Advantages & Disadvantages of Distance Learning

The No Significant Difference Phenomenon by Thomas Russell cites 355 pieces of research and concludes there is no significant difference in the quality of learning between distance and face-to-face learning approaches. Here are some possible advantages and disadvantages you might notice.

1. Geography isn't a limiting factor. The best courses and teachers are available to you, no matter where you live.

2. Schedules tend to be more flexible. Since many DL programs are not "time bound," busy students can study on their own time.

3. Student-based learning is the dominant educational philosophy. This means you can learn in the way that best suits you, instead of the way demanded by a particular instructor. In a student-based learning course, students will be encouraged to seek additional resources and read additional information, following their own unique interests and finding "bridges" between those interests and the course material. In this way the student learns the material and connects it to her own background and interests.

4. A mix of media enlarges the scope of your education. Videoconferencing and the Internet facilitate all sorts of new encounters with other students, instructors, and learning materials. To keep the face-to-face contact traditional education provides, it may be best to make online courses only one component of your overall education.

1. Social needs are better fulfilled in-person. Distance learning classes cannot fulfill needs such as friendship in the same way that face-to-face classes can.

2. It may be harder to create a network of contacts with fellow graduates. Networking is a key to some of the best academic and professional programs and the success of their graduates. Knowing others who have graduated from the same program creates a bond between graduates, which serves as a social network. This special network can be of great help in getting jobs and advancing one's career.

3. Face-to-face interaction is encouraging. Traditional classes share some aspects of the "12-Step" programs like AA, in that coming to and being called upon in class can help motivate you to complete your reading and other assignments.

4. College is more than a classroom. Life skills simply cannot be part of a curriculum, and extracurricular learning is not likely to take place at home, in front of your computer. For this reason, distance learning is particularly well-suited to those who have had the opportunity to learn life skills, but who feel they need to enrich and expand their knowledge of a particular subject, or their ability to learn itself.