Benefits and Limitations of Distance Learning
Distance Learning Defined
Technology is restructuring many aspects of education. An example of this phenomenon is distance education. Distance learning is defined as " the practice of educating learners who are separated from the teacher or trainer and each other by space, time, or both" (Moller 115). Distance education occurs in a non-classroom setting when students participate in course discussions, exercises, and receive assessment from the instructor by utilizing technology such as video conferencing, audiographics, CD-ROM, and Web-based media (Welsh 41). Furthermore distance learning programs are becoming increasingly popular at academic institutions and corporations. Most importantly these programs are offering learning opportunities for people that are normally restricted by class time and space (McHenry & Bozik 21).
Many educators and administrators are beginning to comprehend the impact of distance learning. In fact the American Council on Education predicts there will be more distance learning classes offered. John Noon writes in Syllabus, ‘Distance learning courses are offering students new flexibility in course and even campus selection, causing many institutions to begin redefining themselves’ (McHenry & Bozik 20). For example the University of Phoenix, a for-profit university, offers distance learning classes to 50,000 students spanning 12 states. Additionally Britain’s Open University will align itself with several universities in the United States and will start classes this year (Markel 208). Thus distance education is ‘currently the fastest growing form of domestic and international education’ (Boling & Robinson 169).
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In his article, “Can You Be Education from a Distance?”, James Barszcz effectively weighs the pros and cons of online education compared to the traditional method, while effectively supporting his position with factual information and statistics. While distance education proves to be convenient for students, Barszcz asserts that it eliminates valuable experiences necessary in order to get the most out of the material being learned.
Multiple of questions are raised within the psychology of suicide, including what represents suicide, whether or not suicide can be a reasonable
Suicide is a sad story many people are reluctant to approach. But when somebody nearest to them kills themselves, they feel the compelling guilt of trying to understand the motive behind the death. It is a complex and rather devastating subject. Many who kill themselves can never come back to tell us what happened and why it did. Suicide takes an emotional toll on it's survivors and wreck havoc in the wake of the surrounding victims. What causes suicide is a probing series of many theories, and yet not one definitive answer. The prevention of suicide is also difficult to pinpoint, but only because the intent is unknown. The importance of researching the motives of the suicidal is essential to modern humanity as a whole, because in the era we live in, suicide rates are climbing faster than ever. Understanding the driving force behind suicide is what can help the field of social science to save the conscience mind of many people from self-destruction - and save their lives, and the emotions of their loved ones.
Balancing the Penn Foster College Veterinary Technology curriculum with work and family is often challenging for me. Distance learning is so much different from a conventional classroom. There is no opportunity to exchange ideas with another classmate face-to-face, or have personal contact with a teacher to ask questions and get clarification on a given assignment. Yes, there is the student forum for posting questions, as well as e-mail and the telephone, but they are not the same.
In the early stages of current distance education, communication pertaining to class work was delivered to a video, audio recording or a CD-ROM (Hull, 2009). The internet expanded the development and use of distance education (Hull, 2009). Online discussions have developed into an important aspect of online education (Meyer, 2010). Online discussions, blogs, and bulletin boards make it easier for teachers and students to share and debate about topics and chastise other students’ posts (Meyer, 2010). Discussions posts allow teachers and other students to analyze other student’s writing as well as their personal and professional lives based on what they post online (Meyer, 2010). Online communication allows students to post as frequently as they would like (Meyer, 2010). Blog communications has expanded in use (Meyer, 2010). In May 2007, there were 83.1 million blogs and by January 2009, the number of blogs had grown to 133 million (Meyer, 2010).
“The rate at which enrollments for online classes and education programs is expanding much faster in both the developed and developing worlds than at traditional universities,” claims Reed Karaim. He also states that “Online courses offer the benefits of greater convenience and also a lower total cost. (Karaim, “Expanding Higher Education”). With more online courses being offered on sites such as Udemy and Lynda as well as top universities such as Harvard and MIT, there is less incentive for students to seek education from universities
The roots of synchronous teaching can be date back to the use of closed circuit television in the campus university in decade of 1940. Video conferencing and interactive television which connected remote classrooms came into work in the 1980’s, which allowed students to ask their questions and have discussion’s (Bernard et al., 2004). “Synchronous communication and collaboration tools, such as synchronous text chat, audio-conferencing, video-conferencing, and white boards, are increasingly important components of online learning” (National Center for Accessible Media, 2005). The users of synchronous mode are not limited to individuals and can be multiply used, which have become common teaching applications, though they are considered optional course features (Burnett, 2003).
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Suicide has become one of the many means that problematic individuals take into consideration to exempt from an unpleasant or oppressive situation. Suicide can be generally defined as the act of causing one’s death usually out of despair. People who are likely to commit suicide are those who suffer from severe mental illnesses and are involved with alcohol and drugs. Other than that, individuals who are experiencing unemployment and divorce can also be possible victims to commit such act. Based on the study done in the year 1997, an average of fifteen-percent who are clinically depressed ended up committing suicide. Furthermore, suicide was the eighth leading cause of death in the US (“Suicide”). It is prevalent for depressed individuals to consider suicide when major issues in life do not work out well. The big question is, what makes a person thinks that ending his or her life can help oneself to escape from the reality when life has so much more to offer?
Many people think online education can be more expensive than a traditional school setting. Previous generations did not have the option for online learning experience, so why should we start now? An interesting point about online education is that LeBaron (2010) states, “The largest school in the U.S. is the University of Phoenix Online, with a whopping 380,232 students. That’s over 5x more than the largest public school, Arizona State University, which has 68,064 students” (para. 7). Despite the cost effectiveness, distance education is becoming the educational model of the future.
Distance learning, sometimes called e-learning, is a formalized teaching and learning system specifically designed to be carried out remotely by using electronic communication. People could find out distance learning on the internet or searching form the school, sometimes teachers would introduce the best or the most credibility distance learning web. Such as class.com and University of Phoenix, etc. Distance learning is less expensive and is not constrained by geographic considerations; it offers opportunities in situations where traditional education has difficulty operating. Students with scheduling or distance problems can benefit, as can employees, because distance education can be more flexible in terms of time and can be delivered virtually anywhere. Under the unified leadership of the distance learning education, the modern distance learning education work gradual increase the number of school has now reached a certain scale. However, not every school or any distance learning education has clear idea for the modern education. Many people have differences understandings and it formed a big deviation. It can be said, for the purpose of developing the distance learning education and the hopes has not formed a consensus, which leads to very often difficult to form in the actual work force.
Seels, B.B. and Richey, R.C. (1994). Instructional technology: The definition and domains of the field. Washington, D.C: AECT.
In a K-12 setting, distance learning or traditional learning requires careful planning that must take place in order for the educational process to work for the students. When we look at both forms of education there are still pros and cons to both. Although online learning has made a major impact in the world of education, many people have not accepted this form of education. One of the reason for their concerns is that students cannot get fast answers to their questions about the assignment from the teacher. Another concern is that the students cannot perform effectively in a group collaboration that is taking place online. Also, students may not effectively do their homework from an online program. Lastly, some families do not have the technology at home for online learning.