Education

Question 1: Some universities now offer their courses on the Internet so that people can study online. Is this a positive or negative development?

In recent years, online studying has gained popularity in many countries, especially developing ones, causing some public controversy. Although offering college course on the Internet seems to come at the expense of conventional learning, this has had beneficial impacts on the students and the societies.

On the one hand, students may derive more benefits from studying online courses offered by universities. First, by choosing to learn those on the Internet, learners might save an exorbitant amounts of money compared to taking the classes. In fact, since computerization allows students to do way with a great deal of textbooks, they certainly do not spend much money purchasing ones, which can only be achieved if they join university courses delivered online. Second, Internet-based learning ensures the learners’ flexibility. This means that they could acquire a wealth of knowledge and arm themselves with various academic theories even if they are either at home or at dormitory.

On the other hand, the societies stand to gain from Internet-based learning. First, if students were more reliant on online courses, traffic congestion and road accidents would be curbed. In fact, in order to avoid urban sprawls and accidents on the transportation, many students nowadays opt for online learning, thereby contributing to a decreasing number of travelers on the road, especially in rush hours. Second, if the percentage of universities offering online courses kept increasing like in the present, they would be less reliant on the governments’ financial support as little resources might be injected into updating college facilities. Therefore, the governors could channel more money into sustaining economic growth and improving healthcare.

In conclusion, universities should throw themselves into offering online courses. This benefits not only the students but the societies in different ways as well.