Distance education.

Distance Educa­tion Unlocks Doors

Distance educa­tion has opened the door for many people who in the past were unable to attend a tradi­tional brick and mortar college due to various circum­s­tances. The flexi­bi­lity of atten­ding distance lear­ning classes allows a vast number of people to fulfill their dream of obtai­ning a college degree. Higher online educa­tion degrees avail­able through distance lear­ning courses range from certi­fi­ca­tions, diplomas, and even docto­rate degrees.

What is Distance Educa­tion and How it Works

Distance educa­tion is offered by nume­rous accredited colleges as an alter­na­tive to atten­ding college classes at a campus. Course mate­rials are presented in an online format and can either be deli­vered by text or audio classes. The course professor is avail­able through e‑mail or sche­duled one-on-one chats to answer any ques­tions. Discus­sion boards allow for inter­ac­tion with fellow class­mates. Web-cams, presen­ta­tion tools, webinar soft­ware, pre-arranged semi­nars, desktop sharing, and telecon­fe­ren­cing are now part of the distance educa­tion teaching plat­form as Internet band­widths have substan­ti­ally incre­ased to support these web colla­bo­ra­tion systems. Students can parti­ci­pate in an online class via remote desktop soft­ware that allows them to view a web presen­ta­tion from the teacher, and tune in with audio confe­ren­cing.

Courses normally last from 5 to 6 weeks. The professor posts their lecture for each week with the appro­priate discus­sion topics. Students work on assign­ments, refe­rence work, and parti­ci­pate with class­mates on discus­sion boards. The teacher receives the assign­ments by e‑mail, grades them, and returns them to the students with appro­priate comments.

Who would Benefit from Distance Education?

Anyone desi­ring a higher educa­tion can benefit from getting an educa­tion with online teaching and e‑learning soft­ware. In the past, various life­style circum­s­tances or disa­bi­li­ties have excluded poten­tial students from being able to take advan­tage of working towards a college degree. Distance educa­tion gives the student the flexi­bi­lity and conve­ni­ence of sche­du­ling classes around their current life­style whether that be working full time, taking care of a family, or traveling.

Another appe­aling feature of online lear­ning is that for many students it is less stressful than the tradi­tional class­room. Lear­ning is self-paced and peer pres­sures are removed.

With the tech­no­lo­gical advan­ce­ments in web confe­ren­cing and remote access soft­ware over the past several years, has boosted distance educa­tion and the dream of obtai­ning a college degree can now be a reality for many people who were held back in the past due to their home situa­tion or lack of time to attend a tradi­tional college. Flexi­bi­lity and conve­ni­ence with distance educa­tion is now just a keyboard away.