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Distance Education
Distance education dates to at least as early as 1728, when "an advertisement in the Boston Gazette...[named] 'Caleb Phillips, Teacher of the new method of Short Hand" was seeking students for lessons to be sent weekly. Modern distance education initially relied on the development of postal services in the 19th century and has been practised at least since Isaac Pitman taught shorthand in Great Britain via correspondence in the 1840s. The University of London claims to be the first university to offer distance learning degrees, establishing its External Programme in 1858. This program is now known as the University of London International Programmes and includes Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Diploma degrees created by colleges such as the London School of Economics, Royal Holloway and Goldsmiths. In the United States William Rainey Harper, first president of the University of Chicago developed the concept of extended education, whereby the research university had satellite colleges of education in the wider community, and in 1892 he also encouraged the concept of correspondence school courses to further promote education, an idea that was put into practice by Columbia University. In Australia, the University of Queensland established its Department of Correspondence Studies in 1911. More recently, Charles Wedemeyer of the University of Wisconsin–Madison is considered significant in promoting methods other than the postal service to deliver distance education in America. From 1964 to 1968, the Carnegie Foundation funded Wedemeyer's Articulated Instructional Media Project (AIM) which brought in a variety of communications technologies aimed at providing learning to an off-campus population. According to Moore's recounting, AIM impressed the UK which imported these ideas when establishing in 1969 The Open University, which initially relied on radio and television broadcasts for much of its delivery.. Athabasca University, Canada's Open University, was created in 1970 and followed a similar, though independently developed, pattern. Germany's FernUniversität in Hagen followed in 1974and there are now many similar institutions around the world, often with the name Open University (in English or in the local language). All "open universities" use distance education technologies as delivery methodologies and some have grown to become 'mega-universities' a term coined to denote institutions with more than 100,000 students. The development of computers and the internet have made distance learning distribution easier and faster and have given rise to the 'virtual university, the entire educational offerings of which are conducted online.In 1996 Jones International University was launched and claims to be the first fully online university accredited by a regional accrediting association in the US. In 2006, the Sloan Consortium, a body which arguably has a conflict of interest in the matter, reported that: More than 96 percent of the very largest institutions (more than 15,000 total enrollments) have some online offerings, which is more than double the rate observed for the smallest institutions. and that almost 3.2 million US students were taking at least one online course during the fall term of 2005. A study published in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Education found that "From 2000 to 2008, the percentage of undergraduates enrolled in at least one distance education class expanded from 8 percent to 20 percent, and the percentage enrolled in a distance education degree program increased from 2 percent to 4 percent." Today, there are many private and public, non-profit and for-profit institutions worldwide offering distance education courses from the most basic instruction through to the highest levels of degree and doctoral programs. Levels of accreditation vary: some of the institutions receive little outside oversight, and some may be fraudulent diploma mills, although in many jurisdictions, an institution may not use terms such as "university" without accreditation and authorisation, often overseen by the national government - for example, the Quality Assurance Agency in the UK. In the US, the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) specializes in the accreditation of distance education institutions.
Benefits Of Distance Education.
- A huge benefit of distance education is that it meets the needs of students who might otherwise be unable to attend on-campus classes, due to distance or time constraints.
- One of the biggest distance learning benefits is the issue of flexibility and time. Because students are not confined to a classroom for a certain number of hours on a given day, they can approach their coursework with flexibility and complete lessons when it suits their schedule.
- Distance learning programs allow for increased access to learning and encourage life-long learning.
- Distance learning allows students to choose from a wider pool of academic institutions for their ongoing learning.
- Distance learning schools enjoy better marketability, which means that more students can ultimately attend them.
- Distance learning also allows for increased compensation and promotion potential.
- Another benefit of distance learning to students is the ability to do interactive teamwork between groups. Students have the opportunity to correspond with others from different backgrounds and to hear from a variety of experts from around the world.
- Students have access to experts and tremendous volume of online databases, which are also distance learning benefits. Instead of searching for hours through card catalogs and library stacks, students can quickly utilize online search engines to find countless experts' articles and research databases that can aid in their coursework.
- Instructor communication is an additional distance learning benefit. With the evolution of e-mail and Internet chat rooms, instructor-student contact can be maintained and strengthened. This fosters a better educational experience for the distance learning student.
- Have you ever had to make a special trip to campus to drop off homework assignment at two o'clock in the morning? The use of email can allow you to send your homework assignment to your professor at any time of day-safely and conveniently. What a huge benefit for distance learning students!
- Have to take a test? Your distance learning professor can securely allow you to take an exam without the need for attending a traditional classroom miles away. The use of local proctors to monitor the examination process can make the benefit of distance learning even more appealing. Many distance learning institutions require the use of proctors to maintain their accreditation.
- Financial benefits of distance learning exist as well. Without the need to leave your home to spend a semester or a year in a distant city, you can substantially save on transportation, housing, and food costs. It goes without saying that you can keep your full or part-time job, too, when you matriculate to a distance learning institution.
- There are also social benefits to distance learning. Without having to leave your community, you can maintain your personal, cultural, and social lifestyle. Your circle of comfort is maintained, reducing additional stress, as you pursue your degree
- Distance learning allows students to choose from a wider pool of academic institutions for their ongoing learning.
- Distance learning schools enjoy better marketability, which means that more students can ultimately attend them.
- Distance learning also allows for increased compensation and promotion potential.
- Another benefit of distance learning to students is the ability to do interactive teamwork between groups. Students have the opportunity to correspond with others from different backgrounds and to hear from a variety of experts from around the world.
- Students have access to experts and tremendous volume of online databases, which are also distance learning benefits. Instead of searching for hours through card catalogs and library stacks, students can quickly utilize online search engines to find countless experts' articles and research databases that can aid in their coursework.
- Instructor communication is an additional distance learning benefit. With the evolution of e-mail and Internet chat rooms, instructor-student contact can be maintained and strengthened. This fosters a better educational experience for the distance learning student.
- Have you ever had to make a special trip to campus to drop off homework assignment at two o'clock in the morning? The use of email can allow you to send your homework assignment to your professor at any time of day-safely and conveniently. What a huge benefit for distance learning students!
- Have to take a test? Your distance learning professor can securely allow you to take an exam without the need for attending a traditional classroom miles away. The use of local proctors to monitor the examination process can make the benefit of distance learning even more appealing. Many distance learning institutions require the use of proctors to maintain their accreditation.
- Financial benefits of distance learning exist as well. Without the need to leave your home to spend a semester or a year in a distant city, you can substantially save on transportation, housing, and food costs. It goes without saying that you can keep your full or part-time job, too, when you matriculate to a distance learning institution.
- There are also social benefits to distance learning. Without having to leave your community, you can maintain your personal, cultural, and social lifestyle. Your circle of comfort is maintained, reducing additional stress, as you pursue your degree
"Today, higher education is a necessity for those who wish to work and prosper in an economy that is becoming dependent not on sheer muscle power, but on brain power. Today, the workforce is rewarded for how well and how fast problems are detected and solved"
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