Growth of Online Classrooms in Virtual Space

by rohit
(Washington)

Online Learning has seen an unprecedented growth over the years because of its rapid, easy and pragmatic approach. The growth, reach and extent of the Internet have expounded a significant impact on online or virtual learning. e-Learning has enhanced the world of education considerably and given it a wider meaning and scope.

So what is it that has led to this growth of online education/e-learning/virtual classrooms? There seem to be lots of factors, which have contributed to this exponential growth. Lets take a look at some of them:

* Online education appeals to everyone. Professionals, students and others engaged in formal studies, full time jobs and family commitments can take advantage of online learning environment because of its flexible and ever adaptive nature. Besides it is of great advantage to those living in remote areas, lacking good educational institutes. Internet certainly has no boundaries and this makes online education accessible anywhere around the world, by anyone, anytime.
* Online learning is cost efficient, and in par with the present educational and teaching standard. Many organizations and industries are realizing the importance of e-learning and investing in diverse online courses.
* There is no continuous nagging and pressure, individuals can work at their own pace and skim through only those subjects, which match their interests.
* Online learning or virtual classrooms make extensive use of software's like Articulate, Camtasia, Adobe Connect Pro etc to create interactive and attractive lectures which can be watched by a student registered for the course at any point of time, night or day, home or away (provided, access to the internet is

Taking notice of the ever-expanding online module, many educational institutes are catering to short as well as long term degree and diploma courses. CEES, is one such college that caters to online energy education, conceptualizing the significance of online energy education, in today's time of energy depletion.

However, the security and authenticity of online courses is often questioned and do these courses have any limitations?

* It is extremely important to verify the standard and the validity of the course. Information regarding school/college/university accreditation must be checked. Syllabi, the course structure and the financial details must be made available so that the student gets a fair idea. FAQ's must also be provided as guidance for visitors. CEES has a detailed FAQ section which gives an insight into effective online learning.
* Since most of the learning is through videos and communication through emails, it might become difficult for the students to get their questions replied then and there by the faculty or professors. However, this problem is taken care of in a live-online environment as interactive chat sessions and extempore discussions can make learning an engaging process.
* It's important for every individual to be motivated because online courses lack constant guidance or supervision. Here, the colleges or the institutes who provide the course need to be interactive with the students and keep the communication channel open to maintain the interest of the student and to make sure that the student is "learning" and not simply getting "educated"

The picture of online learning is only getting bigger and better because of the growing advancements in technology. Various technological supports for creating content, enhancing the online classroom experience by adding interactivity and conversations have been created, developing the sphere of online learning. Various organizations have been putting in consistent efforts to design and back online education with range of software supports. CEES, uses one such Learning Management Solutions platform from Timeless Learning Technologies, which is simple yet intuitive and helps in connecting and collaborating the faculty, students and the admin team.

With its progressive technological backing, online energy education has proved to be an efficient and an exemplary program, worth the global and enriching experience.