Distance Education: Merits and Demerits

Table of Contents

What is Distance Education?

As the name suggests, distance education is the study in which the students can continue and complete their course sitting at a distant place. It is a mode of education in which the students need not to be in confrontation with the teacher. When you adopt distance education you can study even at your home. You can study your favorite subjects and earn a degree while earning or doing other activities. All this is possible only with the help of technology. It has been making every aspect of life simpler and productive.

The students who are enrolled in distance education courses are taught via recorded classes. Some universities also schedule live classes for their distant students.

How to enroll in a distant education program?

Enrollment in any distance education program is quite like the process of filing application for a regular degree or course. Documents to be submitted are same in both the cases. The major difference in the two modes of education is their deadline. Most of the universities have a time limit for the students to file applications for the full-time courses which is not, in case of distance education. In most of the universities, distance education invites whole year enrollment of students unlike the traditional degree.

When the students complete the initial stages of applying for a distant program, they need to wait for a revert from the concerned university. If their application has been selected, then they are all set to study and attain a bachelor’s or master’s degree from the university of their choice.

Benefits

Apart from the freedom of learning while being at a distant place, distance education serves various other advantages to the students.

• Students can revise the lectures which are delivered to them online or in the form of DVDs. Also, some universities supply text of the content covered in the videos and to make it easy for the students to understand every concept clearly and it helps the students in brushing up their skills. This is done when the professors assign the students essay or assignment writing tasks.

Sometimes, the students don’t get enough time to work on their academic tasks as they are busy in their jobs. In such a case, they may choose to avail, ‘write my essay’ services.

• If you hesitate to speak in the classroom and find sharing of thoughts hard, then, you should go for distance courses. The mode gives you a space.

• It is a platform which provides education to students without any physical judgements.

• Cybernetic communication takes place between the students when they are assigned a group activity like projects. They can use emails of the other students as a communication source to work in a team.

• It is easy on pocket as compared to the fee of traditional degrees.

• The students can devote more time to their interested field and concept. They can conduct a research on it.

Pre-requisites-

• Updated technology- Technology is advancing itself in all the spheres of life with every past minute. Education is also witnessing renewed elevations, so, keeping up with them is indispensable. So, the institute which offers distance courses to the students should be configured with the latest technical equipment.

• Well-trained teachers- Faculty should be trained to use the tools. Proper involvement of the teacher should be there in the planning systems.

Detriments-

• Technology dependent: Distance education works best with the best technology. The concerned academy as well as the students need to have an expanded technology.

• Higher level of ignorance: When students are not watched over by anyone and they know there is no burden of attending classes regularly, then procrastination attitude and lack of discipline take over their mind.

• List of compatible courses is short: Not all the courses can be opted via distance education.

• Considered ignorable: Students with regular degrees are given preference over them who have obtained it using the distant mode of education.

• Indirect Contact with Faculty: Students are deprived of face-to-face meeting and doubt clearing session with their mentors. They need to find another way out to solve their queries.

• Students lack social interaction- Face to face conversation and the experience of being in the classroom is what the students miss.

“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”- Albert Einstein

If you do not just want a stamp that you have this and that degree but, want to learn something new then all the disadvantages will automatically disappear and your focus would be on gaining education.

So keeping in mind all the advantages and disadvantages, you can choose whether to pursue a degree with distance learning or not. A lot also depends on the kind of professional field you wish to enter and pursue.