In
a personal note, distance education has been a great resource in my academic
practice since it has allowed me to combine my educational, my personal, and my
professional interests. Another convenience of this learning system is that I
was in control of the pace in my learning; I chose what to study and how long
to study according to my own learning style.
I noticed that despite what everybody might think, it could be hard for
a person to engage into this kind of learning due most of the time it is up to
the students to prepare their class material and homework; most of us are used
to have the presence of a teacher who is guiding us step by step all along the
course. Besides, the success of the course depends mostly in how well the
instructions are given by the teacher and followed by the students.
There
are great advantages for distance learners students. One of them would be the ease
for time management. According to Lindner & Murphy, “distance education
occurs when the instructors and learners are separated by time and/or location”
(as cited in Dooley, Lindner, & Dooley, 2005, p.2). This gap of
time/location between teachers and students, allows trainees to distribute
their time according to their own needs and obligations.
Normative
openness is another great advantage; as well as students manage their time,
they also are able to manage the literature and materials for their education
according to their own learning styles. So, learners have the choice to follow the
material suggested by teachers and reinforce it with some other sources that
might help them to have a better comprehension of the topic of study.
Economical
expenses is an issue that cannot be overlooked, since it allows students to
study at home, work, or any other place, without the need of spending money on
traveling or food.
In
contrast with the points established above, the absence of a specific schedule
can be a great disadvantage; students might not stick to their study schedule,
or they might not have one at all, and get involved sporadically with their
time of study and their role of students. This is known also as procrastination;
students tend to leave every homework or exams preparation to the last minute
jeopardizing their grading results.
Lack
of immediate positive feedback is a factor that can lead down the motivation of
a student. When teachers take too long to assess the homework of their students,
apprentices tend to flounder in their effort to learn. This happens also when
the feedback is not given properly. The students have to feel comfortable with
their feedback, and feel like they effort is paying off; even when they are not
doing as well as expected, a positive feedback could encourage them to keep
working and improving themselves.
Distance
education could lead indirectly to individual initiative; since learners work
most of their time by themselves, cooperation among classmates is virtually
non-existent. The consequence of this individuality is the isolation of
students. Although a learner might be smart enough to understand and develop a
topic, it is always important to check other points of view to enhance the
perception and reinforce the knowledge of every subject. Teachers can promote students interaction with
the help of technology; “anyone who wants has the technical capability for connecting
with the Internet is connected automatically to the global part of the hyped
global village, but educators and learners need to work more carefully to build
effective communities.” (Porter, 2004, p. 193). These kinds of communities
would have to be well monitored by the teacher, who should check that every
participation is made to enlighten the topic in turn in a congruent and proper
manner.
The
use of sessions, videoconferences, conference calls and voluntary group chats is
a great resource to improve distance education system. As it was exposed previously,
creating a community where there is teachers-students and students-students interaction
creates a sense of camaraderie which is fundamental in every learning process. It
is recommendable, as frequently as possible, to establish a schedule where
teachers and students can interact in real time despite the location; in this
way, any doubt or discrepancy in the course information or instructions given
to a certain task can be explained and solved.
Distance
learning represents the solution to a wide range of people with the desire of getting
an education, but do not have the time, economical resources, or adequate geographical
situation. Nowadays, most people tend to be multifaceted and multitask; and for
all of them, this kind or learning gives them the chance to reach the kind of
education they are looking for. Despite
it is an effective and practical resource, it is not easy to keep up with the
system; as anything else, it has a lot of advantages as disadvantages. In order
for the student to achieve their goals successfully, it is required that they get
committed to the course, organize their time to complete their homework and
projects, and look the way to benefit from the advantages and overcome the
disadvantages of the system.
Dooley, K. E., Lindner, J. R., &
Dooley, L. M. (2005). Advanced methods in distance education: Application
and practices for educators, administrators and learners. Hershey:
Information Science Publishing.
Howard, R. (1995). Distance education
for language teachers: A UK perspective. London: Ian McGrath.
Porter, L. R. (2004). Developing an
online curriculum: technologies and techniques. Hershey: Information
Science Publishing.
