Dwyer 1

Katie Dwyer
CIEC 610
Assignment 1
February 4, 2015
Distant Learning: Pros & Cons
As we progress further into the 21st century, the way we view and define the classroom is
changing. A classroom was defined, before major innovation in technology, as a room full of
students, one teacher, books, and desks. Now, it can be one teacher with students that are all over
the country or even the world. Distance learning allows students to take courses, but not in the
traditional way. They are not stuck in a classroom and do not even have to be in the same area as
the teacher. Distance learning is a form of education that allows instruction from a teacher to a
student in different areas and even different times. It has become a very easy tool now with new
technology like the internet and computers. Teachers can use the internet to post their own
lectures, knowledge, tests, and even assignments. The student can then work on their own time to
finish what is needed for the class. With any form of education there are pros and cons with
distance learning.
The creation of the internet allowed distant learning to grow and expand into the field of
study it is today. A student can now take a class anywhere in the world as long as they have a
computer and the internet. It is simple concept of taking the information for a class and having it
at the students finger tips. They can be anywhere in the world, but can still learn just like in a
typical classroom setting. It is a faster way for students to learn on their own time, especially if
they already have a full time job. They can work on their work at their own pace or whenever
they have free time. Anything that can be done in a regular class setting can also be done in a

Dwyer 2

distant learning class, such as lectures. Students can watch a video of their professor or even
discuss topics online in a discussion board. For some students, the positive aspect on distant
learning is having the opportunity to have everything at their fingertips. Some colleges are even
trying to incorporate everything online such as the supplemental materials. In Australia,
University of Southern Queensland has a generational models remain, including printed study
materials, selected readings of journal articles and CD-ROMs (Todhunter, 2013 p.1) to
minimize cost for the student taking a distant learning class
One major flaw with distant learning is the social aspect of distant learning. If you are
taking a class where you are never actually in the same room as the teacher or the students do
you actually get to socialize? There are different ways for students to socialize with their teacher
and peers, but distant learning usually consist of telecommunication aids, like computer to
computer. Video conferencing is a vital tool that some teachers might use, but most do not. One
complaint of some students, that take online classes, is that the professor is not as involved as
they should be. Seng (2005) said, Students named having an unengaged or uninvolved
instructor as a key source of dissatisfaction. This was a review discussing the possible downfalls
of distant learning and if students actually learned anything in their classes. It depended on the
professors interaction and what the class was about.
As a result, distant learning is a very popular and growing education form. In some ways,
it is changing how we view the traditional school classroom and is, just like technology,
changing every day. Technology has allowed our students the opportunity to learn from distant
areas and its now easier for anyone to get an education that is as long as you have a computer
with internet. Distant learning does have many positive aspects, but still does have negative
feedback. With any new form of education there will always be positive and negative issues that

Dwyer 3

people will have with it. It really depends on the learner and if they can handle distant learning
features.

Dwyer 4
Works Cited
Seung, YC. (2005, December). Distance Education Retention: The SEME Model.
Recruitment &
R
Retention: in Higher Education, 19 (2), 8-9.
Todhunter, B. (2013). LOL-limitations of online learning-are we selling the open and
distance education f a
message short? Distance Education, 34. Retrieved
February 3, 2015, from EBSCO.