Pros and Cons of Distance Education
In the last decade, we have seen an incredible development in the adaptation of technology to educational systems, so luckily the adaptation of distance learning systems for children and young people during the pandemic was not so difficult for students to assimilate, as well as for educational institutions and their teachers. Nevertheless, for many others, studying at home and in a socially disintegrated environment was quite complicated, difficult to adapt, and many chose to abandon their studies or wait until regular programs would open up again. Here, we’ll check some pros and cons of distance education.
When did distance education take place in the student life?
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world with a strict regime for most societies, many people had already begun to choose distance education programs for their children. Nowadays also young university students and adults, consider the possibility of studying at home by themselves, not just because of the coronavirus, but for various reasons such as time for professional development or simply because of a greater ability to study alone from their home or a place of their desire.
One of the benefits that first comes to mind is the great amount of freedom with time to organize studies since with this, students can choose better to organize their obligations according to fewer time requirements in the schedules.
The freedom of self-development in any subject is a big plus too. It could seem that, even at distance education, the student has to adapt to the material of education that the institution gives him, but the difference is that, at distance learning, the student can choose more wisely how to adapt the content so he could learn by his own methods, in order to receive the information in a better way, obviously, if they like the methods more, they are going to learn better.
Also, the economical commodities that homeschooling brings, such as not taking transport every day, not eating outside, not organizing different events, or socializing less are really economically meaningful. Another thing that many students claim is that for them it is better to study alone, because they put more attention to the matter of study, so they may say that they waste less time on unproductive things that come with socializing.
Of course, this could be less dramatic for university students, but not for young people to who assimilating this, will be a difficult process, especially for children with 10 and fewer years old. This brings us to a subject about the cons of distance education, where we could find a big obstacle in the lack of socializing processes every day, that comes with a slow development of social skills and a difficult formation of personality. This also could cause a lot of stress and depression to those extroverted people who can not adapt themselves to quiet, alone, and calm environments.
University students and distance education
Another problem that especially university students can find at distance education, is the absence of help from their teachers or any specialist. As long as they have just the exact amount of time required of contact with their tutors, they are always gonna need more information, explanation, and structural material in some of the academic obligations. A lot of subjects, especially in exact sciences, such as Physics, Biology, Mathematics, Engineering, Mechanics, and so on, need to be explained and shown personally, by experimenting or more alive lectures, where students could ask and develop any doubt and the most little details.
Luckily, nowadays, there are a lot of online teachers, courses, and companies that provide students with academic assistance, for example, one of the most prestigious that we have found is hazmitrabajo.es (Trabajos universitarios, TFMs, TFGs); a company that provides students from Spain and other Spanish speaking countries with any type of academic assistance in any subject on any level of education, from middle school assistance to PhD degrees, any student can order any type of help, with more than 600 specialties and a base of 800 experts, is one of the most extensive academic assistance.
We have seen, the most important pros and cons of distance education, no doubt, that socially speaking, especially for the children, is going to be a really hard time, so lets hope, the situation could get better and students could all go back to normal times of education, but in the other hand, the technology, we have nowadays, allows us to learn in any part of the world, in any environment and provide us more information than ever, so distance education has proved to be a big win for humanity, especially in times of coronavirus.
A Levels Online in an ever-changing world!
Many of you often ask us if A Levels online are worth considering in order to gain a recognized qualification or if you have left it too late to study A Levels, as part of your career progression.
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A Levels, known as ‘Advanced Level qualifications’ are normally introduced for students aged 16 and above. The term of the A Level qualification would normally be two years, although learners choosing to study through online learning, can normally fast track and complete this much sooner. UCAS points will be available, which will go towards University applications.
Learners also have the option to complete AS Level only and will still receive UCAS points, depending on grades achieved.
Do I need A Levels for University?
Most universities insist that potential applicants have a good mix of basic Maths and English Level 2, together with Level 3 qualifications or A Levels in order to secure a place with them. When considering applying to University, the first thing we recommend you should do is contact them and ask what the entry requirements are for the specific degree you are considering studying as you cannot leave this to chance. We have had students come to us at the eleventh hour, desperate to study a specific subject in a short space of time because they did not ask this simple question.
Can A Levels go wrong?
In an ideal world, many would complete their A Levels in sixth form at a conventional school or college, then progress to college or university. However, this does not always go according to plan and for one reason or another, you may not have had the opportunity to gain your A Level in a school or college setting.
A classic example is a Covid-19 pandemic, where many students were expected to sit their exams in the normal way and were then told that due to the cancellation of exams, their results would be based on predicted grades. This worked for some learners as they had worked hard on any assessments submitted to their Teacher but for others who hadn’t really made the effort, relying on studying hard for their examinations; it did not bring the desired effect with low grades submitted.
We then had a second year of canceled examinations, again something that no one was prepared for. The results of this, we are still awaiting, but I am sure that there will be learners receiving grades they were not expecting.
