democracy imagination different flexibility overcome online offer traditional modern regular make possess place perform big Learning shouldn't be limited to a campus or a classroom anyone. If you have two children and a job, you're just not going to 1 it to a college classroom three nights a week. And then there's the issue of cost. If you don't have the money to go to a 2 college,does that mean that you shouldn't receive an education? Of course not. You should have a shot at the good life,just like anybody else. The Internet has brought 3 to education. A bachelor's degree or a maser's degree is now available to anybody,anywhere,regardless of a person's position in life. Thanks to the Internet,education is accessible without regard to 4 . You can work toward a bachelor's degree while serving your county on a submarine. And it's accessible without regard to time:You can take courses after your shift ends, even if that's at 2a.m. What's the 5 obstacle to online earning? It isn't technology. Companies are spending billion of dollars globally to build an online-learning infrastructure that includes undersea cables. And competition among providers is driving price down. The real bottleneck is cultural. What needs to be 6 is resistance to the idea of online learning. The accreditation of Jones International University in March 1999 was a shot heard around the world Nobody 7 that a totally online university could become accredited. That even has put real pressure on traditional institutions to move into the Thrid Wave. Innovative instructors at institutions worldwide are discovering the potential of the 8 environment to deliver instruction of the highest quality to people who would otherwise have limited 9 to higher education. This is an exciting and challenging time in education. Simply defined,online education refers to courses 10 via the Internet. The minimum requirement for students to participate in an online course is access to a computer,the Internet,and 11 to succeed in a nontraditional classroom. Online learning systems have 12 the way people can take classes. U-nlike traditional courses in which the students and instructor meet face-to-face once or several times a week,most of the learning activities and communication in an online course are asynchronous, meaning that class members participate in and complete their assignment at 13 times throughout the day and week. This arrangement can make it possible for you to do your class work when it's most convenient for you. However.with this increased freedom and 14 comes responsibility. Without the structure of 15 class meeting, it will be up to you to pace yourself and keep up with assignments. (91)