How the Internet is Changing Higher Education

The internet - a powerful tool that has changed the way the world lives, works and has fun. Just a few years ago, it didn't exist. Yet now, few can live without it. When I graduated high school, personal computers were still a novelty. I was given a typewriter as one of my high school graduation gifts since it would be necessary to turn in typed papers in college. Two short years later, I dropped out of college. Three years later, my baby sister graduated high school and was given a personal computer to take to college with her. Now, eighteen years after I dropped out of college, I am finishing my degree. And it is a far different academic world I enter now than the one I entered in the fall of 1989.

Today, I am taking most of my classes online. I have taken an on-line class at the community college in the past. But now, I am taking almost all my classes over the internet from my state university. This ability is what is making it possible for me to finally finish my degree. The closest college or university is over thirty minutes away. By taking classes on-line, I can devote time to study and learning without the commute time. As a single mother, this commute time was a major stumbling block in finishing my degree. The commute took away from time with my daughter that is so precious. By being able to instantly be at class by turning on my computer, I am finally able to devote time to my studies with taking minimal time from my family.