E-learning; Making Higher Education Available to Working Adults Through the Internet

Symonds’ (2001) article on higher education found the following:
Nearly two years after the dot-com fizzle began, e-learning has emerged from the wreckage as one of the Internet's most useful applications. Nearly half of the 4,000 major colleges and universities in the U.S. now offer courses over the Internet or use the Web to enhance campus classes…Change comes slowly to higher education, but e-learning has revved up the pace. Even if it takes years to fully take hold, it has already achieved one oft-cited goal of the knowledge economy — getting more adults to study throughout their working lives. (pp. 76 and 80)

Life as an adult is a constant juggling act. Every day, we juggle the demands of work, our families, and maintaining a home. Today, many career paths require ongoing education to keep abreast of new changes and rules within our chosen fields. Additionally, many people feel the need for education to start new career paths. As adults, how do we add sitting in a classroom to our ever-growing list of responsibilities? For many people, the answer is e-learning. Although there are disadvantages to e-learning, there are also many advantages.

E-learning uses technology to put education into an online setting. One advantage is that e-learning allows adults the flexibility to take classes around their work and personal schedules since the work can be done from any computer, 24 hours a day. This benefits not just people who work long hours or can’t get away from the house to attend classes, but also people who travel for work or who work in areas such as the military where attending school is virtually impossible. Additionally, e-learning may be less intimidating than a classroom to someone that has been out of school for a while because of the anonymity that sitting at a computer provides.

Some disadvantages are that e-learning requires a student to be disciplined and able to complete the required work by designated deadlines. Additionally, some schools such as Harvard will never offer an online degree because they feel that “it would be impossible
to replicate its classroom education online” (Symonds, 2001, p. 80). This might require a backup plan for people who have their heart set on getting their education from a specific institution.

As more and more colleges and universities are jumping on the e-learning bandwagon, more and more adults are taking advantage of educational opportunities that previously may have been out of reach. Additionally, employers are seeing the benefit of e-learning and offering webinars and other web based learning opportunities for employees who need or want to advance in their careers. While there are advantages and disadvantages to e-learning, e-learning is making higher education a manageable piece of our every day juggling acts. The only question that remains is where do I sign up?

Reference: Symonds, W.C. (2001, December 3). GIVING IT THE OLD ONLINE TRY. BusinessWeek, 3760, 76-80.


Jennifer P.