Week 13: Distance Education and Virtual School

This week we talked about distance education and its influence on  education and society. We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of distance education verse in-classroom education.

What does it mean to be a Gator? Can you be a Gator and not take UF classes on the UF campus? In reality, it probably doesn’t make that much of a difference when you're looking for a job. Your degree doesn’t specify whether it was online or not. But there is something special about being on campus. There’s something special about being around 50,000 other Gator fans.  Socially, you can’t compare the two. Education, however, is hard to measure. In today’s world it’s much easier to take online classes and that is generally an accepted thing. I think a lot of it depends on the classes and the major. Some classes, like science or journalism classes, would be better taught in the classroom rather than over the Internet.

Despite how much it has taken off, though, distance education is still being developed throughout society. It’s still something people are kind of iffy on.  However, some distance education classes can be used in really great ways. When I first started as a journalism student, I had a hard time getting the hang of some of my reporting classes. So, I took free online courses with the Poynter Institute. The Poynter Institute is not necessarily as school, but it’s a good example of how I have been able to use online classes to improve my skills as a journalist. The classes I have taken have been very good and helped a lot, which says a lot about how good online classes and distance education can be.

But just because I had some online success with class doesn’t mean they are all great. As we talked about in class, it is still an area very much up for debate; they each have pros and cons. A chapter, Benefits of Distance Learning, in A Teacher’s Guide to Distance Learning, provides a great look at some of the benefits for distance learning from a teacher’s perspective. We always look at the students when discussing whether distance education is beneficial or not, but what about teachers feelings on distance education? Check out the article for more details. Another article on QuintCareers.com provides a great list of distance education pros and cons. Both articles really show some of the drawbacks and benefits of distance education, so check out both for more details.