Report on Distance Learning Programs

It seems that for nearly every type of educational setting and educational need, there is some distance learning solution. Correspondence courses date all the way back to the 1700's 1 , attaining popular use through the Rural Free Delivery program in the 19th Century 2 . With the development of film and eventually television, technology began to be more and more important to the delivery of distance education courses. Eventually, the use of the Internet opened up broader, newer markets for distance delivery.

There are a number of very different, very specific types of distance education providers. There are those providers who market their programs for those in need of professional development. Programs such as OnlineLearning.net, Illinois Online Network and the Connected University seem to target professionals who need to learn a specific set of skills. OnlineLearning.net, an extensive of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and part of the Online Higher Education Division of Sylvan Learning Systems, provides program certificates, professional designations and awards for teachers. These programs essentially allow teachers to receive professional development that may allow them to seek opportunities outside their area of expertise or to upgrade their current positions, etc. These programs are best suited for teachers, who want or need to develop in their professional areas.

Another type of program is the corporate university program, such as those offered by Capella University and the University of Phoenix. This distance education opportunity is a business approach to education directed at professionals who wish to “improve their professional value” 3 . The concept here is to provide opportunities for adults who are already working, to earn a degree at their own pace, without having to give up their jobs or travel distances to participate in classes. The University of Phoenix works in a similar manner, but also allows students to participate in courses on live campuses as well as taking programs completely over the Internet.

Universities have, for some time now, have been providing distance learning opportunities for students who are unable to attend traditional school settings. Penn State, for example, has been involved with correspondence courses since 1892. Typically, the mission of university programs offering distance-learning opportunities is to provide opportunities to earn degrees to students who cannot otherwise attend the university. For some universities this is to develop a broader student body and others, such as the university of Alabama do so to provide a service to students who are removed from the university through distance or economics.

The University of Alabama serves students in rural areas who cannot travel to the main campus or cannot afford the expenses of a residential university experience, or who are working to support themselves or their families and cannot afford to stop working to pursue a university experience.

Correspondence courses, the Internet and other distance learning opportunities have even allowed people to receive personal development and enrichment experiences. It is possible to learn to cook gourmet meals, paint with watercolors, or play a musical instrument via distance learning. Such online sites as Barnes and Noble have begun to offer these programs via the Internet. These opportunities are mostly directed at people who simply want to learn a new skill or improve an old one for their own personal edification.

Any learning opportunity that one is presented with has educational value. The important factor in evaluating these different program types really lay in the needs of the student involved. There is a certain value to the interaction that occurs between humans in a “real-time” setting. As individuals there are eachers and students that may do as equally well, or poorly, in a distance education setting. There are many people who do not have the skills to interact well with others, some can do well in person, some can do well online, some are not strong at either and of course some are skilled in both.

A “bad” teacher in person is definitely worse for the student than having no physical interface with a distance-learning program.

There are many concerns that arise when discussing distance learning. Most importantly is the validity that can be given to the honors earned through the program. One can question if the student did the work or had someone else complete the work. It is also argued that distance-learning programs require less rigorous work than traditional programs. Assessment, evaluation, academic honesty, academic value all are easier to question with distance learning, regardless of the poor quality of many traditional programs and teachers. Perhaps, not having a "face" to go with the course makes it easier to attack.

It appears that the higher the level of the program, the more value is placed on traditional settings. To learn to paint via a correspondence makes one question the program less than earning a PhD in nuclear physics. Interesting enough, we can find many people who have been successful with a correspondent course in art who are not very good artists, and we can meet many individuals with degrees from Harvard Business School who have not had success in business (not to belittle Harvard).

A hybrid of distance learning and residential programs needs to be investigated. An ideal program would consist of distance-learning methods combined with residential requirements, perhaps with students presenting projects that incorporate all aspects of the class being taken. This has been explored in a number of programs and needs to be further researched.

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•	Report on Distance Learning Programs