Online Learning

　　Would you like to hone your professional skills from the comfort of your home or get a college degree without setting foot on campus? Sound too good to be true? There are now thousands of online classes available on the World Wide Web and that number will soon mushroom into tens of thousands.

　　For decades, students have turned to distance learning to further their educational goals. From correspondence courses to tele-classes, distance learning has served the needs of people who cannot physically attend classes. With the explosion of information technology and the Internet, you can now have a virtual classroom right on your desktop. In most cases, to take a course you need only your computer, a web browser and Internet access.

　　A New Kind of Education

　　Online learning, also known as Web-based training or WBT, makes it possible to deliver instructional content to your personal computer via the World Wide Web. You access a website, where you will find most, if not all of the materials you need--a course outline and lessons, information about the instructor (if there is one), lecture notes, a list of activities, tests, and inks to other online resources. In some cases, additional materials may be required, such as textbooks or videotapes. Some WBT class are self-paced, others are led by an instructor. Most are what is known as asynchronous classes--you study at your convenience--although there may be a period of time in which you must complete the course.

　　WBT offers a number of advantages over classroom-based instruction:

　　Take a class anywhere. Learn at home or at the office, because you only need a computer and Internet access.

　　Take a class anytime. Access material 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

　　You decide when to attend. Take courses according to your own schedule and pace.

　　Lower costs. Eliminate travel, parking, childcare and all the other costs of physically attending a class.

Instant feedback. Tests can be graded and returned to you within seconds.

　　Access to the latest materials. Instructors can easily update teaching materials