Distance Education: Boon or Bane for Students?
Distance education is sometimes a two-sided coin or perhaps, a Janus, because while distance education offers educational opportunities for students, it can also mean adding more work to their schedule.
First let us review some of the factors that are fueling the growth in distance education, specially adult education in the corporate world.
We no longer compete for our jobs just with just people in our companies, our local communities, but on a global basis, thus maintaining and adding skills is vital to stay globally, competitive. The improvements in communication have enabled companies to hire employees world wide who can work together in collaborative environment communicating via the Intranet. This is especially true in the Information technology industry.
Furthermore, people are expected to have several careers in their lifetime with career meaning going from one profession to another, not simply from one company to another. A key ingredient in moving from one career to another, is education and attainment of new skills. Therefore, to keep your job, obtain a promotion, or begin a new career, you need experience and education.
Benefits to the Student
- Students can take courses when they need the course during a time that is convenient to them. No longer do employees have to attend class during work or go to night or weekend school, students can take classes during work and during other times often based on their schedule. Flexibility is the cornerstone of distance education for students. (In my own case, I find going away or even taking a week long course in a classroom difficult to do as the work piles up whereas with distance education, I can often work on chunks of learning during the day or late day. This convenience is the difference between taking a course or not taking a course.)
- Whether the course is offered via Computer Based Training, Internet, or Intranet, students have access to many more courses at costs far less than traditional courses. Thus it is often easier to obtain more education than in the past. (Simply put, a five-day technical course may cost $1000 either via distance education or instructor led in a classroom, but travel expenses, are not a factor. The economics mean that for one traditional instructor led classroom course, you can easily complete two distance education courses).
Costs to the Student
- Employers appreciate the savings in travel costs associated with traditional instructor led courses but they also like the hidden savings and that is for many "white collar" professionals (exempt employees), courses are often completed on their own time. Instead of making up work after course, you do the work during the course. Since employers no longer pay for travel nor for time away from the office, they save twice. For the employee, an advantage is being able to keep up with work but the disadvantage is balancing being an active student with being an active employee; the balance probably costs in lack of knowledge retention. Simply put, a student taking a course and answering the phone will not learn as much as student who is completely focused on completing the course.
- The notion of a "virtual classroom" where students collaborate together and exchange ideas with the instructor and themselves is often a myth unless the student can lock their office door (hard to do in a "bullpen'), not answer the phone, and not write that memo, but instead convince themselves they really are in a classroom and participate. Otherwise, the education experience becomes nothing more than another project to complete at the last instance.
Summary
The economics of distance education mean that students can expect many more opportunities to learn but they must be willing to pay for those opportunities with an increased workload.