pros and cons of taking online courses vs in-class courses

It is of course all a personal preference, some people work perfectly well on their own doing an online course while others respond better to classroom situations and more direct interaction with teachers and other students.

I personally prefere a classroom as you can potentially learn extra information from the other students there through general conversations and group work. Plus you can ask questions as soon as you think of them rather than possibly having to wait for an email response.

I agree that it depends on the person. However, there are other factors to consider

The course work you are interested in may not be available to you locally.

Class flexibility in scheduling with work/family life is another consideration.

Of course cost and Accreditation are major concerns.

I have done both to include commuting an hour back and forth from classes then going to work a shift before or after class. That is where online is really nice. The downside to online is sometimes a class may be looking at text messaging, if the professor is not familiar with different technologies available.

Do alot of research into colleges that offer the program that you want. Hopefully the course you choose will have an effective learning environment for you.

Regards,

Chris Currier

I prefer in person classes.

One can never replace the relationships built with future partners in class.

I must confess that until I started teaching completely online classes I thought that face to face would be better. However having now taught both face to face and completely online my opinion has changed. Online courses can be just as engaging, both between students and teacher and students and students as face to face classes. In fact I have found that online classes provide a more constructive environment for collaboration and engagement than a face to face class. In a face to face environment there is a limited time for asking questions, or talking to other students. In an online environment discussions can go for a week or more, all students have equal opportunity to contribute (and a dominate personality will not always be the one asking the questions). This is especially good for geeks can be reluctant to ask questions in a classroom. There are also a heap of different video conferencing/ teaching software packages available that enable the recreation of the classroom feel and allow you to see your teacher and fellow students.

Having said that online classes require more discipline than a classroom. You may not have set times to attend to classes and do the work, so if you are the sort of person who has trouble staying motivated then face to face might be more suitable. (of course the fact you are asking the question suggests that you are motivated!)

From a teaching perspective online classes are far more demanding, you end up giving far more feedback to students that would happen in a classroom environment and have far more questions to answer.

Just to echo what Jhup said, the networking that you build by doing a course in person is very helpful. I can think of some of my previous classes, and name people I met there who are in my rolodex till this day. Also, having an instructor there is a great resource.

For me, the online courses lead the way when it comes to the speed at which you learn. If you feel there's something you need to elaborate on, you can just review at your own discretion and you don't have to be concerned with holding up the rest of the class.

I hope this helps.

I have instructed in various roles throughout my military career, and one thing that I learned (and was enlightened on) is determining what sort of learning style the students responded best to. It's also a good exercise to find out what learning style suits you, then you can better determine if you really want to go for on-line (which suits visual and read/write learners) or for the classroom, which suits the tactile and kinesthetic learners.

Obviously I couldn't turn a lesson on "Throwing a Grenade" into a read/write style of lesson, but where applicable, can adjust the teaching style to suit the learning style.

Once you work out what your particular learning style is, then you have a better idea what style of training to chase.

Check out "Fleming's VAK/VARK model" on Wiki.

I completed my entire undergrad online - it allowed me pursue a degree while working FT. The interaction with other students / profs was done mostly via discussion board while few had online chat sessions.

The most difficult part is that one has to be very motivated and self-driven when completing a course online/distance ed - no one there to push you other than yourself. I found it made me understand the material better as when I was unsure, rather than posting and waiting and hitting F5, I would have to re-read and research to find my answer - ergo having a better grasp of the material.

The other bonus in taking online courses is the cost savings aspect - I have a limited training budget - if I can cut out airfare, hotels and meals, that is another course I can take.

You are not nearly as limited as to what you want to pursue in secondary / post-secondary education - the ability to take courses / degrees online enables you to take the course

Posts here mention the networking aspect - yes, that is indeed a bonus, however I also have to add there are great resources out there, such as this board, where you also make these connections. I am a member of other boards / mailing lists and while I have not met the vast majority of contributors, all are eager to help with a question.

I have not taken any online courses but the things i can say

Online
+ Can take it at your own pace.
+ Does not require you to fly anywhere.
+ Less expensive.
+ You don't have to drag a laptop across the planet.
- It can be hard to ask questions via Email.

In class
+ if there is something you want to know more about, you can just ask it right then and there.
+ At events there can be extra night time activities like pen-testing stuff.
+ If you find out that "this is not quite what i am looking for" you can change classes, or take a specific part of another class (At least SANS allow you to do this).
+/- Education is set at a fixed pace.
- More expensive.
- Sorting out software/hardware problems while trying to learn can be a b*tch, make sure your stuff works before you leave - and bring a power converter!