Distance Education: Is a Virtual Classroom for You?

Part 4 of 4

Emphasis on the written world

Most of the communication, as well as the course work, in distance-learning classes is written. That’s a plus, because the focus on the written word gives you the opportunity to develop as a writer—and strong writing skills are essential to academic success. However, if writing is a serious weakness for you, virtual learning may not be the best educational option until you improve your skills. Yes, most of distance education is the written word; therefore, you need to be a good reader, love to read, and love writing also. Most of your assignments will be written and submitted to the instructor in the written format. Your penmanship needs to be excellent, spelling great, sentence structure above average, vocabulary extraordinary. You need to have online access with reliable equipment. If your Internet communications at home isn’t working, you can’t do online education from home and will need to go to someplace where you do have access to the Internet.

Decide Whether It’s Right for you

Distance education isn’t for everyone, but it just might be for you. You really should seek it out and give it a try. You never know until you try. You might even fall in love with distance education. While distance education may be the perfect alternative for some students, it’s not the right choice for everyone. So carefully consider your unique needs and interests and give distance education a try; then, decide it is right for you.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!

Distance Education: Is a Virtual Classroom for You?

Part 3

Challenging Aspects of Distance Education

·        Lack of in-person interaction: Some educators argue that both teacher-student and student-student contact are essentials to learning. in a distance-learning classroom, you may be able to participate in class discussions online in chat rooms, message boards or Web conferences—but it’s not the same as being with other students in a classroom.

·        Different levels of quality: Many distance-education programs supply an excellent learning experience, but others may not. Research ant program before signing on to make sure it’s rigorous enough. If you are choosing your own program, look into its accreditation before enrolling.

·        The need to self-start: Distance education lets you make your own schedules. If you have a hard time getting motivated, this might not be the ideal educational setting for you

CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!