To What Extent Can Distance Learning Improve Higher Education - Report Example

TO WHAT EXTENT CAN DISTANCE LEARNING IMPROVE HIGHER EDUCATION? Name Name of Class Name of Professor Institution Affiliation City and State Date Abstract This paper will explore the extent to which distance learning supports higher education. Based on the survey of relevant literature, distance learning is contributing positively to higher education. However, there are certain areas of concerns that might need to be considered in order to enhance its capacity to deliver satisfactory results. Distance learning is beneficial because it can integrate virtual learning concepts, thereby serving as an innovative tool for higher education. Distance learning also enhances student enrolment and graduation rates following the levels of convenience associated with it. Additionally, it is flexible and responsive to the needs of learners in three ways: it enables learners to access instructions at a convenient time, undertake lessons from any location in the world, and choose the pace at which they pursue education. However, questions such as how the assessments of students could be aligned with the non-discrete learning curve in the context of virtual learning while considering elements of time and space, instructor training and whether distance learning is suitable for all faculties evidence some of the important areas of concern that need to be addressed. Retrospectively, it is recommended that there is a need to strive and address these areas of concerns to enhance the capacity of distance learning in delivering the goals of knowledge in an economy. To What Extent Can Distance Learning Improve Higher Education? Introduction The role of education in the contemporary society is indispensable. Indeed, education is now widely accepted as the pivotal driver of sustainable development. Such a perspective is hinged on the view that education has the capacity to deliver knowledge needed to enable the society to overcome the impeding social and economic challenges, thereby achieve the sustainability goals (Anderson, 2013). In this light, the policymakers are focused on charting ways to enhance the capacity of education to meet the desired goals. The discussions endorsed various innovative and technological strategies of supporting education and aligning it with the needs of the knowledge economy. The use of distance learning is perhaps one of the most revolutionary of these changes. Distance learning is defined as a learning approach in which electronic technologies are utilized in supporting educational curriculum outside the conventional classroom environment (Al-Arimia, 2014, p. 82-88). It is noteworthy that different terms, such as computerized electronic learning, digital learning, e-learning, and online learning, are used synonymously with distance learning. To clear potential misunderstandings, Holian et al. (2014, pp.50-59) rightly distinguished distance learning as the type of learning in which instructions are delivered through the internet, instead of the traditional classroom environment that typically requires physical contact between the instructors and the learners. Despite the growing popularity of Distance learning, its implementation is often marked with substantial apprehension on whether the method is placed to deliver satisfactory compared classroom settings. Such concerns create the allowance to question the significance of distance learning in delivering the education goals. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which distance learning improves the higher education. The Contribution of Distance Learning to Higher Education In exploring the extent to which distance learning improves higher education, it is worth noting that available literature on this debate is documented and presents different and, to some degree, conflicting perspectives. However, to a large extent, the underpinning discussions tend to support the view that distance learning is contributing positively to higher education, although there are some areas of concerns that might need to be considered in order to enhance its capacity to deliver satisfactory results. For convenience, the prominent themes are broadly categorized and discussed under three sections, namely the effects of distance learning in higher education, the achievements of distance learning, and the motivations of students regarding distance-learning approaches. What Are the Effects of Distance Learning to Higher Education? Many discussions avow positive contributions of distance learning to higher education, terming the approach as an innovative technique to the sustainability of the education process. Balula and Moreira (2014) singled out that distance learning is particularly beneficial because it allows instructors to integrate virtual learning techniques into the curriculum. As documented by Srichanyachon (2014), distance learning strategies have the potential of cutting across learning barriers while creating opportunities to enhance education. Secondly, this teaching strategy enables the learners to access rich information at their time and place of convenience. Thirdly, distance learning serves as a way of rising above the challenges that impede the process of delivering knowledge to the diverse learners, including those with physical impairments that constrain them from exploiting the learning opportunities presented by the classroom contexts (Srichanyachon, 2014). Fourthly, distance