How Distance Education is Revolutionising Higher Education

The last few years have experienced tremendous growth in Distance/ Online Education around the globe. Distance Learning Courses are a perfect substitute for imparting quality education to students because of the extremely busy nature of humankind. Thus, the concept of Traditional teaching has undergone significant changes that have led to the emergence of Online Courses in almost every part of the world. 

The major reasons that led to the rise of Distance Education around the globe are Technological Advances and the impact of Covid-19. In fact, Covid-19 is considered an important factor contributing to the growth of Distance Learning Courses. 

Let us first understand what is Distance Education

Distance Education or Distance Learning refers to the process of delivering information to students remotely through an online mode of learning. The process of distance learning aims at creating a qualitative experience for the students to provide them with a great learning experience outside the classroom boundaries. In a distance mode of education, the teacher and the students are separated by time and distance. 

Benefits of Distance Education for the Students

The various advantages delivered by a distance mode of education can be explained as follows: 

• • Economical Method: Distance Education has helped students to pursue Higher Education at affordable rates. A large chunk of the cost is removed while the students are pursuing their Higher Education through Distance mode. The various eliminated costs are hostel fees, travelling expenses, Boarding, Lodging, etc. which makes it feasible for many students to complete their Higher Education from the ease of their homes.
  • Learning While Earning: Most students, start to pursue certain jobs to have a deeper understanding of the workplace. But with that, they are also determined in enhancing their knowledge as well as skills regarding their domain. Thus Distance Learning helps you to learn while you are still learning. It is because now you can study at the desired place at the desired time.
  • Plethora of Job Opportunities: Since Distance Learning Courses are widely recognised by the relevant regulatory bodies, several corporate houses provide lucrative job offers to students who have completed their higher education from Distance Mode from the top educational institutions of the country.
  • Flexible Learning Schedules: Flexibility is one of the salient features of a Distance Education Course. Since it is facilitated by the Online mode, students can attend the classes whenever they find it suitable, moreover, the feature of recorded classrooms also enables them to manage their work schedules and study accordingly.
  • Time Management Skills: The students hone the ability to manage their time as per their work schedules. Be it the submission of their assignments or preparing for their online exams, they learn to manage their time and work in order to submit the requirements before their deadlines.

Impact Of Covid-19 on Evolving Higher Education

Covid- 19 has significantly impacted the Education Sector. The world has experienced a substantial shift from in-person classroom teaching to Online delivery of education. However, it was a challenging task for the teachers as well as the educators to suddenly adopt the new ways of teaching and adjust to the novel technologies for delivering education but gradually it became the new normal. The pandemic has necessitated higher educational institutions as well as schools to adopt new ways of learning and teaching.

Thus, Covid- 19 has contributed majorly to the rise of Distance/ Online Education among Educational Institutions. Through, proper planning and organisation of the resources available, the implementation of online education has led to a smooth experience for students in the contemporary world of education. 

Impact of Technology on Revolutionising Higher Education

The recent era has experienced an enormous increase in technological innovations, the major reason being the constant evolvement of the Education sector. The overnight switch to Online Learning has led to improvements in various IT software and the introduction of several new technologies in the Edtech sector. 

The digital era has led to the spread of Higher education in every nook and corner of the world. Students around the globe are now able to access education at their places with comfort, breaking several financial and location constraints. Thus, students are now able to acquire quality education from any part of the world. 

Many Higher Educational Institutions are working to enhance the learning experience of students by constantly evolving their technology and methods of delivery of distance education. 

Practices Revolutionising the Distance Education

The various practices adopted by Distance Education Institutions to augment their learning experiences can be described as follows- 

1. Video-based Lectures for a deeper understanding
2. Creating Engaging and Interactive Content
3. Blended Mode of Learning: Synchronous as well as Asynchronous Methods
4. Enhancing Networking Opportunities around the world
5. Rise of Online Courses in the Curriculum

Takeaway

Distance/ Online Education has been proven to be a more effective method of delivering Higher Education to students. Students pursuing Distance Courses tend to retain more knowledge.

Most Higher Educational Institutions are continuously adopting the Distance learning mode to impart quality education to students. Thus, Distance education has largely impacted Higher Educational Institutions to involve Distance Learning in their curriculum.