In the contemporary society, distance learning has been an integral part of the learning process and in many cases has taken precedence over the traditional practices in learning. For the most part, the traditional on-campus learning centers have dominated the education system in the past. The technique of teaching and learning by establishing long and established techniques of on-campus formal meetings that allows for the delivery of the course and enabling dialogue with students and teachers. The advent of online course has changed the course of delivering course content as technology creates new opportunities for students to learn. Distance learning offers similar strategies of learning as students engage in virtual classrooms to learn the content of these courses. While the delivery of the course content has caused much controversy, both distance and traditional educational programs provide students with quality education.
Sheila Tucker argues that “distance education is becoming a more vital part of the higher education” (Tucker 2001, 1) as majority of the American universities now offers distance learning programs. In addition, Tucker suggests that these distance education programs are more likely to reach a wider student audience, saves money and make use of the facets of modern learning pedagogy (Tucker 2001). The major difference between distance learning and the traditional means of learning lies in the delivery of the course content. Distance learning classrooms take place online and students make use of these sessions. The content of the course material is similar in many respects and students are expected to complete the same number of credits within a specified time frame. In contrast, Traditional learning takes places within the confines of the classroom and students follow a structured setting where teachers utilize the traditional technique of teaching in an on-campus classroom. Critics may argue that online courses are not as efficient as the traditional method of teaching, but the truth is that the benefits of distance education allows students enjoy the benefits of learning within the comforts of their homes or their comfort zones. Of course, every student despite their ages wants to be comfortable while they are learning.
Some institutions offer online courses and students are allowed to experience the virtual classroom as they are connected with professors who are not physically in their place of learning. Nonetheless, much of the traditional learning takes place within a structured timeframe and students participate in labs, lectures, study groups and take exams. In essence, traditional learning can be seen as a more formal and structured setting that promotes visual contact with other students and their professors and hands-on sessions. The use of online programs is not new to the United States education program as distance learning has been around since the last century. But, the changes in technology allows for various online methods that have somewhat improve the delivery of online courses through distance education. The truth is that the ultimate goal of the society is to educate the members. Therefore, there should be no quarrels about the method of delivery as long as each program meets the criteria for the content of each program.
The truth is that distance learning programs can be as effective as traditional learning programs as the courses are delivered through webinars, asynchronous lectures, live streaming lectures, content management systems, and PowerPoint presentations. Interaction with lecturers and other students occur by way of message boards, emails, Face book and other chat rooms. But, this does not make the learning process less efficient. In fact, some students may prefer the distance learning programs because these programs allow for the viewing of lectures, study at their personal pace; take care of their families, and the convenience of taking an exam. The traditional programs are more structured and students face intense pressure when they have to meet specific deadlines. Still, there are distance educational programs that are structured in stringent ways as the traditional programs and students are expected to participate in “real-time” lectures at specific times and complete exams and assignments within specific time frames. Similar to traditional programs, distance education programs over access to the curricula, educational staff at the convenient venues and with expert training (Shachar & Neumann 2003)
In concluding, distance educations programs provide increased accessibility to more resources that can facilitate learning. Students are now required to have access to a greater deal of technology than traditional programs. Traditional programs require students to own relevant software and a computer or laptop, but distance programs as students need daily access to the Internet and their emails, a number of hardware and soft ware programs and headsets and web cameras. But, the cost of these items is relatively low when compared to the exorbitant tuition fees of the traditional programs. Despite these differences in the access to learning programs, the ease and comfort of learning and the lower financial costs, distance learning programs provide similar course content as traditional programs. The harsh reality is that the world is changing and the methods of delivering education must also change to suit the personal and public demands o students who wish to pursue higher education.
References
Shachar, Mickey & Neumann, Yoram, (2003) Differences between Traditional and Distance
Education Academic Performances: A Meta-analytic approach, International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning: Advancing research, theory, and practice in open and distributed learning, Vol. 4, No. 2 (2003) Athabasca University, An OER Article Database, ISSN 1492 – 3831
Tucker, Sheila, Distance Education: Better, Worse, Or As Good As Traditional Education?
(2001) Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume IV, Number IV, Winter 2001, State University of West Georgia, Distance Education Center, Web. pp. 1 – 3 Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu 19 Feb 2016