learning is flexible. When virtual learning methodologies are incorporated into distance learning, they make the learning experiences appealing. In doing so, the approach avails the valuable learning resources and enhances the chances for a large number of students to enrol in different programs to benefit from the materials that were traditionally limited to only a few individuals (Bates, 2015). Case and Wilson (2013) support this view, further pointing out that the incorporation of virtual learning principles increases the capacity of distance learning to support a continuous learning process. The design of the learning environment is also convenient because it provides quick links to the students to access useful reading material and provides online assessment tools to support self-evaluation, in addition to providing rich learning content. According to Bates (2015), the benefits of distance learning do not stop there — the systems also make use of the web 2.0 principles to enable learners and instructors to interact, seek immediate feedback and generate positive reinforcements to foster mastery of course content. Moreover, distance learning is also useful to instructors because it provides curriculum support and learning and evaluation tools that the classroom contexts did not support (Bates, 2015). However, virtual learning has also been associated with several concerns. One of the concerns is the question of how the assessments of students could be aligned with the non-discrete learning curve in the context of virtual learning while considering elements of time and space, something that distance learning is inherently unable to achieve. Moreover, the processes of adopting the distance learning process tend to be complex other than just depending on the teaching staff and faculties. For instance, the question of how technology can be mainstreamed in the cultural education context and fit different applications and cultural contexts are also significant (Subedi, 2014, p.148-153). According to Al-Azawei, Parslow and Lundqvist (2016, p.126-146), such issues add to its complexity, implying the higher chances of failure in delivering satisfactory education outcomes compared to the classroom contexts. Although there are some ways in which the assessments of students could be aligned with the non-discrete learning curve in the context of virtual learning while considering elements of time and space have been suggested, the viability of such approaches is yet to be tested. Achievements of Distance Learning The discussions highlighted different achievements of distance learning in higher education. Luo, Robinson and Detwiler (2014) notably laud distance learning to have increased student enrolment and graduation rates following the levels of convenience associated with the educational process. Higher institutions contemplating about increasing the rates of enrolment into the faculties and graduation rates should seek to roll out distant learning and give learners with diverse preferences and learning difficulties a choice to decide on the learning approach that best suits them. Another significant achievement of distance learning has been the ability to integrate virtual learning techniques to the learning process. Bejjar and Boujelbene (2014) define virtual learning as a process comprised of networks of computers and technologies harnessed to enhance instructional delivery, information access, and student-instructor interactions. The Central Bureau of Statistics (2012) avows that distance learning spans an array of computer application and processes that must altogether be considered to achieve the intended goals of education. According to Siemens (2013, p.3-10), the policymakers of the modern society are focused on enhancing access to education, which is now being ultimately fulfilled using distance learning to bridge the inherent challenges. Although Boezerooij (2012) suggested that many faculties and instructors are embracing distance learning with openness, there is still a lot that needs to be done to enhance the capacity of this group of participants to deliver equitable education opportunities. For instance, while the involvement and training of instructors are crucial for successful implementation of distance learning, these factors have been largely overlooked in practice. In essence, such a scenario implies that the society is committed to embracing distance learning as a solution to sustainable education, but there are some elements that the practice is getting wrong and are adversely compromising the quality outcomes. Therefore, it is imperative to think of how such loopholes can be addressed (Tribhuvan University Open and Distance Education Centre, 2015; Ssekakubo, Suleman and Marsden, 2012, pp.231-238). This view is further supported by different authors who consider the faculty and instructors’ attitudes and abilities to pivotal antecedents of successful distance learning. However, the instructors are still lacking adequate training and skills to support distance learning (Boezerooij, 2012). Therefore, the author suggests the need for training and engaging stakeholders to understand the underlying concerns and chart solutions. Motivation for Students The element of learner motivation is also another significant element that higher education benefits from distance learning. Coomaraswamy (2013, pp.241-257) discussed that students are inherently motivated to pursue distance learning because of its student-centred attribute