The , also known as EAD, or also called virtual education is a digital teaching and learning model in which all the processes are made from the available technological resources, being this a new alternative, it is important to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the long distance education.
For various reasons, virtual education is highly required not only by potential students, who are looking for other ways to learn more about topics they like, but also by teachers, who are looking for other ways to distribute their knowledge and generate income.
If you want to know more about this topic, continue with us. Today we are going to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of distance education both for those who want to learn and for those who want to teach.
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If you want to know more about this topic, read this post in which we will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of distance education, both for those who want to learn and for those who want to teach.
Advantages for students
If you study, and have come this far, you may want to better understand if an EAD course is advantageous for you.
Here, we offer you 6 reasons why people choose this teaching method:
1. Freedom of choice
One of the main reasons why people choose to take an online course is the possibility of choosing to study subjects that are less conventional or that have not yet been structured as courses in universities or official institutions.
In the universe of online education, you will find an infinity of proposals to develop professionally in an area that you really like and that gives you more job opportunities.
2. Autonomy in schedules
In addition to being able to choose what to study, another advantage of virtual education for students is the autonomy to study at the time they want.
Many of the distance courses are asynchronous, they are recorded classes that you can watch whenever and wherever you want, and even more than once. You can also stop the video whenever you need to make annotations or look up some kind of information.
On the other hand, by not having to travel to an educational institution, participants can choose the most appropriate time to study.
Organizing the schedule in your own way is very important if you are one of the people who are more productive or manage to concentrate better at night or early in the morning. Or also, if you have other work or family commitments during the day.
But, if you choose a course with virtual classes with fixed days and times, the advantage is that you will save travel time and all the prior preparation required to attend face-to-face classes.
3. Saving time and money
As we said in the previous point, those who choose to do virtual classes can save not only time, since they do not have to travel to get to classes, but also money with transportation and food.
Many times, students have to move from the city or even the country to take the course they want. And although living in another place can be a very enriching experience, it also requires much more complex financial, professional and family planning.
Another characteristic of EAD courses is that there are various options, some of them with more accessible values.
4. More time dedicated
If you can take the course at times that suit you, you may also have more time to dedicate to your studies.
And in general, distance education allows you to choose a single subject of study and, as a consequence, dedicate yourself exclusively to a specific subject for as long as you think necessary.
5. Custom Advance
Many online courses do not set a deadline and therefore give you more freedom to spend as much time as you want, moving faster or stopping at the points that interest you most.
In those that do have to finish the classes on a certain date, you still have the opportunity to organize your schedules to obtain better results, since you will be at home. For example, you can use the time you would lose going to the face-to-face course to study or prepare papers.
6. Flexibility of study place
With online classes, you can take from wherever you want, as long as you have access to the Internet to view the content or have previously downloaded it, in case the classes are available offline.
Even if you have to travel for some reason, you will not miss classes or run the risk of accumulating content and then not being able to catch up with the rest of the course.
In addition, nothing prevents you from enrolling in an online course from anywhere in the world.
If you are interested in learning more about online courses and why they are a great way to study, read our post .
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Disadvantages for students
Despite all the benefits of distance education as a study modality, there are also some disadvantages.
1. Failure to comply with the course load
One of the great challenges faced by those who choose distance education is to meet the hours of the online course.
Since it is possible to determine when to study, many people leave everything until the last minute and, in the end, they fail to meet the objectives of the classes. Many times they feel frustrated for not having fulfilled them.
But, this problem has a solution by putting into practice some Y .
It is enough to better organize the schedules in a realistic way and set achievable goals to achieve and no longer postpone learning.
2. Lack of time for personal life
It is very easy not to separate your personal life from your academic life, especially if you study at a distance.
When you don’t need to leave your house to study, you may watch your online classes whenever you have a time in your daily routine, like at lunch or before bed.
The problem is that if you don’t organize yourself well, you can neglect other personal tasks that are also important, such as health care or food. A very heavy routine will lead to wear and tear that will even put the continuation of the course in check.
For this reason, it is very important that, although you can study at any time, you try to create a small routine where there are specific moments to dedicate to your personal life.
Also, try to choose a room in your house that is quiet and well equipped so that you can watch the classes. That way you won’t run the risk of starting to study when you sit in the living room to watch a movie and get distracted with your family.
3. University degree
Today, many institutions offer distance learning undergraduate or graduate degrees, as well as other courses that issue degrees.
However, a disadvantage for students who choose free courses is that they are not considered university courses and many times the certificates have almost no validity.
Despite that drawback, most online courses issue certificates that are recognized by multiple employers, especially if the occupation you seek is among the which are the ones that generally have technology as their focus.
Therefore, think about the type of occupation you want to dedicate yourself to know if it is necessary to have a university degree or if the online courses you have taken are enough to help you in a possible hiring.
Advantages for teachers
Distance education, as we have shown throughout this post, provides students with many advantages and also some disadvantages.
But, if you like it and want to teach something, virtual education also has many good reasons for you.
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1. Work from home
It may seem like a small reason, but believe it, you can it is a great advantage, especially for those who dream of spending more time with their family.
In addition, by teaching from home, you have the possibility to:
- Better organize your work time;
- Save on food and transportation;
- Get rid of traffic to get to work every day;
- Eat healthier;
- Have comfort and convenience;
- Have more time to do what you like;
- Being able to travel without giving prior notice;
- Solve personal matters at any time of the day.
2. Reach a larger number of students
If you are already a teacher, you know that the classroom is not the most suitable space for a very large number of students, either because of its physical structure or even because of parallel dialogues, due to the large number of people in the same environment.
With distance education, it is possible to teach many people at the same time, but that is not limited only to the physical problem of the classrooms.
Because your material is available online, you can remove geographical barriers and teach to people from anywhere in the world who have an interest in what you teach.
3. Freedom to prepare classes
Since you don’t need to leave home to teach, you can spend much more time on preparation and .
When you choose to create your own online course, you have the possibility to dedicate yourself only to what you really like to teach and according to your methodologies and contents.
The freedom of time and form stimulates your creativity and potential to produce interesting and relevant content for your audience.
4. Reduce costs
If what you want is to undertake in the educational sector, you have to take into account that there are many costs that you will have to incur.
You must calculate both the fixed and variable costs of the business. Among them, you must calculate the rent of the place where you will teach, the furniture that you will use so that the students feel comfortable and can learn better, the materials that you will use for teaching, basic services, among others.
With distance education, it is possible to reduce these costs, since you will stop spending on certain aspects such as the purchase of furniture, rent and services, and on the other hand, you will share the costs with the students, since they, in part may assume the cost of the consumption of services and educational materials.
In return, it is possible to reduce prices to make the online alternative even more interesting for students.
5. Live teaching what you love
Undoubtedly, the online course market opened the doors to many people who wanted to share their knowledge with more people, but did not fit into traditional teaching models.
If you teach in virtual courses, you can produce much more specific and even innovative content. Perhaps, you will find your opportunity to start in the least expected way.
The important thing is to choose a topic that you know thoroughly in order to enter the distance education market with content that is really useful and complete for your audience.
6. Create various content formats
Depending on the educational institution in which you work, it is very difficult to implement other types of additional materials for…
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