Personal Fitness Professional - March 2009 - (Page 12) Reach By Jasmine Jafferali In 1933, Henry Ford wrote to the President of the University of Chicago advocating the formation of a “University without Walls”. is was based off a survey done by University of Chicago, which suggested that “the justification of correspondence study should be rooted in its experimental nature and that it should generate innovations and research data that would lead to improvements in teaching methodologies.” In 1940, radio began to offer its first college credit course over the airwaves but failed to produce due to lack of enrollment. However, the 1960s and 1970s found educational television to be more effective. Remember watching Sesame Street growing up? During these times, colleges began taking another look at the “University without Walls” concept with Sierra University promoting methodologies of student-centered learning and the use of community resources as the student’s “campus.” Jump forward to today. More professionals are seeking online or “e-learning.” ere is a great deal of research that supports the growth of online classrooms. By 2006, almost 3.5 million students participate in online learning at higher learning institutions in the US. Many institutions are offering online courses because it is all around more convenient for everyone: students, instructors and administrators. With the economy in a recession, more people are going back to school or taking certificate courses to better themselves in hopes to land a better job in the future. We saw this seven to eight years ago, during our last recession. MARCH2009 WWW.FIT PRO.COM Knowledge for A look at online certification benefits and resources Online Learning Benefits Online courses are affordable, cost-efficient and more convenient than traditional classroom instruction. ere are no overhead fees such as labs or highly paid instructors, all which accounts for approximately 10% to 30% of the course costs. is cost is reflected in our tuition and taxes, but we also have to take into consideration costs of travel to the institution: gas, time and vehicle wear-and-tear. + - Online Training Positives & Negatives • Convenience — Few things are as convenient as your laptop propped on an armrest. Online training takes out scheduling and traveling hassles and brings the learning right into your living room on your schedule. • Affordability — By eliminating travel costs and instructor fees, online training can provide massive amounts of information at a fraction of the cost. • Access — With the Internet, you have access to any form of training worldwide. • Self-paced — Many online courses allow you to learn not only when it’s convenient to you but also at a pace at which you can absorb the material. • Hands-off — Personal training utilizes many sensory inputs (visual, auditory and tactile). Sometimes the best learning comes from seeing a real client perform that exercise, performing the exercise yourself, coaching a client through the exercise and then getting feedback. Online training doesn’t offer that level of interaction. • Feedback issues — Without an instructor present during practice training, you don’t receive immediate feedback that allows you to correct your techniques. • Loss of connection — Without training in-person, you can’t meet and network with other professionals who not only help you during your certification process but can be handy to know throughout your career. http://www.fit-pro.com
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