and flexibility. Pangeni (2014) singled out three ways in which distance learning is flexible and responsive to the needs of the learners. In one way, distance learning creates allows students to set the pace by which they would want to pursue and complete the course. The fact that the duration of the classes as well as time for the completion of the course is defined for the classroom contexts ideally means that many learners with diverse preferences are excluded. Distance learning approach bridges this gap by creating an allowance for the students to decide on the pace that best suits them. The second form of flexibility is that distance learning accords the learners the opportunity to decide when they need to study. The instructions are always online and the students can decide on the convenient time that they will need to access the content — it can be early morning, late in the night, normal working hours or weekends, a benefit that cannot be otherwise granted by the classroom context because of the clashing schedules between the learners and the instructors. Lastly, distance learning accords the students the convenience of taking lessons from their location of their choice, regardless of where they live. Ideally, one can decide to take lessons while in the office, home or anywhere in the world (Pangeni, 2014; Ssekakubo, Suleman, and Marsden, 2012, pp.231-238). In light of this view, distance learning can be seen to be flexible and inclusive to the learners’ preferences because there are no timetables and physical classes to attend. According to Poudel (2015), many institutions that have been vibrant in implementing and promoting distance learning have been able to show the benefits of increased student enrolment and graduation rates because the approach is student centred. However, there are notable areas of weakness that arise from the students’ perceptions regarding whether distance learning is suited for different learning courses. Questions have been particularly raised whether it is possible to use distance learning alone for courses such as engineering, medicine, and sciences that heavily rely on practical exercises typically accomplished through face-face interactions between the learners and their instructors (Robinson and Latchem, 2012; Mirza, and Al-Abdulkareem, 2012, p.83–93). In this regard, there is the need for policymakers to strive and understand the implications of such concerns and strive to address them in order to enhance the motivation of the students regarding distance learning. Conclusion and Recommendations In conclusion, the purpose of this paper was to explore the extent to which distance learning supports higher education. However, it broadly established that the underpinning discussions tend to support the view that distance learning is contributing positively to higher education, although there are specific areas of concerns that might need to be considered to enhance its capacity to deliver satisfactory results. Many discussions avow positive contributions of distance learning to higher education, terming the approach as an innovative technique to the sustainable education process. In one way, distance learning is particularly beneficial because it creates the allowance for the instructors to integrate virtual learning concepts into the curriculum. Distance learning incorporates web 2.0 principles to make learning process just as appealing classroom contexts, if not more appealing. Distance learning can also be celebrated for some forms of achievements that would not have been otherwise achievable using conventional classroom setting alone. Particularly, distance learning has enhanced student enrolment and graduation rates following the levels of convenience associated with the educational process. Moreover, learners are inherently motivated to pursue distance learning because of its student-centred attribute and flexibility. Distant learning is flexible and responsive to the needs of the learners in three ways, that is, it enables students to access instructions at any time of convenience, undertake lessons from any location across the globe, and choose the pace by which to pursue an educational process. However, distance learning has also been linked with particular concerns. The first concern is how the assessments of students could be aligned with the non-discrete learning curve in the context of virtual learning while considering elements of time and space. The second challenge pertains to training the instructor and addressing the concerns that they have about the education practice. The third issue is whether it is possible to use distance learning alone for courses such engineering, medicine and sciences that heavily rely on practical exercises best conducted through face-face interactions between the learners and the instructors. Therefore, there is the need to strive to address these areas of concerns to enhance the capacity of distance learning to realize the needs of the knowledge economy. References Al-Arimia, A. (2014) ‘Distance Learning.’ Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 152 (2014) 82 – 88. Available from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814052264 Al-Azawei, A. Parslow, P. & Lundqvist, K. ((2016). Barriers and Opportunities of E-Learning Implementation in Iraq: A Case of Public Universities. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 17(5): 126-146 Anderson, J. (2013). 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