Real World Skills Online

By James G. Pynn

More and more distance education is becoming a popular way to bridge the distance between the real world and higher education. While it is still growing in popularity, distance education has been around for some time. Though not as sophisticated as it is now, correspondence courses have enjoyed a long history. To be sure, the history of distance education includes such luminary minds as Thomas Edison, who was deeply involved with its development.

There are advantages for both the educational institution and for the student. The students get the advantage of flexibility. They can stay home and not have to pay for the gas and time that it takes to travel to school. They can enjoy the expediency of working school around their schedule instead of the other way around. For the institution, it can enjoy a broader base of students. They can also reach students ordinarily too busy to attend conventional classes.

The earliest instances of distance education can be traced to the 1700s. The distance learning movement took on a new head of steam in the early 1900s. It was then that film projection was introduced into certain classrooms. While it wasn't as cost-effective as administrators had hoped, it still marked an early effort to bring the moving image into the classroom.

The possibilities of television brought with it several big sponsors in the educational movement. The invention of television made it possible to broadcast learning programs anywhere in the world. This clearly broadened the horizons of distance learners. They could learn about any topic under the sun as long as they had access to a television.

Many universities and colleges offer entire degree programs online. From the calm of your home, you can log on and watch a lecture, read a book or correspond instantly. It has literally brought the classroom to your home. This means you never have to set foot on a university to get a great degree. You can enroll in an accounting, criminal justice, or even carpentry course online. The quality of the education has been found to be comparable with traditional universities and the convenience is unparalleled.

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