The following topic is about distance learning and how it can help or hurt the academic community. The stance on this topic is for distance learning and how it can and does help adult students learn. Every student learns differently and knows what works best for them and if they can do well or not when it comes to this distance learning. There are many different opinions on e-learning, some of these individuals may feel the traditional learning in a classroom is best while others may argue it is not. E-learning can be very beneficial to some students and even some of the professors/teachers.
The thesis of this topic is that an argument can be made that distance learning can either help or hurt the universities, colleges, and institutions that offer this means of teaching. While a majority of these institutions offer some sort of e-learning, these courses often come with the stigma of being “less than” traditional course offerings and are often detrimental in nature when being reviewed.
The stance taken for distance learning is that e-learning is beneficial to adult students who do not have the means to obtain an education through traditional classroom of “brick and mortar” schools. Distance learning can be very important to many individuals who feel the only way and best way they know how to learn is online rather than in a classroom. This can also depend on the individuals’ learning style. For example, one individual may learn best in an actual classroom where he or she can actually see and talk to their classmates and professors face-to-face. Whereas others may learn best online because they may feel more confident that way than actually being in front of an individual, and they may feel more confident learning this way and more confident in asking questions.
The opposing argument of distance learning and e-learning is that there are some individuals who state that, because you do online learning, means many companies will not accept you to work for them because many companies and individuals think that it is not quite right as it would be in an actual classroom. They also think that any degree you receive online and through the mail is not qualification enough, because the individual who runs or owns the company thinks that going to an actual classroom is deemed more acceptable.
Distance learning and e-learning can be very beneficial to everyone involved including the students and the professors/teachers. This depends on the individual and how they learn best. According to the US Journal of Academics, “The quality of distance learning has greatly improved in the past few years, as both students and educators have become more comfortable with the technology, and as stories of best practices have been shared and duplicated.” That being said, yes, some of the technology can become very challenging for some students, but many online classrooms have workshops or tutorials to help the student get used to each part of the online learning environment.
Distance and e-learning are also used to help students earn college credit. According to Distance Learning, “the number of students taking at least one distance learning class as of the August 20, 2014 registration report, over 8,500 students are registered for distance learning.” This tells us that there are quite a few students out there who seem to prefer the method of online and distance learning, rather than those who would rather be in an actual classroom.
Another study, according to WPI, states that, “45% of individuals who are a part of the distance learning are under the age of 30 whereas, 13% of the individuals are between 30 and 34 years of age, another 13% states that individuals are between 35-39 years of age, 12% states that individuals are between 40 and 44 years of age, 8% states that individuals are between 45 and 49 years of age, and finally, 9% states that individuals are over 50 years of age that are attending an online or distance learning program. Another study, according to WPI, states that, “75% of individuals who attend or are involved in online or distance learning is males, whereas the remaining 25% are females that are involved or attend a distance learning.”
According to Harry Martin, “Distance learning is of two kinds, you can opt for either of the two: correspondence courses or study online. If you choose correspondence courses as your method for distance learning, you will be sent the study materials for your chosen subject by general post. You can study them at your own convenient leisure time and appear for tests in the local centers of the university or the institutes, when you think you are ready.”
This is true unless you are actually going to college or to a university online rather than attending classes in an actual classroom where you can interact face-to-face with the professors and classmates. Whereas, if you are attending college or a university online, many professors and classmates have Skype, telephone, e-mail, and chat. This is how you would interact with the professors and students. Once you start attending, there will always be a tutorial or workshop you can join in order to learn how to use each of these, if you are unsure, you can always chat, call, Skype, or e-mail your professor or a classmate if need be.
In conclusion, in the long run, e-learning and distance learning do have quite a bit of advantages to them and many individuals seem to be opting to do the online classes, the only issue they would face is the price of the classes online, doing and attending classes online is higher than actually being in a classroom. However, this can depend on the best way the individual learns better because, as stated earlier, some individuals learn better online than they do in a classroom, whereas some individuals may prefer an actual classroom as opposed to the online learning.
