Distance Education Versus Online Education

The time honored debate about distance education versus conventional education has taken on new dimensions at SUNY Empire State College. There are students who feel strongly about each of these options. However, when attempting to compare which one is superior, there was a fair amount of insight recently uncovered by Reid Richards, a second-year science major partaking in the distance learning campus environment.
Richards’s experience makes for a fascinating case study because he actually started off his freshman year taking classes in the physical campus environment. However, he decided to take the remainder of his classes online due to a number of key facets of what he underwent, as well as findings that online education is superior to conventional education (Means ix).
The sophomore revealed that he prefers the overall level of sophistication to taking online courses versus those in conventional classroom settings. As a young father who is also working part time to care for his fledgling family, he appreciates the value he gets from simply getting to the roots of his education. “I actually found the classroom experience too distracting,” Richards admitted. “Students were talking while the teacher was, and were more concerned with their looks and being cool. Online, I can simply focus on the course materials.”
Richards perception is echoed by other students who work and prefer the flexibility, and autonomy of distance education. He uttered a caveat about the discipline and time management skills required to succeed in this endeavor. “The key is to remain focused,” Richards acknowledged. “For students who want to hang out on Facebook or catch the latest tweets, I wouldn’t recommend online classes. For someone who simply wants to put in their time for schoolwork during unconventional hours, this option is the best.”
Works Cited
Means, Barbara, Toyama, Yukie, Murphy, Robert, Bakia, Marianne, Jones, Karla. “Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies.” U.S. Department of Education. Web. 2010. https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf