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Agents can "attend" a course at anytime, from anywhere. This means that parents can attend to their children, then sit down to class; working Agents can attend classes no matter what their work schedule may be, agents that travel for business or pleasure can attend class from anywhere in the world that has internet access.
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Online learning enables Student-centered teaching approaches. Every Student has their own way of learning that works best for them. Some learn visually others do better when they "learn by doing."
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Course material is accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Agents have the ability to read and re read lectures, discussions, explanations and comments. Often spoken material in the classroom passes Agents by due to a number of distractions, missed classes, tiredness or boredom.
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In an online environment, attendance to class is only evident if the Agent actually participates in classroom discussion. This increases Agent interaction and the diversity of opinion, because everyone gets a say, not just the most talkative.
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Online instructors come with practical knowledge and may be from any location across the globe. This allows Agents to be exposed to knowledge that can't be learned in books and see how class concepts are applied in real business situations.
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Using the internet to attend class, research information and communication with other Agents teaches skills in using technologies that will be critical to workers in the 21st century business community that works with colleagues globally and across time zones.
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Participating online is much less intimidating than "in the classroom." Anonymity provides Agents a level playing field undisturbed by bias caused by seating arrangement, gender, race and age. Agents can also think longer about what they want to say and add their comments when ready. In a traditional class room, the conversation could have gone way past the point where the Agent wants to comment.
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Because online institutions often offer "chat rooms" for informal conversation between Agents, where Agent bios and non class discussions can take place, there appears to be a increased bonding and camaraderie over traditional class environments.
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The online environment makes instructors more approachable. Agents can talk openly with their teachers through online chats, email and in newsgroup discussions, without waiting for office hours that may not be convenient. This option for communication provides enhanced contact between instructors and Agents.
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Online course development allows for a broad spectrum of content. Agents can access the school's library from their PC's for research articles, ebook content and other material without worries that the material is already "checked out."
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Agents often feel that they can actually listen to the comments made by other Agents. Because everyone gets a chance to contribute, Agents are less irritated with those that "over contribute" and can ask for clarification of any comments that are unclear.
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Online classrooms also facilitate team learning by providing chatrooms and newsgroups for meetings and joint work. This eliminates the problems of mismatched schedules, finding a meeting location and distributing work for review between meetings.
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Agents often comment that online learning lets them attend class when fully awake and attend in increments of convenient time block, rather than rigid 2 or 4 hour stretches once or twice a week.
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Because there are no geographic barriers to online learning, Agents can find a diversity of course material that may not be available to them where they live or work. This is especially true for professional training such as medical billing training or purchasing training and for Agents in remote rural areas that cannot support college or vocational training centers.
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