Some universities now offer their courses on the Internet so that people can study online.

Sample Answer: [Viewpoint: Overall positive development.]
Online education is a comparatively new trend and thousands of educational institutes have already embraced this method to offer their courses. While some negative aspects of this development could not be ignored, the advantages of it far outweigh the demerits.

To begin with, many universities in developed countries offer online degrees and short courses, and they have started doing so only after proper research. The research proved that Internet-based courses are advantageous both for the students and teachers. The intuitive and methodical lessons offered by an online course is planned by several university teachers and technology experts and hence they maintain a rigid quality. The widespread use of the Internet makes it handy for people to enrol in a course without considering time and distance. This trend has attracted thousands of professionals, housewives and elderly people to continue their education or take courses of their choices. For instance, as many as twenty-five thousand housewives in the USA complete their preferred online courses and diplomas in a year. Attending traditional classroom-based courses were impossible for this large number of housewives and busy professionals.

Moreover, Internet-based courses are easier to follow and someone can retake the same lessons over and over again, unlike traditional classes. Thus many students have reported the Khan Academy, Linda, and Udemy, renowned Internet-based online course websites, to be their preferred learning tools. Many skill-developing online courses, for example, have assisted thousands of young people to pursue their career in technology and this has all been possible with Internet-based learning.

The downside of this trend is the cost and lack of proper supervision by a teacher. Courses offered by prestigious universities are often far too expensive for a poor student to bear. Teachers’ guidance and motivation often play a great role in a pupil’s success and the online course cannot be a suitable substitute for the motivation teachers can offer.

To conclude, technological advancements in education, especially online education, is a great leap towards a world without illiteracy and unemployment. Hence, this is such a positive development though it lacks a teacher’s motivation and direct supervision.