Studying online? Have you ever thought about doing it? Do you know how it works, what the pros and cons are? And most important is it something for you? Hopefully this review about online studies will help you get a better picture. I will not go in to details about everything, but mainly focus on the pros and cons and what the differences are between studying at the university vs. studying online.

If you have read the short bio to the left, you know that I am a business student who takes online classes. I have not only studied online, I have taken classes at the university too, and I have even done a study abroad program. Therefore, I hope to give you a wide picture about what is takes to study online and I will try my best to stay objective.

As the post ended up very long, I wrote a short list and a long list, choice the one that is good for you.

The short version:

Pros

• Freedom
• Place independence
• Better opportunities  to combine work & study
• Everyone gets heard in an online discussion
• More individual contact with the teachers
• More time for discussions
• You learn self-discipline
• Convenient for researching

Cons

• No one in the seat to answer your questions
• Less contact with class-mates
• More difficult to get to know new people
• Might not be viewed as an advantage for future employers
• You cannot write in the margin on online material

The long version:

Pros

Freedom
One of the main benefits with online studies is the incredible freedom it gives you. You can study at home, in a coffee shop or in an airplane. It does matter what time you want to study or what time zone you are in classes and material are always available. You can combine your studies with your work or passions etc, without having to spend hours on making your schedules fit. In general how much freedom you want to have is up to you.
BUT: The only issue with this is that it can become too much freedom. Thus you end up getting nothing done, and fail classes because of bad planning.

Place independence
It goes a bit hand in hand with freedom, but I cannot point out enough. If you study online, you can live anywhere. Because you do not have to come to the classes, the classes come comes to you. Thus, if you live in one particular city you can apply of online classes all over the country or the world and just study where you live. While if you study were you live the amount of classes and opportunities are limited to the city you live in. Also, if you end up moving or travelling you do not have to cancel the classes, they come with you.
BUT: It is still not perfect way to take advantage of this opportunity, at least not worldwide because there is not any place where you can search for all online classes yet. Thus, you have to do a lot of searching to find the best classes.

Better opportunities to combine work & study
As a student you usually want an extra income, that extra job that lets you worry a little less about money than you normally do. Money is an issue for people who study online as well, as we still spend a lot of time in the books. However, since you do not have a school schedule to plan work around you have a lot more possibilities to find extra jobs. Most of which can offer you more hours and thus more money.
BUT: It is easy to start prioritizing a day job above school, since it is from the job you get your income. Thus, you have to be careful with taking on too many hours so that the job becomes the main priority.

Everyone is heard in an online discussion
In the normal classroom, there is often little time left for discussions. But the main is not that it is not enough time for discussions, but that there are usually only a few people who participates in the discussion, leaving no room for those who are less forwards. In an online class everyone gets heard trough forum discussions. Many discussions are obligatory and even though a few people usually gets heard more even in these discussion, everyone gets to say what is on their mind, which makes online discussions so much richer.
BUT: As the practice is only done online, people might not become better at being heard in offline discussions.

More individual contact with the teachers
While studying at the university I found that the times spent talking to a teacher was 10 minutes before, after class, or via email, because they have so many lectures and seminars to take care of. When studying online on the other hand I have felt that I get better and personal answers, they do not only answer my question, but have time to explain why, and if possible how I got it wrong. I guess this is because they have less time to perform lectures and more time for individual support, even though there are more students per teacher.
BUT: As you never actually meet your teacher when you study online, it is sometimes difficult to show and explain what you are having trouble with.

More time for discussions
+ As I mentioned before I think the timed spared for discussions at the university are a bit to sparse. Therefore online study forums provide the added benefit of being available 24-hours a day and for the whole course. That really gives time for discussions.
BUT: When you have all the time in the world people seem to lose the ability keep it short, and the discussions might become too long.

You learn self-discipline
If you did not have a lot of self-discipline when you began studying online, you definitely will after you have done it for a while. Since there is no classmates or teachers to push you to turn in a paper or sometimes even a reading schedule it is sometimes difficult to stay disciplined. But if you do not it is only your loss, so eventually you will have to learn.
BUT: Sometimes it takes a failed exam or even a failed course to learn, it is up to you if you can afford that.

Convenient for researching
University studies always mean that you need to do research, for papers, for explanations and even for words. When you study online you practically have your classroom in your computer or on the course website, therefore it is usually easier do combine your research with your other works, as half of it is not in print.
BUT: Many use copy and paste when they research which can be dangerous because you can forget where you took it and therefore copy past stuff that you have not written, and you do not want to do that!

Cons

No one in the seat to answer your questions
If you have trouble understanding something in a offline lecture or seminar you can always lean over and ask the person next to you, or raise your hand and ask the professor. When you study online to can always email a teacher or another student to ask a question, but since you two are not in the moment and instantly know what the other person is talking about, it might not be obvious what you are wondering about. Thus, it can sometimes be difficult to get your real confusion answered.
BUT: As there is no one there, to instantly answer your question, which mean that most of the time you have to figure out all the answers yourself. The benefit though it that this usually means that you learn more.

Less contact with classmates
Contact with your classmates it usually necessary to understand and discuss class work. When you study online this is sometimes a big problem. Sure, there are many forums and everyone have each other’s emails. However, there are rarely non-obligatory discussions about subjects that we write papers about etc. If the classes had been offline this discussion would have happened between classes, at breaks and in the lunchroom, know there are no natural times for discussions, which usually mean that they do not take place at all.
BUT: This is all up to you, if you want to have a discussion you can always be the one to bring up the subject and most likely people will write a few words with their opinions. It might not be as helpful as an offline discussion but it is always something.

More difficult to get to know new people and expand your network
When you study online you have the tendency to not get to know your classmates very well. Even though you might, do group work it does not necessarily mean that people take the time to get to know you. Many meet a lot of future colleges and business partners at the university and use does contacts when they graduate. People who study online seem to forget about part of studying and thus do not take the time to get to know one another.
BUT: Even though you do not expand your network through your schoolwork that does not mean that you will not meet new people. You can become better at networking in other parts of your life and thus continue to expand your network.

Might not be viewed as an advantage for future employers
If this is true or not, I do not know, but some people tend to see an online course as less difficult than an offline course. Why I do not know, but if future employers believe so an online student might have problems to compete in the recruitment process. I surely hope this is not the case, because online studies open up so many possibilities. However, as a prospective student you should consider this, what can you do that will make you more competitive in a fight for a job, in case you have a disadvantage because of your choice of studies?
BUT: Many of those who study online also have good jobs on the side. Hopefully, a future employer will see that the online student has more work experience compared the offline student and consider those when deciding on whom to hire.

You cannot write in the margin on online material
When you study you always have lots to read and never the time to read it more than once. Therefore, I always mark the important things and write small reminders in the margins so I will remember I only have to focus on the important things when it is time to study for a test or choice material for a report. When you study online a lot of the material is digital and even thought there are possibilities to make marks and notes in digital material the schools do not seem to know about these yet.
BUT: As always, there are solutions, even though they might not be what you are used to. For example, you can begin to write a summary of all the important things from each chapter you read or write down page and line of the important things to get back to later. I am sure you can find a solution that works for you.

To study online or not?

There they are, all my pros and cons and the “buts.” I guess this list can become a lot longer and that there are more factors to take into consideration. When I began writing this post, I asked on twitter for thoughts on the subject and a teacher for online classes said this: It requires special engagement. Anyone can choice to study or not study online, but if you do not have the special engagement to do it, it might not be for you.

Thank you @eamcc and @pcambron for your thoughts on twitter.

Please share your comments and experiences on the subject.