Teachers often make this task easier by using group work or asking students to discuss ideas in partners. Some who believe that online education is not as beneficial as land-based education often suggest that this type of discourse is unavailable in virtual classrooms. This, however, is not the case. Virtual classrooms often have discussion boards on which students can post questions and topics and respond to other students. Just

Persistence (also called retention) is defined as remaining enrolled in the institution, presumably until degree attainment or completion. Online courses can help students achieve this, because they provide options for learning that were previously not available to them (Drennan, Kennedy, & Pisarski, 2005). Satisfying and rewarding interactions with the formal and informal academic and social systems of the institution lead to greater integration and persistence (Tinto, 1975). However, teachers of

Students should consider online education, because there are many advantages to it. Littlefield (2014) notes several key advantages to online education, including flexibility, good networking opportunities, open scheduling, pacing, savings, teaching and testing options, and effectiveness. Several of these are advantages even though they are normally considered positive traits of a traditional school structure. This paper will investigate these claims to provide the reader with a compelling argument that online

Online Learning Since the advent of the Internet, online learning has increased exponentially. Online learning is utilized by K-12 schools, by public universities and colleges, and there has been an explosion in for-profit online schools as well. Twenty years ago, the industry did not really exist -- distance education was usually some form of correspondence course . In 2014, Forbes estimated the industry to be worth around $107 billion in

Traditional Classes, 2006) Another factor with online classes is that the student has the opportunity to teach themselves. If a student does not learn well by listening to a lecture, working through the textbook on their own time might be a better option for them. This is a lot harder to do in traditional classes where attendance is required and classes move at the instructors pace. If on the other

Online Writing Do students lose more than they gain in online writing classes? Kiefer argues that the online educational format for a writing class is inferior to the traditional classroom setting that is normally composed of a limited amount of students. In the traditional writing classroom students can be given the timely feedback that has been shown to be able to increase their writing capabilities. The online setting by contrast has inherent