Distance Education 

Every time when I start working on my new post related to technology and education I realize to what extent Thomas Friedman was right claiming that “The world is flat” (see my 2^nd post).  One of these world flatteners may be considered distance education or distance learning. Distance learning occurs when students get knowledge separated from the instructor (teacher) by time and physical distances using technology.  Different articles discuss the advantages and disadvantages of distance education. First of all learner independence and learner autonomy is considered as a central place in discussions of language learning in distance education (White, 2003). Distance education presents learners with new demands and new opportunities compared to those experienced in face-to-face classrooms. In distance learning the degree in self-management and environment management are crucial. The learner is responsible to create a schedule, to choose the course, the time to devote to learning etc. So, distant learners are faced with numerous decisions and roles which are usually carried out by the teacher in classroom contexts in order to have effective results. 

As I’ve already mentioned learner independence plays decisive role in distance learning, that is why the main challenge is how to create a distance course which would make learners be motivated and best develop their autonomy and abilities to direct and derive benefit from their learning experiences. This issue shows the importance of the so-called context of delivery in distance education, which includes support services, organization structures, staff commitment, feedback options, response times, opportunities for interaction between course participants and numerous other more fluid course elements which may develop.

For me the idea of distance learning is great! First of all it gives opportunity to get education from different Universities of various countries. Nowadays most Universities provide discourse education. So, we can live anywhere and study from a different country.  Although in this case there may be a lack of face-to-face interaction or oral conversations however distance learning is still very effective way to get education for those who have jobs or lack of time.  

This video provides interesting information about teachers’ and learners’ attitude toward distance learning and education.