Universities haven't been around forever, so obviously people have been learning without them for a while. Though I agree that those four elements are extremely important for a career in Academia or as a research scientist outside of Academia, if you only plan to climb Corporate America's ladders, distance education is an accepted method of education for many employers. Ultimately it all boils down to what you plan to do with the education.

Yeah, I wasn't thinking of high school students or certification exams or fake diplomas. The first statement was just there for the sake of showing that the bullets aren't necessary to receive an education. And I was thinking more along the lines of accredited institutions like the University of Phoenix Online that offer MBAs (as a popular example).

I had a class that was partially online. The cons were that I occasionally missed things that scrolled by in the open chats, and without body language, one does miss meanings sometimes.

On the other hand, I was really, REALLY relieved not to drive 90 minutes after a full day of work just to turn in papers and pick up a new assignment.

Therefore, even though I would miss out on the interactions with other students, given half a chance I would take a fully-online set of classes just to spare myself the lost travel time and gas prices, considering them adequate reimbursement for what I was giving up.

i have done traditional distance learning (though, not since high school), and i have done "regular" classwork with required internet-based interaction, and i have done internet-based coursework, and (of course), i have done traditional classwork.

of the options, i honestly had more interaction with my fellow students as a whole with the high-internet component coursework (beit mailing lists for everyone's use or something like webct's forums).

for the most part, traditional classes don't have very many opportunities to interact on a consistent basis with other individuals - and those that i've had that did tended to have required out-of-class, professor-assigned groups. because my engineering department was HUGE and i wasn't on the "recommended" graduation plan, i rarely had classes with the same people, and when i did, there had been so little interaction that i didn't know them well enough to gauge if they'd be acceptable study partners. and when i DID have study partners, we rarely discussed the content of the class in more broad terms (usually, it was specific things we were working on or were having issues understanding)

with the internet components, there was this great actual *discussion* on the subject matter. linking it to real world applications, linking it to theory, linking it to philocophy. i have to say, i understood those classes to a greater level than the traditional classes.



while the all-focused-on-academics environment is hard to replicate, most of the other environmental factors are really non-existant. between things like scholar and other meta search engines, goldrush and other online publications, and the more traditional library and their exchanges, the resources to outside knowledge are roughly equivalent. sure, you may have to wait an extra two or three days to get that book on why escher liked black paint (or whatever esoteric thing that municipal libraries may not have), but books can travel, and journal articles be found online (either in full text or purchasable) or copied or travel.



for me, the hardest part about the distance ed classes is that i'm a audio/visual thinker & learner. it's very hard for me to explain what i'm having problems with or to understand what's going on without the aid of pictures and diagrams and graphs and charts. as far as note-taking is concerned, that's usually not a problem (and in fact, the non-real time distance learning courses are great that way because i had the opportunity to rewind if i missed something being said because i was focusing on what was being written), but trying to explain how you're nto *seeing* things verbally in emails, even when they're explaining it over and over, is very frustrating - and ultimately, i'd end up going over to their office (during office hours or by appointment) to get that straightened out. of course, that's a problem with traditional classes, but usually in those cases, it's easier to go find the prof or ta to get things hammered out :)

Whilst I have courses done in college setting, I've actually completed two courses by Distance Education.

The first course was Payroll Administration.
There was one weekend where you had the opportunity to meet up with other students but I was unable to make that. I had no problems with the course, the college were there for any questions I rang about and the course notes I received were very well laid out and written. I was doing this job on a dail basis for about 2 years before I went about having a qualification in it.

The second course was Local Government Studies.
There were four tutorials held over the year and you had to attend at least 3 of them to be allowed sit the final exam. You also had to complete an assignment each time. There were a few of us in my employment doing this together and it never felt like you were studying alone.

While I like the fact it let me work at my pace and allow for periods where I needed to adjust my study schedule.

However, for a course where maybe I would not have as much prior knowledge I would definitely prefer a more structured sessions and timetable. It does help hearing other people's view points and questions, it certainly make you think more. And it offers more motivation.

If I was offered a course now and a choice on which mode of study I would prefer, it would definitely be classroom based.

I haven't actually done any distance learning as of yet, though I am currently considering it. I was thinking of doing my Masters in Library Science online. I really have no desire to go back to school physically while I'm trying to work full time.

I don't see anything wrong with distance learning, I think it opens up opportunities for people who are already in the workforce. Most of the people I know who have done online courses have been either trying to finish up an abandoned degree or working on a Masters.

I don't think it is the best way to go for all learning. I'm very happy that I actually went to college for 4 years, it was fun and I loved it and I think everyone should have the experience of working with people, because you will have to work with people someday!

1) There's undoubtedly a lot lost in a distance-learning environment

2) Some of my regular lecture courses have an online forum where students can participate in discussions. Sometimes, those discussions get quite interesting. Certainly more and better interaction than you normally get among students in a giant lecture class.

3) Can distance-learning actually be WORSE than no learning at all?

I have taken distance education courses in the past through the BC Open University and Simon Fraser University and would do it again in a heartbeat. I work full time and don't have the time to take off during the day to attend a class. Distance education/correspondence is a great way for some people to further their education/career and still be able to meet their other commitments & responsibilities. It makes higher learning available for those who may not afford to attend a "proper" university classroom or must working for a living while working on their degree. Universities & colleges are generally centered in large metropolitan areas, too far away for those who live in more remote areas and find they can't leave, for example due to family reasons.

As for whether a degree earned through this method is as good as one earned in-house, many reputable and accredited universities offer courses and degrees through distance learning in addition to the standard classroom settings. So long as the courses follow the same curriculum and have the same requirements as the in-house courses, etc, they are equal. The distance ed instructor is often also a lecture hall instructor.

The main difference is you set your own hours for the distance ed course. Some students find that distance ed is more difficult as it is easy to put the books up on a shelf and forget about them. Others appreciate being able to complete a coursework in half the time, working at their own speed. Still others, like me, can't stand smarmy know-it-all classmates and am glad not to have to suffer them in person. One of the distance courses I took (in 1995), did have an email "tutorial" list, so one could interact with other students, put heads together, help each other out, etc.

There needs to be more distance education opportunities, not fewer. To be opposed to extending education to more people wherever they may be is nothing short of academic snobbery.

IMHO of course.

Tegrity has a low bandwith option where you can hear the goings-on, like the professor explaining the stuff and handling questions while the slides are shown in another window. I found this option very useful. Having a video feed of the professor delivering the lecture didn't add much.

It gave me the best of both worlds: I took the class at my convenience + I caught the nuances/gotchas of the subject by not missing out on the questions asked in class.