Why are more and more students choosing to learn online?

A recent study of online education in the US stated that a staggering 7.1 million students were choosing to learn online, while in contrast the number of students enrolling in college is declining. The reality is there has been a shift in the way students can learn. Where traditional 4-year degrees were favored by employers in the past, online learning has since proven itself as an accessible and affordable way for students to learn job-ready skills. So why are more and more students learning online? For those students who choose online learning over traditional education, there are some unique advantages to their decision.

Focused Goals

With online learning, a student benefits from a focused and accelerated curriculum. Take learning with Treehouse for example. When a student joins they have a set goal, for example, learn the skills they need to land a job in the tech industry. By choosing to learn online, the curriculum they’ll work through will stay streamlined and focused, helping to master those job-ready skills. At no stage in the learning process will a course be irrelevant or require time towards unrelated work.

In contrast, anyone who has a college degree — myself included — is guaranteed to be able to name a handful of general core courses they took that were irrelevant to their degree. Other than taking the focus away from their goal, there are bigger disadvantages to those mandatory courses, they cost time and money.

With a traditional education, a student’s focus is also — in large part — to obtain a degree, that valuable “piece of paper” you’ve been told you need to guarantee a future career. But the reality is very different. Studies show that 51% of 2014/2015 graduates in the US alone work in jobs that don’t require their college degree. That’s a lot of time and effort focused on skills that are left behind at college.

Focused Methods

There are also the practical advantages of learning to code online. To measure the competency and level of a skill, it makes sense to use the appropriate tools for the subject. Learning to code online integrates the essential tools for tech — a computer and the web — into the learning process, familiarizing a student with a digital environment from the start and helping them to retain that new knowledge.

Focused Environment

Learning online also has the added benefit of eliminating distractions and creating a focused learning environment. Without time constraints, a student is free to integrate learning into their own schedule. The opportunity to work in a quiet and low-pressure environment of their choosing then leads to better concentration and productivity. For the quieter student, there’s the added benefit of an online environment being less intimidating both for engaging and asking for help from other students and teachers.

Conclusion

Learning online guides students down a path with a clear end goal. The appropriate learning methods, focused content, and flexible learning environment make it a great option for types of learners in all walks of life. But to master skills from scratch that lead to a life-changing career, you still need to rise up to the challenge. Be self-disciplined, driven, hard-working, determined and focused.