Distance Education

At home and in class, we explored virtual schools and online education. There were many different advantages that jumped out at me as I was exploring the idea of distance education. For students who work or have demanding schedules for health or personal reasons, distance education could be a wonderful fit, as they could still work in a comprehensive education while maintaining their necessary schedule. Students who have anxiety problems or difficulty working in groups and need more of a transition into a school setting would not be faced with continuous interaction with students and teachers. Students who are in families that move around a lot would have access to a constant curriculum, which would help ensure that there were no gaps in their education due to switching schools. Students whose parents want them to be home-schooled, for whatever reason, would still have access to a standardized curriculum, lesson plans, and interactive group projects. Also, students who need a little more time to work on classwork would have it, which could be advantageous for students who learn at a slower pace.

There are, however, many disadvantages to distance education. As you can tell from its name, distance education has an inherent distance between students and teachers, and students and students. No matter how interactive the lessons are, there is no way to make students have the same level of face-to-face interactions that they would have in another school. Distance education may also have different standards than traditional school, which could make it more or less difficult for students. Standardized curriculum would be necessary to make sure that students are getting the same level of quality education.

In order to participate in a distance education program, students must have a strong sense of discipline, or a very involved parental guide (depending on the student's age). Remembering assignments and not procrastinating might be too strong of a temptation for some students when the constant reminders of teachers and classmates are taken away. Students must also have a working knowledge of technology and computer usage, as a student who does not understand how to use the computer could have a lot of difficulty representing themselves at their best.

In order to teach in a virtual school, teachers would also need to have a lot of background in computer usage and website design. Teachers would also need to have a strong dedication to connecting with their students, as the lack of face-to-face contact might make building connections difficult. Teachers, especially for the younger grades, may run into problems in recognizing student achievement and excellence, because distance takes away the ability to give vocal, instantaneous comments and compliments.