by accident rather than by design. Sharing discoveries is crucial as reading difficulties are pervasive. Webpage flexibility allows students with reading issues to control the learning environment.

Online Learning and Students With Dyslexia

       Online learning is a given in our technology-obsessed world, but perhaps never more so than in the case of the student with dyslexia. That's important, because one in every five students has dyslexia or other reading difficulties. That means that every teacher is going to encounter such students. In spite of the fact that reading difficulties are part and parcel of the modern classroom, most of the technology that benefits students affected by dyslexia is not designed for this purpose. Sometimes a user may discover an advantage of online learning or assistive technology (AT) through trial and error. More usually for students with dyslexia (and these students’ teachers), such discoveries are happy accidents.

Webpages Are Flexible

While there remains much to learn about the benefits of technology for students with dyslexia, a few general conclusions can be drawn:

·         When reading is a slow and/or often inaccurate process, websites can help by offering the reader the ability to restrict the amount of information visible at any point in time. Further restrictions on the amount of text can be introduced by increasing the font size on an individual webpage.

·         Most online texts can be copied and then manipulated in various ways to suit the students' needs.

·         Websites offer many visual resources to supplement reading, offering a more active learning process, and stimulating greater student engagement with the learning material.

·         Some websites have voice-to-text capability and this allows the student to hear the words as well as see them, serving as a form of remedial reading help, and to familiarize students with the process of translating symbols to sounds.

·         Some websites allow the user to change the background color or the text color on a page. This can be beneficial for students who need a choice of color or lighter or darker background or text for effective reading.

·         The default font on webpages can be changed to suit the needs of a student with dyslexia. This is important, because those with reading difficulties need clear distinctions between similar-appearing letters, such as small i and small l or m and n, and may have trouble with the serif fonts, or those fonts with decorative hooks, for instance.

·         The web can offer teachers a vehicle for presenting classroom text-based materials in a different way to students with dyslexia.

Covering the Same Ground Online

     This last point is awesome, because the online texts don't need to differ in any substantial way from texts used in the classroom. Instead, the texts can be read and manipulated in a variety of ways by the student online. The student can control his own (online) learning environment, in order to cover the same ground covered by students inside the (traditional) classroom.

While the traditional classroom teacher is bound to confront students with reading difficulties, most teachers have not received much (or any) preparation for the specific teaching challenges these students present. As a consequence, teachers may not even know that they are seeing a reading difficulty in action. After all, dyslexia is defined as an "unexpected" reading difficulty. A teacher without training in spotting the student with dyslexia, may decide a student is unmotivated to learn, stubborn, or lazy.

Dyslexia Laws

      This is a serious problem, since early intervention is key to managing reading difficulties. Students are learning to read from first through third grade. After that, it is said they are reading to learn. Some enterprising states (for instance, Virginia), are working to pass dyslexia laws to ensure teachers know how to spot and secure support for very young students with reading difficulties. Many more states, alas, have not taken such steps to support teachers and their students with reading issues.

     Who could have imagined where technology could take us and make education soar? And yet we remain woefully behind in spotting, supporting, and teaching the one in every five of students in every classroom who finds it difficult to read. More to the point, we aren't designing technology with these students in mind.

With all this in mind, experimenting with existing technology for the purpose of helping students with reading difficulties becomes a noble goal. Meantime, happening upon the discovery of new online learning benefits remains crucial to the academic success of students with reading difficulties. Even more critical is sharing with others what the community of students and with dyslexia and their teachers have gleaned, in those happy accidental moments of discovery.