For many American teenagers, heading to college is a right of passage. It is a time of exploration, independence, and finding their path in life. However, things are changing. While there will always be those who opt to move away to college, studies show that more and more students are choosing other options, such as living at home.
What does all this mean in terms of higher education? It means students are looking for ways to get the education they need without the exorbitant cost. While not necessarily as exciting from a social life perspective, long-distance learning can offer education at a fraction of the price. Many universities charge the same for online credit hours as in-person, but this may change as fewer students are available. Online students don’t cost nearly as much since they don’t utilize the infrastructure of a campus. In reality, a great online program needs faculty and high-quality distance learning technology. And with the upcoming battle for college-age students, offering a more economical path to education is a huge benefit.
What does distance learning mean?
Distance learning means taking an academic course by accessing information and communicating with faculty using the Internet. However, it can get confusing when distance learning and remote learning technically fall under this definition. So, what is the difference between distance learning vs. remote learning?
Remote learning involves trying to emulate normal class structure as much as possible. Usually, there are set class times where teachers check in with students to monitor their progress, answer questions, and lecture on material. Think of it like class over video chat. Distance learning, on the other hand, embraces the flexibility of technology and avoids traditional lecture formats in favor of assigning projects and readings for the students to do on their own. Instructors walk them through the assignments, offering help as needed. This requires a lot more initiative for distance learning students to stay on top of work – which is why it’s more common in higher education.
Today, distance learning education is more than posting notes on forums. Thanks to technology, instructors can give distance learning students the same personal attention and interaction once reserved for in-person students. Let’s look at some distance learning pros and cons to see how you can get the most out of it.
Distance learning advantages
There are a lot of things that can get in the way of a traditional college education. Many students around the country are coming to grips with the fact that they might not have the option of the traditional four-year college experience due to finances, time, or other responsibilities. That’s where the advantages of distance learning can make it possible for students to get the education they need wherever they are. The key advantages of online education include flexibility, reduced costs, and technological benefits.
Flexibility and accessibility
There are a lot of roadblocks to college. Taking care of relatives, working to help support the family, or other obligations can keep students out of an in-person program when they turn eighteen. Then there are older, non-traditional students already working full-time but need a degree to move forward in their careers. This is where distance learning allows students to balance obligations and education. For example, a student working full-time could advance their career by getting a master’s remotely while still gaining in-person experience. Flexibility also applies to teachers who don’t necessarily have to relocate to a physical campus to work for an institution. That means that even smaller universities can hire some of the preeminent experts in a field.
Accessibility is another advantage of distance education. Students living anywhere in the world can have access to top-quality university programs. Likewise, faculty can bring in guest lecturers from anywhere, giving students a range of experiences.
Distance education can also work around disabilities by allowing students who cannot physically navigate a campus to get the educational instruction they need for a degree. The flexibility of distance learning also does a lot to help students with learning disabilities because they can personalize their education by focusing on challenging topics and spending less time on easier ones.
Reduced costs
Though some schools charge the same price for on-campus versus online tuition, many are changing to offer significant discounts for online credit hours. Avoiding the need to move, campus housing, and food costs are huge money savers. Rent near large universities is notoriously high, and distance learning students don’t need money for transportation, gas, or parking.
Many online courses use digital textbooks and resources, which means students can save even more when getting what they need for their courses. Likewise, since professors don’t need to relocate to campus, it can save the school a lot of money on the faculty infrastructure needed for in-person instruction.
Technological benefits
While different from in-class experiences, distance learning technology like simulations, virtual labs, and online discussions can engage students in unique ways. With interactive displays, instructors can directly demonstrate concepts and applications to students via live-streaming lectures. In fact, one of the key advantages of distance learning is the move away from a traditional classroom environment. Teachers can approach instruction any way they see fit, from creating interactive simulations to gamification to project-based learning.
The nature of most distance learning courses can also help students develop time management and digital literacy skills. The formatting of an online class goes a long way in preparing students for entering the digital workforce. Remote work continues to be one of the fastest-growing trends in industries ranging from finance to research. Students who are well-versed in navigating distance learning environments have a leg up on the self-discipline and technical expertise needed to succeed after college.
Distance learning disadvantages
Students opting for distance learning need greater discipline, patience, and a healthy social network to succeed. Building a thriving distance learning program is hard but worth it in the long run. That said, it is worth noting places where problems may arise.
Social isolation
While it’s not always the first thing that comes to mind when looking at colleges, students and faculty on the ground need community. The loneliness epidemic is worsening among adults, so ensuring college students have connections is more important than ever. The key is to ensure students and faculty have access to what they need where they live since they won’t have that on campus.
Technical difficulties
Technical problems are one of the greatest disadvantages of distance learning education. It’s certainly possible to have a single campus location with reliable internet connectivity and technology, but distance education requires every student and faculty member to have that same reliability. When you have students connecting from remote locations with unreliable Wi-Fi, it’s common for students to miss deadlines, which can cause other issues for faculty. For example, suppose you are a professor giving last-minute tips on studying for an exam, but a student in the lesson loses signal and misses important information. As a result, they might not do as well, and so feel it was an unfair disadvantage based on technical problems.
It requires self-discipline
Distance learning is not for everyone. It requires strong self-motivation, time management, and multitasking skills. Faculty don’t have the advantage of interacting with students daily to keep them focused on their work. While this is great for students to learn about personal responsibility, it also means that distance education has a reputation for either failing more students or being easier than in-person instruction, depending on school policy.
Lack of immediate feedback
It’s hard to have an asynchronous conversation. Students finish a draft of an assignment, and the faculty doesn’t see it for a few days. Then they respond. Then, the student sees it again three days later. Finally, weeks have passed, and the assignment is due, but the student has only received minimal feedback. It’s a frequent story in distance education that can hinder learning. It takes a lot of work from the faculty to manage timely feedback.
How Promethean can aid distance learning
While it’s true that traditional lectures aren’t a cornerstone of distance education, there are many tools Promethean provides that can integrate seamlessly with a learning management system to make distance learning much more engaging.
Create engaging online lessons
With Promethean’s ability to record lectures, you can use interactive displays to present and communicate material. Software like Explain Everything Advanced will also allow you record, edit, and share your lesson to students. This is a great way to present your information and captivate students. For a lot of students, simply reading text on a document isn’t enough to get them engaged.
Instructors also have the ability to create a weblink to share their presentation to students afterward. This is especially helpful for incorporating a flipped classroom model into any teaching scenario.
Learning management system integration
Since Promethean offers EDLA-certified devices, you can easily interface with Google’s Suite of teaching tools – including Google Classroom. Not only that, but Explain Everything Advanced lesson creation software provides tools to create interactive quizzes, group discussion projects, and personalized learning experiences.
The future of distance learning
As the educational landscape changes, we are seeing more technological integration. Hybrid learning models continue to combine online and traditional classroom instruction, while virtual and augmented reality offers more hands-on training to distance learning students. More so, artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom is starting to have a huge impact, as it provides students with personalized learning experiences based on concepts they’re having trouble understanding or areas of interest.
Distance learning will continue to impact how people interact with higher education. Increased accessibility and affordability mean that many who opted out of college will have the opportunity to go back virtually.
If you are ready to lean into this exciting future of higher education, consider scheduling a free demo of Promethean products to see how your institution can benefit from distance learning.
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