The Relationship Between Online Education and the Future of Your Business

As a parent of two teens, I pay very close attention to education and business trends. I was one of those mothers who stayed at home for years with my children, foregoing (by choice) a lucrative career and finding myself unemployable in high paying jobs, fortunately got retrained and now back again in business for myself.

Four years ago, about late 2008, I saw the trend of online education and enrolled my daughter in part-time middle school and on to high school online education. Many of the activities at school were a waste of time and talents... and may I say quite political and plain favoritism being played out!

Today at 17, she has graduated high school with a diploma, one year earlier than her peers.

What has this got to do with your business or my writing business?

I've just read an email from Copyblogger, one of the top blogs that I follow and admire recently, one month to be exact. The topic "how the explosion in online education can revolutionize your business."

Just like the author of the article said, I am also a fan of university education but they are not created equal. The 6-figure price tag sure does not help if the child is not gaining any marketable skills after 4 years.

Again, what has this got to do with your business?

If schools and universities, the very traditional arenas, are recognizing the need to go online and are establishing more online courses and online presence... there are clues for parents and business owners like you and I to track:

One: You need a blog

If a small business owner like me could get my voice out there through a blog, you could too and build bigger than me because you already have a following.

My 17 year old has a blog and she is attracting clients to her site at the moment without paid advertising.

If written strategically, your blog could attract your ideal clients as well.

Two: Send emails to your readers and clients

I've been receiving emails just about a month ago from Copyblogger and I love it. They help me stay inform with their content and services. I'm too busy with projects and do not have time to google or read their blog posts on a daily basis.

Now they keep me inform and soon I will be a client.

If you have a list and do not send out emails or newsletters to your readers, clients or potential clients you are missing out.

Three: Social Media

Another avenue for searches are through social media platforms. There is tons of information that Google will non-display for you or to you. You will need written words for your social media platforms

My Personal Experience From Online Education Courses

Online education courses are relatively fresh in the education business. Many of us don't even know what they think of it. Those who put down this kind of schooling say that you can't get a correct educational experience without the daily interaction with your instructors and peers. They also say that the actual coursework is not up to standards. More recently, experts are debunking these arguments. This is a growing industry, with more and more reputable institutions offering classes online and more and more employers are looking at these diplomas favorably. This is a topic that is especially interesting to me because I have tong to both types of universities, both on the web and traditional. Below are some of my personal experiences.

When I was a freshman I went to a traditional college. Even though I saw them each and every day, I hardly ever talked to the other students in the class, and I can honestly say I never spoke one word to the professors. I would sit in the lecture class and furiously write notes that I would then promptly forget as I walked out of the lecture hall. At home, I would often find issues I didn't understand. I would think of questions that it would be too late to ask. In other words; I didn't feel like I was getting the most out of my classes that way.

The year after, I started taking classes online. This may be amazing, but when I was taking classes on the internet, I actually had more interaction with my professors and classmates. If I sent an email to my professors, they would get back to me often within 24 hours. You know the saying, 'There are no stupid questions?' Well, I always felt like my questions were stupid and I could never ask them in front of 200 other students in a lecture hall. But, using my computer, I could go ahead and ask. Chatting with classmates on the web or over the phone is so much more pleasant for me, I have not problem speaking up. In fact, I found it so much easier to communicate using my computer that I've decided to stay and finish a four-year program over the web. It's like day and night.

I have to admit though, that the coursework has been challenging, I think even tougher than a traditional university. For one thing, you don't get together every day, so you have to keep yourself on track. If you're too lazy, or prone to slacking, it can be pretty hard to keep up with things on your own

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But, just like your usual school experience, you get used to this as well. Once you can handle doing it all yourself, it gets a lot easier. My GPA has gone up since I started doing the online classes. I think the reason is that I can manage all the information by myself here on my computer. Being able to put it all together yourself makes it much easier. In fact, you can individualize your class work. I never did that well in the lecture classes. I always felt like I spent the whole time trying to scribble down everything the professor said, and then I didn't know any of it when he threw a pop quiz at us.

The other thing is that I have more time since I don't have to go back and forth to campus, and I can review the material whenever it is suitable for me.

After all of this, I wanted to talk with more students who had had a similar experience to mine. So, I got on the internet and started looking for forums and similar sites. I wanted to find people who had attended both, just like me. What I found was that most people were much happier with their educational experience on the web than offline. Their reasons were largely similar to mine. It is ironic that we would find it easier to communicate over the web, but that seems to be the consensus.

The only significant weakness of online education courses is that they are not easier than regular College studies. In fact, it's a lot harder at first, especially if you are like me; not a typical organized person. All of a sudden I realized that I had to take care of and handled all this stuff myself and I simply decided to GET organized, one way or another. I don't know if I ever did, but as the time passed by I got used to the online routine. I had to learn a bit of self-discipline.

A major success factor in this educational setting is to be able to motivate yourself . I really don't know if this kind of learning method is for everyone. You have to be motivated, determined and persistent. It may be better for some people to go to a regular college where they have to attend classes regularly. My recommendation to you is that you check it out carefully and see if it's for you.