Tag: Distance Education Council

Distance Education  

The origins of distance education can be traced to mid-19th century Europe and the United States. The postal system was the best technology that pioneers could use in their day. It was started to open educational opportunities to people who wanted to learn but were not able to attend conventional schools. Those with physical disabilities, women who were not allowed to enroll in institutions open only to men, people who had jobs during normal school hours, and those who lived in remote regions where schools did not exist are the people who most benefitted from distance education.

In 1872, American university level distance education began at Illinois Wesleyan University. Bachelor and graduate degrees could be obtained in absentia. The Chautauqua movement in about 1882 gave the popular push to correspondence education.

In 1915, accreditation of college and university distance programs fell to the National University Extension Association. And in 1926, the National Home Study Council (NHSC) was formed to address the issues of quality and ethical practice that arose due to the popularity of the teaching of academic and vocation courses by correspondence in 1900.

Distance Education has developed as technology changed. The invention of education radio in the 1920s and the advent of television in the 1940s created important new forms of communication for use in distance education. The development of reliable long-distance telephone company in the early 1900s also increased the capacity of distance educators to reach new student population. But telephone systems only played a prominent role in distance education with the development of teleconferencing technologies in the 1980s and 1990s. And, with the spread of computer-network communication in the 1980s and 1990s, it allowed teachers to communicate in conferences through computers.

Today, distance education makes use of the internet where teachers and students present text, pictures, audio, and video. File sharing and communications tools like email, chats, and audio and video conferencing are integral part of the internet setup.

Tutoring on Distance Education

Distance education nowadays is an important learning method to reach students in distant locations and to remove geographical and cultural barriers. It offers education in online classrooms and set schedules that will meet the needs of its students who are busy with their work or career. The teacher will be behind the program, communicating with his students through programs and applications and provide lectures, assignments and activities.

Though learning is much easier since the internet provides a lot of references and learning materials, it may also need the help of a tutor. The problem with distance learning is that it lacks motivation for students to study, work on their activities or join group discussions. This is because they are just online and may lead them to do other things than going to their classes. In this case, tutor support is vital. Teachers must be able to help motivate, remind, guide and help students. They must be available to tutor students with the topics that can be hard to learn without actual explanation.

Distance education also requires alterations in behavior of the teacher and also the student. The effective student evolves persistence and self-motivation. The effective distance education teacher becomes fluent with new technology and evolves new training styles to effectively help students. Today, using the most advanced technology and also the effective multimedia interactions between instructors and students, information is easily transmitted. Efficient tutor support in distance learning is basically determined by how quickly a distance education instructor can learn new technology, devise new teaching techniques and manage student expectations.

By being passionate with the job, any instructor can be the best tutor support in distance learning courses. They must bring enthusiasm, promote involvement and curiosity and develop student’s skills and learning. Distance education can be as good or surpass the quality of classroom learning by providing enough, sufficient and effective tutoring support to students.

Distance Education Challenges in India

The world’s largest university was the Indira Gandhi National University founded in the year 1985. There are more than 40 thousand students enrolled in the distance education in more than 40 educational institutions. This shows that a huge number of people are embracing the system in the wake of multifarious economic and social changes.

But the system which offers an easy access to higher education had been inconsistent in ensuring the quality of education through inefficiencies and dilapidated regulation. The program is headed the other way and most of the Indian society were not able to understand the purpose it was created. There should have a been a constant policy or a strong management body that will administer properly the system.

In response to this problem, a management body was created for the distance education in 1991. They call it the DEC or the Distance Education Council which is under the aegis of the IGNOU. The job of the council is to regulate, control and monitor the different Distance Education institutions in India. It was later named Distance Education Bureau in the year 2013.

There were still issues and problem arisen even with the creation of the bureau. Many critics have questioned the process, the authority and the system of the bureau. Even there were confusions over legal matters which reached the Supreme Court.

The creation of the Distance Education system has created an overabundance of difficulty and confusion over the years. There hasn’t been a concrete resolution created to properly address the issues involved. The Government was not yet able to keep pace with the fast flowing changes over time. If ever they will be able to try a different approach or strategy to make the system work flawlessly it would be a very ideal program and will be a pattern for other countries to follow.

This is a good example to follow for schools in the U.S. who are planning to put up distance education programs.