There are certain people who get kicks out of attending lectures in a physical classroom. With distance learning, attending lectures is an activity that is conspicuously absent. If you enjoy the extra curriculum activities a conventional learning program offers, then distance learning is definitely not for you.
The tuition fee for an online distance learning program is generally higher than an on-campus tuition structure. In reality, the cost of running an online program can exceed and usually does, a campus program. But of course, this is not the case for every online distance learning program.
Several distance learning courses still require that you come to the college at least twice in the duration of the course. Once when you’re starting out, to pay up, do the registration, and matriculate. The other time is to receive your certificate when the course is over. A few institutions also insist that you write your final exams on the college grounds, but that can be understood.
One must be certain of, and confident in, the level of accreditation that an institution offers for distance learning. Some have limited authorization while others are outright shams. On the Net, though, you might not be able to tell the difference, and you could end up with a diploma that will not get you anywhere.
There was a time when radio and television were all that were available for distance education students. Another medium was the telephone, but this was widely unpopular because of high costs. Since the Internet, fostering distance education hasn’t been that much of a problem. It offers cheaper means to the same ends, and faster.
There simply is no way to be 100% certain that students do not cheat in tests. Sometimes they are caught and severely punished, but this does not deter the obstinate ones. In distance learning, several attempts have been made and are still ongoing to solve the problem, but it persists. Colleges settle for techniques that show promise, and satisfy them for the moment.
Some people will excel in a distance learning program while others will fail woefully. Your success in a distance learning program ultimately depends on how much you are willing to make it work. If you are too busy to invest some time, you may not be able to create the time to engage in a distance learning program.
A lot of audio and video cassettes have been used in the past. One daunting fact that limited them was their cost and bulk. Electronic technology has PDAs, mp3 players, etc., today that continue to proliferate distance learning in a way that is bigger than what used to avail through the course of the three centuries the practice has been on. Everybody can now do distance learning without breaking their backs.
