Distance learning is very different from the traditional mode of education that most people have become accustomed to. The main difference lies in the manner students get their information and how they get to interact with fellow students and their esteemed instructors or professors. A good number of people admit that they have a better learning environment online and their retention is far much better.

Studies have been able to prove that students who do well in traditional colleges tend to fair very badly when enrolled into online colleges, while those who fair poorly in traditional ones, excel when in online colleges. All this has been explained by the different learning styles and receptivity. Self directed and visual learners tend to do better with online learning while others simply succeed due to the structure of instructional materials and formats of online education which is geared to serve a very large audience.

The kind of lifestyle people lead easily determines the success of failure of online students. The traits possessed by online students vary but may be summarized as follows:

• Able to stay on task
• Able to use email, internet browser, word processor
• Comfortable with computers
• Disciplined
• Independent
• Inquisitive
• Like to read and write
• Motivated
• Self-Directed

The questions outlined below may assist you on deciding whether online education is ideal for you.

Are you self-directed and motivated? Since most online classes revolve around your schedule, you ought to be self-directed and motivated to reach the end of tasks while still being time conscious. The framework to be used in completing each and every course is left to you and only you.

Are your technical skills adequate? Having a computer which is internet enabled is not sufficient for learning online. You need to have the technical skills needed such as word processing, email sending and retrieval, attachment downloads and retrieval and installation of software necessary to view or access certain files.

Do you have strong reading skills? Reading is an important skill to participate and especially reading from a computer screen. Being able to read volumes and volumes without comprehension will be useless.

Does written communication come easily for you? Writing and being able to express yourself in writing should be a strong skill set that you possess as most online education and clarification will have to be sought via writing.

Will you ask questions when you need to? Keeping in mind that your classmates and instructors will not be able to read off facial expressions or body language off you, you need to raise questions or seek clarifications whenever you need to – without hesitation.

Will you miss the social interaction? If you are a very social person, you need to ask yourself whether you can extend the same to an online environment where you will not be able to have the person-person contact, see people’s facial reactions, laugh at jokes together etc. Having a ‘campus experience’ is just not possible with online education and you will have to live with that!

Do you have the discipline to study regularly? Just as is the case in traditional brick and mortar colleges an online college requires you to set aside personal study time. You will need to be online more often to share information with classmates and instructors. The difference with this kind of study is that it is self paced. You need to set your own pace and that determines how long it will take you to complete the entire course.

If you’ve positively answered these questions then you’re very likely to do well in an online environment! Look through our site for a course that may be of interest to you and enroll into any of the featured accredited learning schools.