Introduction The world has witnessed an increase in the delivery of online learning in an attempt to meet the rapidly increasing demand for higher education. While this is a positive transformation for students on a global scale, the many domestic and international regulations that exist have created numerous obstacles to access. The emerging market of online learning across borders has triggered many nations to enact legislation to ensure rules are followed and the transfer of such services are regulated. While many of these regulations are in place to protect institutions and students, they have also created barriers to open access on a global scale. This paper will investigate the benefits of offering open and distance learning and also the barriers that have emanated as a result of the existing regulatory frameworks.
Rationale & Benefits of Global Distance Education There are various motivations for institutions to provide higher education to students both domestic and international. In 2013, the United States alone hosted 21% of all international students studying abroad, accounting for more than 819,000 students on college and university campuses (Detter & Fölster, 2016). However, not every student seeking a higher education outside of his or her home country has the ability to study abroad due to multiple limitations such as costs, travel and visa restrictions, and personal responsibilities. Distance education has the ability to bridge that gap and provide
Bediako Asare, K. Looking Beyond the Residential Education and Distance Education Debate, What Matters in Education Is…Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (TOJDE). July 2014: 15(3): 143-154.
We, as humans, fear the unknown, and change is after often at the root of our fears. One of the greatest catalysts for change is today’s rapid technological development, but the concept of traditional education has always been the same. Even that is changing, and as to be expected, there is a substantial amount of fear and apprehension towards distance education. With this, students are presented the chance to overcome of a
“Can You Be Educated from a Distance,” an insightful essay by James Barszcz, brings to focus some of the benefits and disadvantages of Distance Learning education (DL). In it, Barszcz discusses the mechanics of DL courses available to students, the quality of education DL can offer, and some reasoning behind its rapidly growing popularity. “Can You Be Educated from a Distance” is an engaging article that students of all ages can benefit from.
Online degrees are becoming an ever more trendy method to receive a college education and many students are switching to online education due to the quality of material, ease, and the level of flexibility in distance education programs. Recently, the internet has developed into a reliable capital of information for college seekers. Everything from applying for financial assistance to taking a course can be done online. Now, a student can even obtain online degrees from one of many schools offering online education as a practical choice to a traditional classroom education. There’s a load of information regarding online education, and distance education is becoming increasingly popular for students everywhere.
The authors analyzed statistics of online learning to determine what they mean. They looked at the growth of online options in institutions. They also compared online learning with traditional learning to determine if it was as effective.
Setting up a Distance Learning Task Force is necessary to assess university resources, and student needs (Hillman & Corkery, 2010). This will allow administration to have all the facts needed to decide on a path. Task Force determines the expansiveness of the online program and the courses implemented (Hillman & Corkery, 2010). Departmental head’s research will navigate the universities decisions. Students take classes towards specific degrees, which the Task Force identifies. Priority of classes should focus on gaps in regionally based education (Hillman & Corkery, 2010). The Task Force efforts in developing a rationale has an effect on university
Barriers have prevented students all over the world from attending college or receiving a quality education, the kind that not only teaches the basics, but also teaches critical thinking and encourages life long learners and a world citizen philosophy. I believe everyone should be able to get a quality education and the fact that higher education has become so expensive and unattainable is a disgrace. The University of the People’s model of tuition free online education is an example of disruptive innovation that is moving us toward a more globalized system of higher learning. Advances in software and internet communication provide the framework to support a collaborative online learning network that crosses boarders and economic classes. Should this model prove successful and gain traction in the mainstream, it has the potential of making brick and mortar schools, as we know them obsolete.
For the years, many individuals have decided to pursue their education via distance learning. Distance learning has given individuals the opportunity to learn and study course material at their own pace. Distance learning offers many advantages. First, many enjoy the convenience of distance learning that works around their schedule. Second, distance learning offers flexibility to learners with no set time to complete assignments and readings. A leaner is the master of their own schedule and can choose a time that works best for them (Study magazine). Lastly, the cost of distance learning is often cheaper than traditional education, with no added expenses.
The United States has always been a main attraction for international students to gain intellectual knowledge, technical skills, cross-cultural experience, and better opportunities for professional development (Han, Han, Luo, Jacobs, & Jean-Baptiste, 2013; Zhang & Goodson, 2010). According to the Institute of International Education (2017), in the academic year of 2015/2016, there was an increase of 7% in the number of international student pursuing higher education in the United States over the previous year with total international students of 1,043,839 and 5.2% representing the total of U.S College enrollment. International students make higher education one of the largest service sector exports in the United States (Rice, Choi, Zhang, Morero, & Anderson, 2012; Zhang & Goodson, 2010). They are regarded as a vital financial commodity for countries
“In 2006 to 2007, according to the data compiled by the Institute of International Education, 582,984 students from all over the world were enrolled in American colleges and universities in a wide range of fields” (Carter, Paragraph 2, 2008). The United States has the highest number of students who are coming to study abroad than any other countries. Each year, the number of international students coming to the United States to obtain degrees is increasing by thousands, and home countries of these students are primarily India, China and Korea, all located in the whole different continent. But what are the motives of students who are crossing the sea to study? Their goal of studying abroad is to experience diversity and to adapt attitudes
Distance education is about increasing access, not saving money. The technical, logistical and support costs can be very high. Therefore, the financial aspects must be considered.
Non-traditional students are finding it easier and easier to maintain a job, a family, and pursuing a college career at the same time. This is possible because more and more non-traditional students are receiving an education using distance learning, as opposed to traditional, in-the-classroom teaching. Distance learning is basically taking college level, credit-bearing courses via the Internet. One of the most obvious advantages of distance learning is that it puts the classroom in your home, office, or wherever you can find a computer and log on to the Internet. However, there is much controversy regarding the quality of the courses being offered on the Internet versus the quality of
On the other hand, an online course permits students the option and availability to enroll in a vast array of course choices regardless of their location. In so doing, it allows a student a unique opportunity to further their education anywhere in the world. After all, if one is in the United States or on a military base in Japan students can still attain an education from their home country and in their mother tongue via the Internet. However, lessons that take place in a physical classroom are confined to that location. Thus, students situated within the nearby vicinity of the school building typically can access the instructor’s lessons. Consequently, this creates a clear disadvantage to any student residing outside of the classroom’s surrounding area.
Education is an important part of people’s lives; it will either make them or break them in the future depending on the careers they choose. Education is greatly diverse today in comparison to the 1950s because of advancements in teaching and other great inventions that provide easier techniques of teaching. One major issue that has been raised is distant learning courses and online education.
Online distant learning programs help make the easy connection of students in a program connect to the more accessible home environment in a simple way. Students are now given the option of getting their education and making their own schedules, without going through a second person in an easy more efficient way. Consequently, to succeed in online courses and programs the student must have good time management, a computer or laptop, and internet connection. Also online distant learning programs are subjectively done through monologue, not our dialogue; having been previously filmed and then posted on the internet stating course information, not caring about the viewers, or if the