Learning in the virtual classroom

Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. - G. M. Trevelyan

The purpose of this site is to aid those who would learn or teach online. We have been teaching and tutoring online for almost two decades and have done a good deal of our own accredited graduate work online as well. Modern online teaching tools actually make the online learning process far more efficient than the traditional classroom in so many ways that any percieved disadvantages (with the possible exception of an atavistic psychological desire for physical contact) are found to lack any solid justification. In fact, a 12-year meta-analysis of research by the U.S. Department of Education found that higher education students in online learning generally performed better than those in face-to-face courses. That said, it is very important to understand that many online learning institutions provide very poor instruction and student support. The medium is not to blame, but, as in the traditional classroom, instruction can vary a great deal and in the case of online study, it is often much easier for students to be neglected, overlooked and deprived of appropriate levels of attention than in the classroom.

The Web is full of sites promoting, lauding, and referring students to online educational institutions (for a hansome commission), most of which are expensive and many of which are of marginal value. That is not our goal. If you are considering teaching or studying online however, our site may provide many tools, insights, and directions that will help you achieve your objective. You may also like to consider taking one of our online classes.

An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't. - Anatole France

Unlike most online education sites which insist upon your entering your email and providing all kinds of personal information before allowing you access to their lists online institutions (after which you will probably receive a stream of spam forever), we are simply interested in providing online education resources. You will not be asked to provide an email and every piece of information we have is freely available.

Whether working toward a degree, finishing a highschool diploma, or simply pursuing personal development, online study can be, for certain people, a very reasonable alternative. It can also be an utter disaster. Many online educational institutions do very little beyond subjecting student work to a very mechanical evaluation process and awarding (or denying) grades -- leaving all of the work (not to mention the bill) to the student.

My grandmother wanted me to have an education, so she kept me out of school. -Margaret Mead

Fortunately, given the current state of online technology, it is quite easy to sample online fare, learning anything and everything, without paying a cent. Only when one is seeking official credit does tuition become a factor. Most major universities make extensive resources available to the public, including complete online courses, debates and lectures and this is often all that one ever gets with an expensive online degree program, meaningful intereaction being close to non-existent in many cases. It is therefore only to have a degree conferred that one must pay for education.