From online submissions to online courses: The use of the internet in University life

The internet is now essential for everyday life at university. As well as socialising and researching, online submissions have been standard at most universities for some time. I never experienced this being at Sussex University where both copies still had to be submitted by hand until 2012. I can imagine it does limit late submissions, half the amount of paper needed and help to avoid plagiarism. However Sussex University lost its beloved dissertation dash last year. A fun day for finalists to let their hair down and the countdown to the four o’clock deadline with the last few students running to hand their work in on time.

The internet is becoming even more important with online courses. The Open University has launched Futurelearn.  Still in its preliminary stages it is offering online courses from a number of top universities for free. You can access a variety of courses from the comfort of your own home or on the way to work. This provides opportunities to learn skills, help you decide if a university course is right for you before paying those massive fees and can be accessed by domestic students and international students. Even though you wouldn't get the full social experience of university (which not everyone wants) there is a community for people to discuss topics. For some I can imagine it might end up like that morning jog with good intentions at the start of the year but later interest dwindles. For the well-motivated it could be a great opportunity.