The increasing popularity of distance degrees has resulted in the creation of many new words. Both learners and educators have coined new terms to communicate new concepts and ideas that are completely unique to online degree programs. How well can you speak the distance learning lingo?

Are you familiar with audiographics? This is an audio technology that utilizes phone lines to relay information contained in graphs and charts. Of course, you’ll need a line that can deliver information at a high enough rate of bauds per second to do this. (The standard dial-up modem offers about 56,000 bauds per second.)

Compressed video can also be sent over a phone line; unnecessary information is removed so that the information is transmitted more quickly. Don’t be surprised, though, if you experience lag while watching. (Lag is the time delay that often occurs when these images are being transmitted, making it look as though people in the video are stuttering or taking long pauses between words.)

Even if your online degree program doesn’t involve computer science or networking, you probably are familiar with the Internet and your modem, but you may not be aware that many modern machines operate through mechatronics. (This is the use of software and computer hardware to control a machine’s mechanical functions.)

Other terms you may encounter while working to earn a degree online include twinning, parallel-time coop, or audioconferencing. Does your online degree university use other terms to explain concepts used in its distance education degree program? Share them with our readers today!

Have you wondered how distance degrees really stack up in real life? Does anyone actually take distance learning seriously? Can anyone really earn a college degree at home and find a worthwhile job?

You may be surprised to know that distance learning is not only accepted by most colleges and universities, but it is rapidly gaining popularity among even the most elite American universities. Ivy League schools such as Cornell, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania. In fact, Columbia University now offers more than 60 online degree courses.

More and more majors are being offered online as well. Once, only general programs, such as Bachelor of Arts Degrees, were available through online university degree programs. Today, students can earn a degree online in computer science, management, health careers, or education.

Distance learning degree programs are here to stay, and colleges all over the country are taking note. More than 5 million people are currently enrolled in online degree universities throughout the United States. As transportation costs continue to rise, and the uncertain economy makes a good education more necessary than ever, we can only expect to see this trend continue to increase.

Does the Montessori Method Encourage Distance Learning Education?

Distance degrees have become very popular among today’s college students. In contrast, many preschools and elementary schools use the Montessori curriculum, to facilitate a unique learning style known as the Montessori Method.  How effectively can children taught in these schools function in online education or distance programs?

The answer to this question may surprise you. Montessori training actually encourages a child to become an independent, self-directed learner. Furthermore, the child develops his or her own unique learning style and begins to use that style effectively at a very early age. Schools that teach these learning methods are in reality very beneficial to students who wish to take distance courses in college.

Students pursuing distance degrees are largely responsible for their own learning, just as students enrolled in Montessori schools are. In addition, students who participate in the sensorial Montessori approach are not restricted to only one method of learning. Likewise, distance degree students must learn to be flexible and incorporate a variety of different learning methods and tools into their educational endeavors.

Distance education programs are, in fact, ideal for the student who learned in a Montessori classroom. Typically, distance learning courses allow students to progress on their own schedules. In addition, online courses typically emphasize learning content much more strongly than obtaining excellent grades. These concepts correlate closely with the Montessori Method of self-directed learning and the de-emphasis on grades.