Two weeks ago, I embarked on a 23 hour journey to Singapore for business.  My flight would be arriving at 11:30 p.m. the next day and I knew that I had to be on a call for a group meeting with my MBA classmates at midnight Singapore time which was 9:00 a.m. Pacific time where most of the other classmates would be calling in from.  This was nothing new.  Approximately 15% of my classmates reside outside the U.S. and about 50% of us travel frequently for business.  Moreover, is this anything different than the global business environment of today where we are put into virtual teams, manage suppliers half-way around the world, or negotiate with our customers from a different time zone?

For years institutions offering virtual classrooms were continually trying to make the education reflect the traditional way of learning i.e. listening to some boring professor recite the same lecture notes that he has used for the past twenty years only leaving enough time for the front row students to ask a couple questions which seem to be more complimenting of the professor than challenging.  However, universities offering online education are now realizing that there is an advantage that can only be obtained through online education, namely the abundance of information sharing and the simulation of the current business environment.  I usually say that 50% of what I am learning is from my fellow classmates, but that may even be giving too much credit to the professor.  The forum of online education allows an unlimited amount of postings of comments, questions, articles, and personal experiences related to the current subject matter.

If you are considering whether to obtain an education through an online program or through a traditional “brick and mortar” program, consider how you will apply the education once you have graduated and what your future work environment will be.  Most of you will find that your future work environment reflects more of working in virtual teams using online resources and communication tools than having the luxury of being face-to-face with your colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders.