Internet is knocking down university walls - Essay Example

Internet Is Knocking Down Walls Internet Is Knocking Down Walls The phrase “internet is knocking down university walls” is used to refer to the fact that classroom based university level education is being slowly and gradually being replaced with online education. This even suggests that the adult, university going population no longer needs to attend a physical classroom in order to attain education. Furthermore, several universities included some of the well-known universities are adopting online education and online courses.

For example, Harvard University which is one of the best universities is even offering online education and courses (harvard.edu, 2015). The replacement of classroom based university level education with online education has several benefits to offer to the adult students. There are various reasons due to which top universities such as the Harvard University has started offering online university courses. One of the main reasons is that adult learners who are university going students find it easier to study through online university programs rather than classroom based university programs.

Adult learners have started accepting online education as an alternative to classroom based education due to the several benefits offered by online education. Due to this the number of adults obtaining online education is increasing with the passage of time. A research was conducted by Parker et al. in which the researchers identified that one in every four American college students is taking online courses (Parker et al., 2011). Due to these various benefits along with the high number of students interested in online education, universities have started offering online education.

There are several benefits that online university education has to offer to adult learners. One of the major benefits that university level students obtain from online education is that this form of education does not interfere with their professional and personal lives. Neighbors conducted a study in which he identified that there were two main reasons due to which adult learners were opting for online university courses. One of the reasons due to which they were pursuing online university courses was that this form of education provided them with flexibility to obtain education along with professional work and personal life.

Another major benefit that adults obtain by attaining online education is that this form of education allows them to move forward in their careers. Attending a university is not an appropriate option for all working adults. This because they do not get enough time to attend classes along with work. Due to their failure to attain university education, they fail to develop knowledge, skills and abilities required to move up the career ladder. Online university education does not conflict with professional work.

As a result of this, they are able to gain career advancements with the assistance of online education. According Belanger et al., adult learners are able to access better job and career related opportunities by obtaining online university level education which they might not have been able to access as a result of failure to obtain university education through physical classrooms (Belanger et al., 2000). One of the major disadvantages of online university level education is that it does not help adult learners develop the same skills that they develop in classroom based university education.

In classroom based university education, learners are in direct contact with instructors, they are required to work in teams and give presentations for every course. These activities that occur in classroom based university education help students develop team skills, interpersonal as well as communication skills. These skills cannot be developed through online university education. Howard et al. states that in case of distance education, students are located far away from each other and due to this it because quite difficult to carry out group activities and this leads to failure of development of skills that are essential for working in groups and teams (Howard et al., 1995). ReferencesBelanger, F.

, & Jordan, D. (2000). Evaluation and implementation of distance learning. Hershey, Pa.: Idea Group.Extension.harvard.edu,. (2015). Online Courses & On-Campus Courses | Harvard Extension. Retrieved 18 March 2015, from http://www.extension.harvard.edu/coursesHoward, R., & McGrath, I. (1995). Distance education for language teachers. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Neighbors, L. (2008). Apart but a part in adult distance study (PHD). University of Georgia. < https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/neighbors_lois_s_200408_edd.

pdf> Parker, K., Lenhart, A., & Moore, K. (2011). The Digital Revolution and Higher Education. Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. Retrieved 18 March 2015, from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/08/28/the-digital-revolution-and-higher-education/