National Distance Learning Week

It’s National Distance Learning week!  Beginning 9^th November, all over the United States numerous events will be held throughout the country and on-line to celebrate and educate people to the fastest growing world of distance learning. Last year honours were given to the former First Lady Laura Bush honoured for her outstanding dedication to academia, technology and education. 

 

Online education places the control directly under the finger tips of the learner.  You can choose when you learn, how much you learn, and even how you learn.  It’s never been easier. Whether it is by email, instant messaging, webcam, webinar, video conferencing or other,  the world of education has moved from the dusty cold halls of under funded colleges and universities into the cosy living room of the student. 

 

Gone are the days when home study courses carry the stigma of being second best. With advances in technology employers are realising that a home study course generally means that the student has had better and greater contact with the tutor than in conventional class room based courses. Do the math, if you have a class room of 12 people for two hours that equates to 10 minutes personal time each, if they are very lucky.  Over a period of 10 weeks that is no more than 1 hour and 40 minutes per person.  Not so with distance learning.  Each person can have their own slot of personal time with their tutor.  Nowadays any legitimate college or university worth it’s salt is developing new and innovative approaches using the internet and technology.  I myself and working with eleven new candidates online using a web based portfolio building and assessment tool.  It is making life very slick for both the students and me, and in addition there is no tiresome travelling and traffic jams to navigate. We can all talk to one another from our own armchairs.  Students can upload their work for me to assess at any time of the day or night. 

 

Just think about it, no child minding fees, no fuel costs, no sitting in cold uncomfortable class rooms trying desperately to get the attention or a moment of you tutors time. Now you can have it all on tap.

 

Even better still, by doing one of our courses you are not only able to control how you study but at the end of it you get a certificate that is nationally recognised.  I’m sure most of you have heard of an NVQ.  Well that is all going to change in 2010 which is why the courses on this site are at the cutting edge of the new qualifications frame work.  Next year all courses will be unitised.  What that means to you is that you can take these units and they will map directly into any qualification that you are doing at work which means that you cut down on the repetition of work.  Not only that but at your own pace you can group units together and get a full award in it’s own right.  The NOCN is a highly respected awarding body, just like City and Guilds or EDI. They have been heavily involved in the development of the new QCF framework and offer qualifications in just about any subject you can think of.