Online Education has grown into one of the most frequently used ways of learning today. The use of the internet provides people with millions of different links that can help and inform them for a number of different topics. This use of education can not only be accessed for people at home, but it used as a learning tool for teachers and students in the modern day classroom. The 3 main ways of which learning can be achieved is through, literate, audio and visual.
Although there is much information provided free on the internet, certain sites and education packs do require signing up. This involves handing over details including name, household address and email address'. From here, you are granted the material as well as constant emails from the company explaining about new upcoming software and merchandise. This provides the company with advertisement to people they know have a chance of purchasing it.
An example of an educational website that requires a subscription is MyMaths. MyMaths is a revolutionary program that teaches through the aid of homework sheets, revision pages and videos examples. With a yearly subscription price, it brings multiple students/teachers with a number of revision tools and practices that will set them up for maths tuition/revision across the course. Its designed for both GCSE and A-level courses and incorporates the idea that maths can be fun and included in everyday life. With these fundamentals revealed, MyMaths uses its examples with relation to everyday life, whether it is counting money to pay at the shops right through to working out how much petrol is left in your car. Although this site can be a great tool for students and teachers, it doesn’t replace the contribution of an educator and is therefore maintained as a revision guide as well as homework activities. With this in mind, individual logins can be made for students where tasks and revision exercises can be set by teachers. These tasks can be marked online, with a grade/score being sent to the teachers allowing them to monitor each student’s progress through the topics. This has therefore seen MyMaths grow into one of the most used and respected maths programs on the internet.
Another example of online learning is YouTube. YouTube is an uploading videos site, which provides people with a subscribed account to upload videos, social network and comment to each other about everyday life. However, unlike MyMaths, it isn’t a site dedicated to learning, but much rather a source of enjoyment and acknowledgement. This isn’t to say it can’t be used as an educational tool, with numerous videos being available to the public about a number of different topics. These videos vary from ‘Maths problems tutorials’ right through to ‘how to make a cake’ and ‘riding a bike’. On the other hand, there are disadvantages to this, with some videos not always being 100% correct, therfore making users not always sure on the subject matter themselves. In comparison to MyMaths, this is not the case, with MyMaths always being correct and guaranteed. There are of course advantages for YouTube, which can overweigh the problems. One is the way in which the videos are shown, with many portraying topics in both videos and audio form step by step. This allows the viewer to have 1 on 1 security with videos, as well as the chance to rewind and watch over bits that may not be understood first time round. Unlike MyMaths, YouTube is free with all videos being available to anyone with an internet connection. Nevertheless, donations can be made to the organisation at anytime.
There are websites that require no general subscription or payment/donation. One example is BBC Bitesize. This is an online program which provides information about a number of different subjects at both GCSE and A-level intensity. Again, like MyMaths, it uses examples through the eyes of everyday life trying to relate it to the daily person as much as it can. However in comparison to MyMaths, Bitesize doesn’t possess the inline depth in regards to topics, which MyMaths can undoubtedly deliver. This site is more suited for revision purposes and reading over subject matters. Nonetheless it is still a tool for online education.
Wikipedia is again like BBC Bitesize with regards to it requires no subscription, with it instead being a site run purposely on donations. Each topic, whether it be a person or event or product is provided a page, in which all types of information is provided. However, unlike MyMaths, YouTube and Bitesize, these facts can be edited. This allows any general person to edit information about whatever it is, and in turn creates a disadvantage. This therefore allows any person to upload information that may not be correct and in turn gives out false information to both viewer and other general public. This causes people, including students, to being doing important research, being misled and then told it’s incorrect.
Online education has been massive transformations in the way people learn, and has opened up a huge market to do so, with huge profits and donations to be made for a number of organisations and companies. With a variety of offers and subscriptions being available, it is clear that these programs requiring a payment to use are the stronger educational tools. This supplies people with accurate and supported information that can be used and learned in a number of different ways.
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