The first form of distance learning could be found in the many correspondence courses that you sent for and received in the mail. With the advent of the phonographic record, courses and lectures came in the form of monthly LP mailings. This is the very definition of old school. Today, many colleges and universities have recognized the need to expand their student population by adding online education as a part of their curriculum. Universities have also realized that they can appeal to the adult demographic who never could finish school using sites like educationforadults.com. This allows prospective and veteran students affordable and flexible options for continuing their education. In some cases, accredited degrees can be earned right from the comfort of your living room sofa!
Just because you’re enrolling in an online class, doesn’t mean you’ll be cut off completely from the classroom experience. Each online course is still monitored and administered by an instructor. In other words, the HAL 2000 will not be teaching you. There is often a participation element requiring students to post comments, questions and discussions in a dedicated forum. In many ways this is an advantage over the typical classroom because in the cyber class, everyone can participate instead of just a few. This means your voice can definitely be heard; or at least read.
Students everywhere are already relying heavily on the abundance of research resource available on the internet. There was a time when grad students were at the mercy of their campus library as to what materials they could have access to. Now, most of that information is just a mouse click away. To publish a thesis today also means to have it uploaded.
With internet technology improving every day, there is also the improvement in delivering online courses. Instead of merely reading text, video and audio lectures can be downloaded and watched at your convenience. There can also be live presentations of speeches and research presented to a global audience. Instead of a classroom of 40 students, there can now be a classroom of thousands all watching the same presentation at the same time. It’s never been easier to get an education.