Just as is the case with so many other things in today’s world, the computer, especially with the advent of the Internet, has revolutionized education. It used to be that if a particular degree was not offered by a brick and mortar institution near you, you either had to move close to one that did or satisfy yourself with the old correspondence route, and those have always been of questionable value. And this doesn’t even begin to take into consideration those such as the home-bound and others unable, or unwilling, to take traditional educational routes.
Are there Any Differences?
Most educators who have worked on studies in the difference between online and tradition setting education point to literally one big difference between the two methods: the comfort level that some students might or might not have with the more impersonal approach of an online education. Face it: some people are just not comfortable with using a computer at all, much less with an environment such as education where they might be used to interacting on a face to face level with the instructor and other students.
Some of those who are attempting to use online methods of earning their master’s degree in psychology might be uncomfortable with the technological interfaces such as the screen, the methodology of asking questions of the instructor, and other parts of the environment that make the experience “online” versus a traditional classroom setting.
The True Online Differences
One can only imagine that as the years pass the technology that will be introduced to increase the quality of online educations will only improve. True, several studies in other fields have found that companies that use virtual meetings and other such “impersonal” methods of meeting with workers and clients do suffer in terms of lost revenues, but no studies have been conducted that shows an actual loss in the quality of education being presents in an online environment. As a result, most experts agree that the field will only grow and progress with time.