Getting Flexible with Distance Learning

There are many things to contend with when studying abroad. There’s a heavy financial commitment, covering everything from course fees and travel costs to accommodation and living expenses. There are also the difficulties of learning and studying in an unfamiliar culture and perhaps even in an unfamiliar language, without all the immediate support from friends and family that would ease the situation if you were at home. And of course there is inevitably some homesickness. If these factors are a problem for you, does that mean you have to put all thoughts of an international qualification out of your head?

Of course not. There is a way round the many problems of studying abroad that is becoming an increasingly popular option for many people – distance learning. More and more universities and colleges around the world are now making their courses available by this route and people are flocking to take advantage of this new flexible approach.

Distance learning is a term that covers many different types of learning, but the important distinguishing factor is that you do the majority, or all, of the studying in your own country, regardless of where the institution is based. This is of huge benefit to people who want the qualifications but can’t or prefer not to study so far away from home, and it opens the doors to many people who would ordinarily be put off.

Courses themselves vary from institution to institution, and from department to department. For example, one distance learning course may send you the materials and the details of your personal tutor but require you to travel to the institution for examinations. Another course may require you to attend week-long residentials. Others may allow you to take the exams in your own country, for example through the British Council. This means that you can mix and match the elements that you need, and more or less guarantee that you will find a course somewhere that is just right for what you want. For example, the University of London offers 19 different degree programmes entirely by distance learning, from French to Finance, and it has exam centres all over the world.

Flexibility is the defining feature of distance learning, and it doesn’t stop with the types of course. The study itself is also very flexible because you don’t have to attend set classes at set times. This means that you can choose when to study, doing as much or as little as you have the time for and fit it in around your other family or work commitments. Students can also choose where to study – at home, in the library, on the train, in the park, wherever you can sit and concentrate on your work.

As with every other aspect of life technology is taking over education, and distance learning is reaping the benefits. The advantages of being able to e-mail your tutor are obvious – instant delivery and quicker response to your queries. The internet has also become an increasingly popular way to source information on distance learning opportunities. There is a variety of sites that provide general details of institutions and courses, and most institutions also have their own websites up and running.

The internet’s involvement in distance learning isn’t just limited to search engines, however. There is a growing trend for institutions to offer all sorts of other services linked to the technology that the internet can offer. On-line courses are popping up in institutions all over the world, meaning that as long as you have access to a PC you can tap into the resources posted on the course website and work through them at your own pace as you would a paper-based distance learning course. There are many advantages to this approach, not least of which are the opportunities for real-time lectures and student chat rooms, which will make the whole learning experience much more interactive.

What all this means is that you have more options than ever before, and distance learning really can offer something for everyone. Whether you prefer the paper-based route or studying on-line, the benefits are always the same – you study in your own time and at your own pace, and you don’t have to travel hundreds of miles in order to get a qualification with an international reputation. Once you let the institution come to you, you’ll never want to study any other way!

List of useful websites National Extension College www.nec.ac.uk, Open University www.open.ac.uk, British Council www.britcoun.org.uk, International Centre for Distance Learning www-icdl.open.ac.uk, Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (provides a list of institutions in the UK that have been vetted for quality and accredited by ODLQC, and also has a comprehensive list of worldwide distance learning links) www.odlqc.org.uk

Provided by the National Extension College