Before you decide whether online learning is right for you or not you need to firstly decide what it is you want to learn and how you want to learn it. People learn in different ways and you need to ask yourself what your preferred style of learning is and whether online learning would be a good choice for you. The following guidelines are recommended qualities that all good online learners should have:
Online learning would be right for you if:
You are able to work independantly and set your own pace.
As an online learner you will be working on your own almost all of the time and it's important that you are comfortable and able to study by yourself and to set your own schedule.
You are motivated and not easily distracted.
Most online courses offer great freedom in their set up which, while good, means that you have to have the discipline and willpower to study whenever you are able to. A number of online students drop out of their courses because they can't motivate themselves to concentrate on their studies, fall too far behind and eventually lose interest.
You are computer literate.
As you will be working on a computer throughout the whole of your course than it's vital that you have basic computer knowledge and skills. You should be familiar and comfortable with; internet browsers, sending and receiving emails, downloading text and video files, text-based applications (i.e Microsoft Word), installing basic software, discussion boards & forums and inputting data into website forms.
You have easy and regular access to an internet connected computer.
Obviously as all your work will be done on the computer it is essential that you have the abilty to use a computer with internet capabilites and connection whenever you need it. It doesn't have to be a state-of-the-art brand new PC but it does need to be reliable and connected to the internet, preferably on a broadband connection as this will download and access the information more quickly and save you time, but a dial-up connection will suffice if that's all you have. The important thing is that you can gain access to it when you want it, even it's a family computer and it means turfing the kids off it for a while!
However, not everyone is suited to online learning and if the following sounds like you then perhaps you are one of those people.
Online learning would not be right for you if:
You find it hard to work on your own.
With an online course you need to work alone most of the time and if you find it difficult to concentrate and motivate yourself enough to study on your own then you may not be suited for this type of learning.
You are a technophobe.
Many people today are still wary of computers and technology and dislike using them. If you are scared of computers or don't have any idea of how to use them then an online course would not be right for you.
You do not have a computer or any access to one.
Obviously if you can't get to a computer to do the studying then online learning, where you have to access all the course information via a PC, would be no good for you.