Education At A Distance Is Close At (The Electronic) Hand

By Claudine SchWeber



Get your head out of the sand if you still think distance education means correspondence courses. There are many more exciting and advantageous forms of distance education today, but it is increasingly becoming synonymous with online education — and for good reason. The number of students in online classes doubled from 753,000 to 1.6 million from 1995 to 1998, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

“While classroom teaching has been around for thousands of years, online learning is still in its infancy,” said Frank Mayadas, president of the Sloan Consortium, which awards grants to institutions for online learning initiatives.

“The World Wide Web has undeniably changed the face of higher education, most notably distance learning,” said Gerald Heeger, president of University of Maryland University College (UMUC), the winner of the Sloan Consortium’s first Institution-Wide Award in web-based education. “The technology revolution has morphed the revision at Internet speed, taking multitudes of learners in Generations X and Y along with it.”

So, why is online education so popular, with nearly 2 million U.S. students taking courses online?



Don’t be shy online. You can’t be.

It’s certainly not popular because it’s easier than a traditional-classroom course. Online education isn’t easier. In fact, students report that they must work harder and interact much more frequently with their fellow students and professors than in their onsite classes. (This is due, in part, to the “YuCH factor”: You Can’t Hide online, everyone is expected to participate much more.) E-learning is more interactive than a traditional classroom, enabling all those people who didn’t raise their hands to speak up and be heard.

Online education is hot because, like today’s technology, our lives are progressing at warp speed. No one can afford to waste any more time or resources commuting on beltways than absolutely necessary.



Age doesn’t matter, in class or in front of it.

Online education is for students of all ages. For high school students, virtual courses provide access to resources and projects that prepare them for the real world, such as the courses provided by the Kentucky Virtual High School (www.kvhs.org). Virtual courses provide opportunities to increase participation of under-served K-12 students (www.challenge.state.la.us) and enable many to complete work, which might have been interrupted due to a long illness. Maryland K-12 Online, the state’s virtual high school, plans to open in fall 2002 with 350 virtual seats (www.mdk12Online.org).

E-learning also provides professional development opportunities for teachers. They can find online resources (www.classroom.com, www.umuc.edu/virtualteaching) and network like they never imagined.

According to research conducted by RAND, a nonprofit think tank, and the National Telecommunication and Information Association, the lack of exposure to and competency in information and computer technologies compromises students’ ability to succeed in school and in the emerging digital economy. To foster technological literacy among K-12 students, teachers must be trained to keep up with their tech-savvy students.

Gone are the days when older students felt uncomfortable mingling with younger ones. Though even in traditional classrooms that’s no longer true, in online education, age is insignificant. Retirees pursue degrees online and some even decide to teach online to supplement their retirement income.



Some aspect of e-learning will be incorporated in every college course.

Online education has revolutionized distance education because e-learning enables learners to use their time more efficiently. Online students can participate in class during their lunch hour at the office, before or after work, and, some young mothers say, at 2 a.m., when their babies get them up, anyway. Even students living on campus choose to take some courses online. Some aspect of e-learning is incorporated — or soon will be — in every college course.

Online learning in Maryland and nationwide is growing dramatically. The MarylandOnline portal is a consortium that offers many options for citizens to get their college degrees (www.marylandonline.org). UMUC, a member of MarylandOnline, has approximately 70 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs online. Because of this expertise and the university’s attention to adult students, the Maryland Higher Education Commission projects that UMUC enrollment stateside will nearly triple by 2010.

Be it the costs of a college residency, a full-time job, or an impossible commute, increasing numbers of online learners say getting a degree today the traditional way simply isn’t an option. Even those who prefer traditional classrooms need not wait in lines since many colleges offer online student services. Students can apply for admission online, register for classes, access more databases than you can imagine and even order books or college sweatshirts.

Not surprisingly, one of the fastest growing segments of the online student population is full time working adults and for them the options are almost endless. In today’s economy, very few wage earners would consider giving up their job to pursue a college education and there’s no need to do so when courses are so easily available. Options range from getting whole degrees online or just courses or one-year certificate programs. These are popular with increasing numbers of working adults who may want to change fields or just add a new dimension or expertise to their current career. Often credits earned for certificate programs can be applied toward four-year degrees.

Research is underway to remove barriers to online education for people with disabilities, so this new-age delivery should be accessible to all lifelong learners. In short, there are fewer limitations and excuses for not continuing or getting your education. Nowadays, fulfilling the dream of an education is as close as your modem.



Claudine SchWeber is associate provost, Distance Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Maryland University College and the first Fulbright Senior Specialist on Distance Education. She can be reached at 1-800-888-UMUC or www.umuc.edu.