The Present and Future of Distance Learning

Approximate reading time: 3m 57s

For a generation and a half, education has gone from being an expense that most families can manage or that causes them only minor difficulties, to a stage where an exceptionally large sum is paid for it, which can easily plunge students and their parents into major, long-term debt. Instead of being a driver of upward mobility, as it has been for generations, education has become the main barrier between the rich and the rest of us. Education costs are rising much faster than inflation and can be met mainly by those parents who started saving from the day their child was born. This model cannot continue along its current trajectory. The time has come for it to be interrupted. This applies largely to the IT sector, whose representatives – programmers – are always partly self-taught and, during a job interview, must demonstrate their practical skills rather than certificates for completed courses. 

Which universities have already embraced the idea of distance learning?

A number of forward-looking universities have embraced this forthcoming change toward better self-study and have begun making it possible to earn credits and degrees through distance learning. Other universities, such as MIT and Stanford, adopted the idea of offering open online courses, in which students can “attend” classes by watching recordings of the sessions, and sometimes even “attend” live. For some courses, this remote participation can even lead to earning credits. I believe that this model of distance learning and its lower cost will become the main method of higher education over the next decade. Traditional 4-year in-person education will be seen as a luxury. Computer science will most likely initiate this change, because most of these subjects do not require direct communication (unlike, for example, receiving a music education).

Web developers today also enjoy a rich assortment of online learning resources, which I will briefly review. There is no doubt that at present, every motivated student can obtain the educational equivalent of a 4-year computer science degree. In the same way, those already working in this field can expand their skills. The problem, however, lies in the fact that online courses are still in their early stage of development: the materials and the learning experience are far from ideal. The accumulated experience is often insufficient, as the courses do not provide enough for learners, and in addition offer limited opportunities to compensate for the missing elements of in-person education. This situation is gradually changing thanks to the so-called Massive online open courses (MOOCs).

Categories of distance learning

The currently available options for distance learning are divided into 3 main categories: passive learning, active learning, and blended learning, which usually includes more elements of passive learning than active learning. Each individual category offers different kinds of learning experience.
In passive distance learning, the most commonly used tool is video recording: the instructor is recorded, and the learner – watches the material at a time and place convenient for them.

The passive category can be divided into 3 subcategories:

• Lectures at universities (open courses).
• One-time lectures on a specific topic.
• Conference links. Most are free, but participation in others requires paying extremely high prices.

The early days of the educational revolution created mainly passive forms of distance learning, but gradually this model became less and less preferred. Learners who purchase courses prefer to have some form of interaction with their instructors.

"Open" online courses

Among the most active options in terms of interaction are MOOCs. Leaders in this field are Coursera, Udacity and Lynda. At Coursera, university lecturers mainly participate, and the courses include developing and grading homework assignments, which after completion lead to receiving a certificate of participation in the respective course. To join the lessons, prior registration is required, which means that in some way you have to fit the course into your schedule.

Udacity courses, on the other hand, are shorter and can be joined at any time. Joining this platform requires paying a certain amount, but in return, learners have options for interaction with instructors and for receiving a certificate of course completion. The fees for the courses are usually not high.

Finally, I will look at the mixed-type category, which mainly contains passive elements but encourages mutual interaction. A good example is LiveLessons, created by the company Pearson. To work with these online courses, you need a certain set of tools, which are often open-source. In LiveLessons, the courses are a video file with an option to download it to a personal computer. During the material, the instructor talks about the course topic while at the same time showing what is happening on their screen. This gives the learner the opportunity to repeat their actions quickly and easily. For these online courses, the use of two monitors is recommended. In this form of learning, there are no options for interaction with the instructor or other learners, so any problems that arise must be solved in the classic way: searching on Google, StackOverflow, etc.

All these solutions largely depend on the instructor's skills; and here, perhaps, lies the weak point of the system. In most cases, there is no way to know in advance whether the instructor is good enough, how useful the materials are, and what exact experience the learner should have. Prospective students still have to rely on trial and error to find the right resource. But once distance learning becomes the main educational method, this problem will be addressed and we will all benefit from the advantages of a high-quality and accessible education.

What is more, distance learning has enough tools and approaches to replace traditional learning, such as the virtual classroom. Its use can completely eliminate the need for direct communication between learner and instructor. Distance learning also includes some of the main pedagogical models: cognitive-behavioral, social-constructivist, and connectivist. The proper combination of all available elements and possibilities will certainly lead to the formation of a new, successful educational model. 

In addition to the MOOCs mentioned in the source, we can also note Lynda.com. This is a private company operating in the field of online learning. Founded in 1995 as a personal project, in 2002 it began offering online courses. As of January 2014, the Lynda website offers 2,400 courses in various educational fields: business, programming, design, photography, etc. The courses are conducted in the form of video materials, and at the end of their training, learners receive a certificate of successfully completed distance learning.

Source: http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/remote-learning-the-lay-of-the-land/240168860.