There have also been other reasons learners have been unable to achieve their A Level qualification. As an example, we were approached by Jason, who had been keen to study A Level Computer Science at school but during his first year, he had become extremely ill and was not able to complete his second year. This is one of our extremely popular courses as this can lead to various career paths such as Application Analyst, Business analyst, Data analyst, Games developer, etc. We enabled Jason to complete his second year of A Level Computer Science and he then went on to study a degree at university managing to get himself back on track.
Suggested article: A Level Computer Science Online Course
Are there any age restrictions for studying A Levels?
Not everyone is suited to studying with an online learning college though and we have found that learners of all ages enrol with us, as there appears to be no set criteria for applicants. As they say ‘it is never too late to learn and everything changes so fast, we have to keep up to date with it.
Suggested site: Learn Now Distance Learning College
One of the things we have found with learners is that you really need to be self-motivated and able to work autonomously. This is difficult if you feel you can only work in groups with your peers and do not feel you can set yourself a timetable and stick to it, thus avoiding distractions. We have found that using your Lesson Plan helps considerably as this sets out which modules should be completed and when. This can give you a certain amount of structure and ensure that you stay on track throughout your course.
It would seem that there are always options to complete your A Levels, whether online or studying at a school or college. It is a case of you deciding the best options for yourself.
9 Ways E-Learning Empowers a Lifelong Learner
E-learning has countless advantages for students, such as allowing them to gain new skills, meet new people, and exercise self-motivation. The market is predicted to be worth $325 billion by 2025, with more and more lifelong learners joining the e-learning community.
Lifelong learning is self-motivated education, whether it be for personal development, employability or just to fill the time. It also has health benefits such as higher quality sleep, reduced stress levels, create new neural pathways, and even lengthen your lifespan.
If you, like 73% of Americans , describe yourself as a lifelong learner, why not incorporate a new, exciting method of education into your lifestyle?
Here are just a few of the ways in which e-learning can empower its students.
You can explore a wide variety of topics
Unlike the imposed curriculum in schools, there is no limit on what you can learn with online courses. Platforms feature a variety of subjects and activities such as knitting, painting, golf, physics, self-help, dance, and DIY. You can think outside of the box.
Learning does not stop at history and physics. The beauty of online learning is that you can explore multiple topics at once, and you can learn anything and everything that you wish.
Suggested site: InfoDepot
Self-motivation
There is no one to urge you to learn and pay attention to classes with online learning. You need to motivate yourself to sign up for classes, create your own schedule, and complete assignments. You also need to motivate yourself to continue attending classes. Once mastered, this skill is highly useful in life. You are more likely to try new things, research subjects, and phenomena that interest you and achieve the best results that you can in your career.
You can set your own goals
Whether your goal is to cook 3 new dishes every week or to learn all of the circle theorems in mathematics, you can achieve them with online learning. You decide exactly what it is that you want to achieve.
The ability to create your own targets is hugely beneficial for individuals who wish to regain a sense of control, confidence, accomplishment and satisfaction. It also helps to direct your learning focus and gives you a long-term vision.
Confidence
Some e-learning platforms also offer the option of live tutoring calls, which involve the teacher conducting a lesson with a student in real time over the phone or by video. This type of learning environment requires a confident student to ask questions about anything that causes them difficulty and to initiate discussions with the teacher.
Suggested article: Why Teach Online? 10 Reasons to Become an Online Teacher or a Virtual Tutor
You can update your existing knowledge
Evidently, online learning requires knowledge of the Internet, new applications and video calls. You can use e-learning to get to grips with technology and update the knowledge that you already have in a particular field. In this rapidly changing job market, technological skills are widely sought and almost essential. Even if you merely want to use online learning in order to develop the skills needed for your favourite hobby, you can use the knowledge you gain about technology to boost your career.
You will create connections for the future
When looking for work, you may have heard the famous saying ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. Studies show that 60% of jobs are found through social networking. Expanding your network through e-learning can create many opportunities for you if you find yourself looking for a career.
Flexibility
With e-learning and online classes, you can organize your time to participate in lessons whenever you wish. Online video classes allow you to purchase the pre-recorded lesson and watch it from the comfort of your own home at any time that you wish. This means you can watch it on-the-go, on your sofa or outside in the sun. You can also watch it at a time that suits you, whether you are an early bird or a night owl.
Personalization
Live tutoring calls mean that the teacher can tailor the lesson to cover the topics which interest you. Learning is more direct and suited to your needs and goals. If you have a particular goal that you are keen to achieve, you can let your teacher know directly and they can help you to succeed.
Suggested article: What is Peer to Peer Tutoring?
Promotes active learning
Active learning requires engagement from the student, meaning that reading from a textbook is not sufficient. The presence of technology in online learning means that lessons can be more engaging and facilitate the interests of the learner. This type of learning allows more in-depth acquisition of knowledge and higher rates of memory retention.
Who wouldn’t want improved technology skills, a wider social network and increased confidence as well as the health benefits attainable from lifelong learning?
Develop your skills, explore new subjects and continue to quench your thirst for knowledge.