Online Education Benefits

To date, it had been reported that over 4 million students are presently enrolled in various online schools and universities. Moreover, the number is increasing by around 30% every year. There must be something in online education that attracts all these students.
Some pundits attributed this sizable increase to the simple overall increase of the general population at large. Whichever way the story goes, it cannot also be denied that these online students must have their reasons.
The following explanations may have formed some of the basis of their decisions to study online.
Flexible times
Studying online is not a hindrance to students who have other full-time responsibilities and commitments (jobs, care of children, managing home life). They can “attend” their classes at any appropriate time.
The students also appreciate that in online learning, they can “attend classes” fully awake and refreshed. Their attendance are fashioned formed along the needs of their own personal schedules.
This is in direct contrast to the rigid 2 to 4 hours time stretches in regular classes in regular schools. Sometimes, problems crop up if these schedules clash with some important personal concerns. 
Flexible instructors
In online education, instructors – by the very nature of the learning setup – are more approachable. Through online chats, emails and newsgroups, students can talk openly with their teachers. (Additionally, this makes for enhanced teacher-student contacts.)
Online instructors sometimes come from another part of the globe. This adds to the student’s exposure to additional concepts and approaches to problems not learned from books.
Student-focused approaches
One big factor is the accessibility of study materials and other resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The student can re-read, review and to watch again these multi-media materials.
Within the online education system, “class attendance” can only be ascertained if a student participates in classroom discussions. Participation here means interacting with the instructor and other fellow students by their postings in the discussion groups, or emails.
New useful skills
Attending online classes by way of the Internet teaches the student skills in using the latest technologies. These unique skills can later be useful for the student going into the outside world, especially in his future jobs. .
Online education affords the students to grasp and experience hands-on the idea of team learning. This is facilitated (and demonstrated in action) in the chat rooms and newsgroups by the instructor.
Personality development
In online learning, to participate in online discussions (asking questions, positing opinions and ideas, proving or disproving those of others, etc.) is the heart of the matter. 
This is how the class in online education operates.
The crucial part is the absence of actual presence of the students while the discussion is going on (for weeks, sometimes) all because everything is done via postings, emails, and electronic messaging.
This virtual anonymity (even if they do know each other) gives the student confidence to come and “speak” out. They also have the advantage of being able to think longer on what to say, and say them when they are fully ready.
These are some tangible benefits an online education gives to students. Perhaps, this new style feels better for them and gives them more motivation than what the old traditional schools did.