Is it true that more students than ever before are enrolling for online education? According to an online education.net article titled 'Enrollment in Online Schools is on the Rise':

… 2.35 million students pursued degrees or training over the Internet in 2004, compared with just 1.98 million students in 2003.

Another sign of the acceptability of online education is the fact that over 56% of schools offering online education consider it a critical long-term strategy. Meaning – online education is here to stay, so let's adapt.

There is a huge range of available programs – right from technical certificates to doctoral degrees. Another heartening feature of online education is that, as compared to the traditional education settings, online education boasts of higher percentages of core faculty.

One merit of online education, in my opinion, is the fact that the physical characteristics of the teacher don't distract you, the way they do in a 'real' classroom. I distinctly remember tuning out of what the teacher was saying, several times, to notice how the teacher's nose looked from different angles, or how the teacher's flesh poured out of her clothes, or even how irritating the teacher's voice was.

The physical classroom – we had a teacher who would first tell us about how she couldn't get along with her aging and senile mother-in-law who was living with them. First thing in the morning, this teacher would tell us the latest about her mother-in-law while we all groaned inwardly.

And then there is the issue of fellow students disturbing and distracting you in the physical classroom. I had a friend who was doing an MBA, and towards the end of a long, hard day, these fellows noticed a distinctly nauseating smell around them.

Distracted, this group started looking around to identify the source of the stink. And then they saw it – tired of having his feet bound in shoes all day, one of the students had taken off his shoes, and you know the rest…

And then I had this stunner best friend who wouldn't wear her glasses, and her contact lenses didn't seem to do her much good. And maybe there was a hearing issue too; but what all this resulted in was that she kept me from concentrating completely in class.

She constantly peeped into my notes, and kept asking me to repeat what the professor had just said – and then we both missed the next couple of sentences spoken by the teacher. Besides this, she sometimes had juicy tidbits to share about her personal life, that couldn't wait till the end of class.

Of course, I could ask her to just shut up and let me concentrate. But that is not the point. What I am saying is that the virtual classroom is completely free of such distractions, and you have greater control over your immediate environment.

Maybe the virtual classroom will one day completely replace the physical classroom, maybe it will not. All said and done, the physical classroom does have its merits when it comes to teaching little children social skills and other aspects of group dynamics.

But for further education, especially when you are busy juggling many roles in your life, the online classroom is a very good choice for continuing your education while you manage your work and family. According to the article, ''Enrollment in Online Schools is on the Rise':

No matter which age bracket you fall into, there has never been a better time to continue your education online. If you're looking for something more, you might find just what you need online.