Technology advancements, especially in telecommunications, have greatly changed most features of life, either personal or public. The use of internet has had a significant impact on how information is transferred in academics as well as in non-academic fields such as in commerce. As a result of this transformation in the telecommunication industry, many institutions of higher learning globally have explored new methods of availing education to its students. Consequently, distance learning has become a popular mode of learning over traditional one (Simonson & Zvacek, 2014).
Distance learning refers to a form of higher education where lessons are offered online (Lim et al., 2014). This form of education allows students to take their lessons without being in class physically. The only difference between distance learning and traditional education is the mode of content delivery, whereby for the later, students attend classrooms for face-to-face lectures from their professors. Research has been carried out by various scholars to identify the benefits and shortcomings of both distance and traditional education, with the emphasis being on the quality. Many people have always questioned the quality of distance learning in contrast with the one experienced by students who are enrolled in traditional education programs.
Based on the assessments that have been carried out so far, quality of both distance and traditional education emerges to be a major concern to the majority of those who have been interviewed (Green, 2014).However, assessing the quality of the two modes of education differs significantly since their modes of delivery also differ. For distance learning, one quality assessment tool is the mode of discussion which is basically through texts only. On the other hand, traditional education discussions are normally done verbally (Meyer, 2014).
Another significant difference in quality assessment of the two modes of education is the learning environment. For distance education, the learning environment is generally web-based while traditional one is the classroom-based environment. Interaction is also another important aspect that differs considerably in quality assessment of the two modes of education (Meyer, 2014). For traditional education, the discussion is done through a face-to-face interaction between the teacher and students as well as amongst students. For distance education, the face-to-face classroom interactions are replaced by discussion boards, online chats, emails and also electronic communiqué boards.
Conclusively, based on students performance of the two education modes there is no significant difference between the two (Meyer, 2014). We can, therefore, conclude that no mode of education between the two is superior to another in terms of quality, they complement each other in the students who are limited by factors such as distance and job requirements can still pursue their higher education through distance learning.
References
Green, D. (2014). What is quality in higher education?.
Lim, D. H., Morris, M. L., & Kupritz, V. W. (2014). Online vs. blended learning: Differences in instructional outcomes and learner satisfaction.
Meyer, K. A. (2014). Quality in Distance Education: Focus on On-Line Learning. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report. Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series.
Simonson, M., & Zvacek, S. (2014). Teaching and learning at a distance. Information Age Pub.
