Fact and Fantasy: What is Distance Learning?
Fact and Fantasy: What is Distance Learning?
You have probably watched hundreds of television or internet commercials urging you to get a degree from home. Mail flyers advertise online correspondence courses, claiming that you can get an instant degree with only a quick application and little effort. Do you really know the facts about what online degree completion really requires? Check your information and determine how much of the truth you actually know!
A number of different technologies are used in distance learning degree programs. Online undergraduate degree programs, for example, are held over the Internet. Most online learning experiences take place individually, as the student checks in, receives the assignment, and posts messages on the chatboard or interacts with classmates through email. At least one of these online degree courses, however, was held live in the virtual community of Second Life, a popular online website. Perhaps this will be the future wave of online education!
Other students have worked to earn their degrees by taking classes broadcast over television or pre-recorded on videotape. CD-Rom, cassette tapes, and FM radio have also been used to distribute education information. Before the arrival of the Internet, however, most people who wanted to earn a degree at home used old-fashioned mail to receive and return correspondence course materials. There was, of course, a much longer turnaround time. This process involved mailing the completed assignment to the professor, having it graded and approved, and receiving and completing the next assignment. Although dated, this option is still available through some universities.
The Internet has made continuing education, as well as earning an undergraduate degree or graduate degree, much more convenient and feasible. Unfortunately, however, it has also resulted in the spread of many unaccredited universities claiming to offer their students fast degree completion with little effort. The degrees from these universities are worthless, and people spend large amounts of money for a meaningless piece of paper.
A number of accredited online university programs offer excellent education to their students. Moreover, employers are beginning to recognize the value of online education. In many cases, they will accept a degree from an online program as readily as one from a traditional college.
If you are interested in obtaining a distance learning degree, do your homework and find an accredited online university. Don’t allow the fantasy of getting a college degree in a few months to cloud your vision. The fact is, a bachelor’s degree takes three to four years to complete, whether you are doing it online or on a college campus. Stay smart, and don’t let a dream of pie in the sky disrupt your educational career.
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