Distance Learning in Higher Ed (Section 2 Activity)

The U.S. Department of Education’s, National Center for Education Statistics reported in 2008 that of all 4,200 U.S. higher education institutions, 66% of them offered distance education courses. These distance education courses included online and hybrid modes of delivery. The sampling of this mode of delivery was “all postsecondary institutions that were Title IV degree granting” and public 2-year and 4-year institutions topped the scale at 97% and 89% respectively.

Statistics aside, the number of online learners continues to grow in leaps and bounds. Some of the reasons online learning is ever expanding are:

• anytime/anywhere access to coursework
• working adults and parents can continue their education in their free time
• individuals residing in rural areas can save the expense and time of travel to and from school

Since I’ve mentioned some of the positive attributes of online learning I feel obligated to also note some of it’s less than positive ones:

• no synchronous interaction with piers or instructors (unless tools such as Skype are used)
• no lecture from the instructor (unless lecture capture is performed)
• not knowing your instructor or classmates like in face-to-face
• the internet occasionally crashes

Online learning can be a rewarding way to earn a degree or continue one’s education for people who have basic computer skills and can manage their time wisely. Online learning is not only for credit or degree earning purposes. For my own online learning personal enrichment I visit the following sites to keep up on what is going on in Distance Learning and IT:

• FeedBlitz [feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com]
• Faculty Focus [ezine@facultyfocusmail.com]
• Inside Higher Ed [newsroom@news.insidehighered.com]
• Academic Impressions [events@academic-impressions.com]
• IT Trends [CampusTechnology@1105Newsletters.com]

Coupled with the training I’ve received on the job and the formal courses I’ve completed, visiting the above websites keeps me informed.