Bachelor Science Degree

If anything, the written word becomes the main mean of communications, and thanks to the Internet it can be every bit as effective as transmitting knowledge orally. What students have to get used to is what's called "synchronous" communications, i.e., the student and the teacher don't have to be online at the same time for there to be a lesson.

Instead, they use email, e-documents, forums, chat rooms, teleconferencing and video conferencing to get the lessons across. They communicate to each other when it's convenient for both sides. For instance, the teacher can upload a number of lessons. The teacher can even set things up so the classes become available at specific dates and times. The modules are then received in a pre-determined fashion. For young scholars, it doesn't matter if the classes are accessed first thing in the morning, before supper or late night;whatever works best is all that matters as long as you are earning your bachelor science degree.

If the student has a question about the online classes, he or she has a number of options. First of all, he or she can fire off an email to the teacher, who in turn will usually answer back within 24 hours. Another thing the student can do is ask his or her fellow students in a class forum where even the teacher might step in if needed. There can also be times when a chat room is open and available for more instantaneous or "synchronous" communications.

True, with asynchronous communications, a time lag is usually involved, but there are also advantages. Research has shown that one of the most important benefits is the student actually has to pause and think out their question before writing the message. This pause generally improves the quality of the question; and the better the question, the more precise and comprehensive the answer.

There's another interesting side benefit springing from this method of learning. Online students are becoming better readers and, more importantly, writers through this process. With the high emphasis jobs place on written skills these days, it's a benefit that can't be ignored.

It appears the world in and of itself is becoming dependent on asynchronous communications. The working world is more and more applying email, forums, e-docs and many of the same things online schools to speak to other companies and employees. As such, familiarity with them is another thing recruiters look for and where the online student has a definite advantage towards a technology degree.