I Highly Recommend Distance Learning to Everyone

After having two children, I didn't think going to college could ever be an option. After hearing so many good things about going to college online, I decided to try it for myself.

Distance Learning is about attending a college online with regular assignments, only we post them in either a group or individual forum where the group forum becomes a threaded discussion among the classmates and the instructor. Through the threaded discussion, we are able to have asynchronous communication which allows us to choose which thread we would like to respond to. Through the individual forum, the correspondence is solely between you and the instructor. Instructors then return feedback for assignments submitted through the individual forum and he or she will also provide a weekly grade summary.

Before I started my programs with my online college, I had no idea that this program was called distance learning. I also did not have a clear understanding as to how it all worked. I thought it was just like going to a regular college, only we are able to attend in our pajamas if we wanted and we can log on anytime of the day. My assumptions were correct.

I chose distance learning over a face-to-face learning environment simply because of convenience. I am a stay-at-home mother with limited time through out the day while taking care of a 2 and a half-year-old and a five week old. My daily routine stays the same, only I find the time to attend class when my daughters are asleep, which is early in the morning, late at night or mid-day when they are taking their afternoon nap.

My view of distance learning has been confirmed after attending my first week of school. I don't know why more people aren't choosing to attend college this way. I am getting an education equivalent to or better than a face-to-face college because I believe the number of students per class in a distance learning college is about half of what a traditional college would be. Plus, I'm not taking extra time to drive to class and battle the school parking lot for a parking spot or forking out money to child care providers. Less stress is always nice.

I also did not realize until now how much interaction is required with my classmates, which is good because we get to read other peoples' responses and obtain different points of view. Plus, I have been very fortunate enough to have made many friends through my online classes. What a win, win situation!