Advantages in Cost and Time

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            Virtual education is an evolution of conventional education, resulting from a need and a means. While there are many disadvantages to a virtual education, one of the major positive advantages is cost. While there is no real substitute for the social atmosphere of a classroom, people of middle and poorer societies are going to continue to seek out these more cost efficient Internet course. For example, the diffusion of innovation theory states that, “how quickly an innovation diffuses depends on several factors, a major one being cost”(MediaNow). College is expensive, and not everyone can afford it, most people can’t afford it, but most people want an education, want a degree that will provide them with a better job. One of the reasons why Virtual education has spread so rapidly is because its affordable and allows the minority to access something they weren’t able to before. “The University of Florida’s (UF) distance learning program has its own financial aid offerings for online students, including hundreds of academic and endowed scholarships, all held in an online database.” Other programs like Facts.org, and Florida Bright Futures, also provide students who attend both on campus and online universities with scholarships and financial aid. Furthermore, African Americans and Hispanics are less likely to go to college than Anglos. But virtual school came about changing this notion that not everyone can get an education by, “offering free tuition and hundreds of classes ranging from basic required subjects to electives like world languages and art." Now not only can people get a degree, but there are now fun and exciting options in classes for them to take like history, art, and communication. Furthermore, the diffusion of innovations theory would use time as another factor for the collective acceptance of the virtual classroom. For example, not everyone has the time to go to college, while they are juggling a job and a family. Usually an education is something that is more like a dream than a reality. But with a virtual education time isn’t really an issue. Anyone with a computer or a library card with access to the Internet can take an online class and earn a degree and do it on their own time. The diffusion of innovations theory shows us that with a virtual education time and cost are one of the main reasons it has succeeded so well.