Benefits of Online Learning in Post-Secondary Education Acknowledgments Special thank you to Dr. Bortiatynski and Jenay Robert Joseph Habel, Bo Jung, Richard Pieri, James Vrobel Eberly College of Science Pennsylvania State University The Scope of Online Learning As the internet has expanded into everyday life, it makes sense for it to continue to grow into the education sector as well. Current online learning programs consist of online lectures, individualized learning spaces, online homework assignments, online discussion boards, and a blend of one or more of these elements with a traditional classroom setting. These have benefits to learners, facilitators, and instructors alike. Different resources that can be included in an online or blended learning environment References Davies, J., & Graff, M. (n.d.). Performance In E-learning: Online Participation And Student Grades. British Journal of Educational Technology, University of Illinois Springfield. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from Instructors The utilization of online resources allows instructors to better track a students progress in a course, as well as be able to immediately intervene with a students at risk. These resources allow the grading process to be simplified as well for the instructor. An online instruction can simplify a conflict in schedules for various academic processes besides simply lectures. Online materials and activities such as review sessions can be archived online for later access to those with conflicting schedules. An instructor can similarly offer online office hours in which there is no longer a possibility of time wasted on their part. Illustrated above is the rapid growth of enrollment in online and blended learning programs via University of Illinois Springfield Conclusion The benefits of Online Learning extend to students, facilitators, and instructors alike. These resources benefit the student’s success on their respect courses as well as allowing instructors and facilitators to be able to access a larger amount of their students. Students Students are the most directly benefitted by these online learning processes. The current generation of students has grown up with technology, so they are quicker to embrace its benefits. Regardless of whether or not the institution offers any online resources, a total of six million individual students have accessed the free online Kahn Academy specifically. Both institution sponsored and outside learning resources can help aid in a students accessibility to educational resources as well as open communication routes to both their peers and instructors. Table 3 Illustrates the percentage of those in each grade range who used the online discussion modules Piazza, a class discussion forum for students, facilitators, and instructors Facilitators Online resources help allow facilitators to reach a broader audience than a traditional setting. Whether it be via online interactive forum sessions, online office hours, or other means of online interaction, facilitators are able to reach more individuals than they previously could.