Distance learning...friend of foe?

Distance education is a great advancement in education today. It allows for busy students to have the opportunity to earn a degree on their own time. It also allows students to enter a new realm of education, allowing them to meet new people from different walks of life. One great thing I love about distance education is the freedom to complete my work on my own time—there is no need to drive to campus, battle other students in the parking lot for a great spot, or to sit in class for hours on end for 16 weeks. Instead, I can log into class while sitting in bed in my pajamas at 2 in the morning free from the judgment of others. I live in Texas, and the local universities did not have a graduate level degree in which I wanted to study. Thus, I made my way to the computer and found Northern Arizona University (NAU). I have already completed one Master degree with them and am working on my second. With a full-time job and a 17 month old daughter, distance learning is the right fit for me. Now, there are some disadvantages to distance education. For starters, I have no idea who my classmates or instructors are. To me, they are just a name—I have no face or voice to put with it. Even though I tend to be a very shy person, this disadvantage is not necessarily a bad one. Online, I am more open to stating, or shall I say writing, what I feel and think. In the classroom setting, I tend to not speak up and present another point of view in fear of conflict, but online, I am willing and ready to get my point across.

When I first started my online education in 2007, many people asked me two things: (1) Will I earn a real degree and (2) are the assignments I submit actually my real work. Of course I would be earning a real degree. NAU is not a degree mill—in fact, I was thrilled to attend the campus for graduation in 2008 and was able to put a face to a name (finally) with many of my instructors and classmates. How could anyone believe that I could get sucked into an online degree mill scam? The thought of it was highly outlandish. This is not to say that degree mills are not out there because they are, and many people receive a degree from them believing they have an authentic degree from an accredited degree granting school.

To this day, I could not even imagine completing an online degree, or any degree for that matter, using someone else work. How would I be able to live with myself if the work submitted wasn’t created by me? But as this question was being asked to me on several different occasions, the thought that people out there completed an online degree in this manner became more and more apparent. The internet has a plethora of information at our fingertips allowing easy access for students to find and use information to their advantage. Thankfully, sites like Turn It In help instructors identify non-original work.

The student population is increasing on a yearly basis, and online education is a means to help control over growth of college campuses. Adult learners are eager to earn a degree but have many job and family obligations making it difficult for them to attend class on a daily or bi-weekly basis. Online learning may require significant amounts of technology skills and, in the end, take up more time for the learning process, but it is an option that students have rather than the traditional method of learning. Distance learning is not for everyone, but for those to which it appeals, it is one of the greatest advancements in not only technology but also education.