Global Interest Essay

Impact of Distance Education

I remember rushing to a 6pm class in graduate school; the professor would often saunter in five or ten minutes late. To make matters worse, she would keep us over to make up for it. Each time I became increasingly perturbed and frustrated especially when the other students, giddy and carefree, seemed not to care. “Why did you get so upset over a few minutes?” one might ask. The answer is because I had already worked a nine-hour day and had little patience. I didn’t want to be sitting in that hard seat listening to my instructor ramble on for three hours about something that I didn’t care about. Another reason is because many of my other classes were online, and I admittedly had become quite spoiled to the convenience that they offered—no late instructors, no traffic, no hassles. Today many people are recognizing the advantages to distance or “online” education. Not only are classes offered over the Internet, but virtual degrees are a reality. A couple of questions I intend to answer via my research are 1) what are the advantages/disadvantages to taking online courses? 2) How many students are adapting to the technology and choosing the virtual classroom over the traditional? My research will help me as an instructor to better understand the needs of the “professional” or busy student. My results will provide information for other instructors and for students who are unsure about distance education and whether it is right for them.

Keywords
· Distance education
· Distance learning
· Online education
· Online colleges
· Virtual classroom
· Internet classes
· Hybrid classes

Title: Journal of Technology Education
Web address: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/
Description: This site compiled by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University offers a digital library and archives of education technology information. Many articles and editorials are available in both HTML and PDF format. National and global issues and studies are discussed.

Title: Directory of Schools
Web address: http://www.directoryofschools.com/
Description: This site lists online degrees, schools, and distance education programs in both the US and Canada. There are tabs to featured degrees, a school guide, and resources. New and popular online programs are discussed.

Title: Thomson Peterson’s
Web address: http://www.petersons.com/distancelearning/
Description: This site offers info on distance learning courses and programs, test preparation, and financial aid info. Catered for the working student, Peterson’s provides a distance learning self-assessment to see if it is right for you and links to popular schools.

Title: The WWW Journal of Online Education (JOE)
Web address: http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/waoe/waoej.html
Description: Provided by the World Association for Online Education, this site gives info on the organization’s activities and listservs. The site encourages creativity in online ed. and discusses cyberspace culture and cultural diversity in global communication.

Title: WorldWideLearn
Web address: http://www.worldwidelearn.com/
Description: This site claims to be the world’s largest directory of online education and truly does seem to offer more info than some of the other directories I found. There are tabs to not only programs and schools but also to business skills, career training and planning, and personal development.