It's no secret that more and more people are looking to the 
internet for a convenient way to further their education.  Online 
classes are a great way to obtain an accredited college degree 
from home and continue to work a full time job.  Many times a 
student can attend classes from their computer and schedule those 
classes around their job. Some schools allow the student to login 
to a class at their convenience. Imagine taking a class from the 
comfort of your own home and not having to deal with parking 
problems, child care, lunch, or transportation expenses.

You can also get an online degree from top, accredited online 
colleges and online schools that may not be available in your 
local area. An online education is also a great option for non-
traditional students, the handicapped, people in remote areas, 
and people with a full-time job or a schedule that doesn’t allow 
for a traditional education.

Distance education can be delivered in several ways. We will 
examine two of the many ways education can be delivered via the 
internet.

One of the most common is through live media. In this type of 
online classroom, students typically login to a chat room type 
environment that allows not only for text chat but also live 
audio chat, similar to many of the popular "instant messaging" 
programs that are widely used today. The lecture can be heard 
through the computer speakers or through a set of headphones. 
The students communicate with the teacher and other students by 
text chat or simply by talking into a PC microphone.  The teacher 
can also allow students to view him/her in a smaller window on 
the monitor via a webcam. The lecture can also be recorded and 
posted to the school website to allow students to listen to the 
lecture and review the material at a later time according to 
their schedule, and as many times as necessary.  This type of 
online class makes it necessary to be at the computer at a 
scheduled time each day. 

One advantage to this type of online college classroom 
environment is the student receives live instruction with 
structured classes. It is well known that students working within 
in a structured setting have a higher probability of success of 
finishing their degree. An obvious disadvantage would be lack of 
scheduling flexibility. 

Another variation of the online classroom setting involves text 
messages such as email and message boards. Each class may share a 
group mailbox or a message board system, which becomes the 
"electronic classroom".  The instructor generally posts lectures 
on the topic of study, posts the assignments, and provides 
discussion questions related to the topic.  The student can view 
lectures, notes from the instructor and other students, and 
assigned projects. The student can also post messages or 
questions to the instructor and other students.

One advantage of this system is 24 hour access to course 
materials and the ability to work at one's own pace without 
regard to scheduling. A disadvantage would be lack of direct 
contact with the instructor.

In both scenarios students are expected to logon to the class 
site a certain number of days per week.  Students also can 
contact the instructor via e-mail to ask questions or receive 
answers. When assignments are due, students send them to the 
instructor online or by email, where they are graded and 
returned.  Students may also have access to their individual 
performance reports by logging in to a website where that 
information is posted. Test may also be taken online. Typically, 
online classes last five to six weeks.

Although the degree of difficulty is the same for the online 
classroom as in a traditional setting, the internet has broken 
down many barriers and is providing educational opportunities for 
people worldwide that were not previously thought possible. 

Tim Arnold has recruited online students for 
American College of I.T. and also recruits 
students via his online college portals at 
http://www.All-College-Degrees.com and 
http://www.Finding-A-College.com