Distance Education - How Did It Grow for The Last Years
Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, I will give you a detailed overview of Distance Education and How Did It Grow for The Last Years. The time when the only acceptable education involved sitting in class for hours is long gone. Society as a whole realized the irrelevance of physical presence when it comes to getting an education.
As a result, we’re seeing more and more renowned experts who gained their knowledge through distance education. How did this happen exactly? The change in the educational landscape happened due to a series of different circumstances.
In this article, we will take a look at all the societal and educational reasons that lead to the growth of distance education. With fewer students opting for traditional programs, we are seeing a slow disappearance of the prevalence of “brick and mortar” universities.
Will this growth of distance education lead to a complete revolution? Distance learning statistics are something worth noticing as its rise is quite overwhelming. Nobody can say for sure, but we can make educated guesses thanks to an analysis of the current state of global online education. Let’s find out more.
Financial difficulties
Times have changed. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was still common to see students being supported by their parents while they’re going to college.
It was an easy life, to be honest - you went to calls, returned home, ate cooked meals and went berserk during the weekend. Picturing a more perfect life for younger people is hard to accomplish.
However, when the recession hit, it wasn’t enough to just go to school. College students were obliged to find jobs if they wanted to pay their tuition and life a relatively stable life. The problem with
a job and college together is that it takes up a lot of time. It was education or survival for kids who weren’t coming from well-off families.
To balance these two obligations, it became harder to pass exams and attend lectures. After some time, it becomes impossible to catch up and drop-out rates increased by a significant margin.
There is no way someone can work full-time and be physically present to listen to their professors talk for three hours. Not only is it difficult, but it’s also pointless.
An opportunity to make money
Universities around the world felt this change as well. With fewer in their schools, they experienced a significant drop in funds. To solve this problem, they asked themselves - “What if students could get their education from the comfort of their own home?”
Thus, online programs for distance education were born. This gave universities a chance to survive, while students could balance their work-education schedule more efficiently. With all the materials being available online and re-watchable lectures, they can get all the knowledge they want without jeopardizing their life.
However, this growth in distance education became much more than just a few university programs offering convenience. Nowadays, students are Googling “
can you do my math homework for me” and similar questions to seek help with difficult problems from online tuition and homework services. The writers make money for the work they do and students save time which they use to work part-time or devote time to extra-curriculars. With an increase in demand, supply also followed. It’s a logical succession of reasons and results in an ever-changing world.
Growth in the private sector
If students don’t need to be physically present at lectures, why do they need formal education? Today’s market is far removed from seeing degrees and grades as the primary indicators of someone’s expertise.
Online courses began being created, offering something that will never stop being invaluable - skills. If you know how to do something, you can find a job anywhere in the world.
We live in a hectic society, so we have to devise ways to make up for lost time. So, what if you didn’t learn German while you were younger? Download an app such as Duolingo and start learning.
Distance education and online courses stripped the educational system of all possible limits. You can become a digital marketer at 40, an expert in Ancient Greek at 50, and so on.
Another reason why distance education grew in the last few years is the increasing difficulty of formal high school education.
Concluding thoughts
The recession hit everyone hard. Students were left with a dire choice to make - survive or get an education. It became increasingly impossible to work full-time and go to college, which led to
increased dropout rates throughout the world. The demand for distance education was born mainly as a way to help young people become experts without jeopardizing their financial status.
As universities began launching programs, private institutions and websites became focused on providing skills. Short courses and online lectures are the leading sectors in the entire distance education market, with high school aids and essay writing websites coming in immediately afterwards. You can become anything you want with enough effort.