Getting an online degree through distance learning has become possible because of the increased availability of the Internet throughout the world. However, what are the actual benefits and disadvantages of distance education
Potential Benefits: The most obvious reasons for trying to get an online degree are time and money. With an online course, you can join a class, do assignment s on the Internet, and even communicate with classmates in chat rooms or on bulletin board. Technology has even reached the point where students can interact with other students and the teacher through High-quality web conferencing(网络会议). All of these activities can be done from the comfort of your home or laptop (手提电脑)：any time, any place.
Second, getting such a degree can, in some cases, be cheaper because you don"t have to pay costs related to an overseas adventure: air-tickets, housing, local transportation, etc.
Potential Disadvantages: For all these benefits, there are a number of disadvantages to this kind of learning. Above all else, you have to consider how a degree form an online school will be received by future employers because they might fell that the academic standards of such an online institution are not as high as a regular program.
Second, you probably won"t have face-to-face contact with other students since everything is online. Such contact is very important in learning how to deal with many aspects of non-verbal communication that aren"t obvious in an online chat room. The number-one disadvantage of getting an online degree is that ______.