Currently,
to keep pace with the continually changing information technologies, it is
necessary to learn continuously. One of the forms of education is distance
learning. What is it?
Distance
learning is a way to implement the learning process, based on the use of modern
information and telecommunication technologies, allowing carrying out learning
at a distance without direct, personal contact between the teacher and the
student.
In
previous years, children who could not attend school received education at home
with the help of parents or visiting teachers. Today, the development of modern
technology allows those who wish to receive training at home to implement it
with convenience and comfort. Internet connectivity and the availability of
appropriate technical devices are all that is needed to start distance
learning.
There
are many reasons why a child cannot study in educational institutions. Here are
some of them:
The
family often changes their place of residence, moving from city to city;
The
student is additionally involved in sports and only cannot attend school on a
standard schedule;
Mastering
academic disciplines are difficult for a child;
The
student is significantly ahead of his peers in the rate of mastering the
material;
Conflict
with the teacher does not allow the child to learn the program and get good
grades calmly.
In many such cases, distance learning is an excellent alternative
to school attendance.
Distance education undoubtedly has its advantages in
comparison with traditional forms of learning:
- Higher
adaptability to the level of basic training and abilities of students, health,
place of residence, and, accordingly, better opportunities to accelerate the
process of obtaining education and improve the quality of education;
- Improving
the quality of the educational process by focusing on the use of automated
training and testing systems;
-
Accessibility for students of "cross" information, since they have
the opportunity, using computer networks, to turn to its alternative sources;
- Increasing
the creative and intellectual potential of students through self-organization,
the desire for knowledge, the ability to interact with computers and independently
make responsible decisions;
-
Pronounced practicality of learning (students can communicate directly with a
specific teacher and ask questions about what interests them most).
Thus,
the introduction of a distance learning system in educational organizations
will allow solving the following problems:
-
Education of children with special educational needs, as well as frequently ill
children;
-
Organization of remote control of students' knowledge;
-
Work with gifted children (individual advanced tasks of a higher level);
-
Assistance to students on the independent development of specific topics or
sections of the school course;
-
Support in the in-depth/profile study of subjects of interest to students.
However,
some problems and difficulties accompany the introduction of distance learning
technologies in the educational process:
•
Regulatory (payment scheme for course authors and teachers conducting classes
using DOT);
•
Pedagogical (training of new authors of distance courses and distance
teachers);
•
Technical and ergonomic (availability of high-quality access to the Internet);
•
Psycho-physiological (lack of working time to conduct distance courses during
working hours, a large workload of the teacher with current work);
• Balancing
the availability and quality of education;
•
The need to adopt the teacher to the distance form of pedagogical activity in
terms of his technical, methodological and psychological skills;
• Creating
a favorable psychological climate during training;
•
Observance of the norms and rules of network etiquette and standards of
pedagogical ethics.
To
eliminate problems when learning with the use of distance technologies, it is
essential to take into account that a student's motivation and interest play a
significant role in virtual space. Even the best and most advanced technologies,
such as informational and psychological-pedagogical, can have the opposite
effect without optimizing the educational process, so for a quality and
accessible education it is not enough just to introduce a distance education
system into the learning process, a creative approach to business is necessary;
learning activities of teachers and students. After all, learning with the use
of distance learning technologies is just a specific form of organization of
education, requiring changes in the foundations of the traditional educational
process and a revision of the principles and methods in teaching.
About
the author
Melisa Marzett is a freelance writer with ten year’s
experience in writing. She began her career working for a publishing house
before switching to freelance with different books for publishing while raising
her two younger brothers. Melisa is currently working for http://findwritingservice.com find professional writing
services here, planning to write her first book.
