Some Key Features behind Popularity of Online Distance Learning

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With the advent of technology, distance learning has advanced to unprecedented heights. In its early years, distance learning was more about course material being dispatched through the mail but today, it has evolved and students can access course material online and discuss it with their tutors with the help of internet tools like webcams.

Online distance learning has brought many enthusiastic learners back to academic fold. A number of people who had quit academics early in their life because of some constraints, show faith in online education and are returning to complete their education. It is the idea of giving something back motivating people to return to education and online distance learning program has proved to be of great help in realizing their dreams.

Online learning paves way for convenient learning environment

The most sought after distance learning online course has been found to be MBA. Professionals these days are keen to specialize in their respective area and stay abreast of others by increasing their educational qualification through online programs .

When it comes to distance learning online, most of its features are different from the traditional classroom environment, where students and teachers can interact in real time. As opposed to traditional classroom, virtual learning lets students study according to own convenience. There are some online courses that allow recording of interactions and instructional proceedings to review it later by students.

So, you must have got a fair idea about how distance learning works. But, there are more to it. In fact, the idea of distance learning is quite vast and one needs to carefully and sincerely examine all the features and facts about it.

Nature of study material

Students have access to the online study material in the form of audio CDs and video DVDs, though most colleges and universities provide plenty of printed study material as well. While compiling the topics into course materials, it is kept in mind that they are of highest quality and may contain specially written workbooks or textbooks, online teaching materials, audio and video CDs and computer software.

After enrollment, each student is given access to the module website, where they can find out plenty of additional resources. They are also given authority to visit the online library.

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You are going to need a computer

If you enroll for a distance learning online course, you will need a computer and reliable and consistent access to internet so that you can gain maximum from the universities’ online services, which include online forums and vast library, among others. On the computer with internet access, you can interact with fellow students and tutors in order to seek assistance in your studies.

Assessment and examinations

Online learning is not an easy cakewalk. You are asked to complete your assignments that contribute towards completion of your module. Furthermore, you must submit the assignments online on or before due date.

The assignment given to you covers the material from your module. It helps you strengthen the knowledge you have gained from module. Your tutors provide comments on most assignments.

At the end of the module, you are expected to appear for examination on scheduled dates. You are made aware of the specific details of the examination up to a year in advance. Examination location depends upon your country of residence and arranged individually.

In a sharp contrast to early years, online learners today are sought after in the job market. A number of online learners have gone on holding the top positions in the corporate sector. Some renowned UK universities have come to Nigeria with a hope to contribute to its education sector. Nigerian students can make the best use of their presence and achieve their dreams by receiving globally recognized online degrees from them.

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Nigerian Education must be Purposeful & Vision-driven, concludes NESG

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It was only a couple of weeks back when education was enlisted on the agenda out of a national discourse initiated with the private sector-driven organisation, National Economic Summit Group. They held their 20^th annual conference where the primary theme was related to:

• the role of education that can strengthen a society’s foundation
• how education can lead to national transformation and growth

Keeping these goals in mind, the organisation decided to raise awareness towards the gradual deterioration in the sector which must therefore provoke strategic engagement. Well, the entire outing was super successful for which Mr Frank Nweke, the NESG Director General; Mr Foluso Phillips, the chairman and several participants from both public and private sectors deserve appreciation.

The 1-week summit ended with the conclusion that:

• Nigeria must now require education that would not only be driven by vision but should also be purposeful
• There must be competent professionals who must take the initiative to execute this strategy
• The nation must extend their objectives from education spending to education investment
• Nigeria must reconstruct their learning ambiance and accentuate on making students achieve trendy skills that are relevant globally
• Help schools initiate abilities to develop and establish research that can keep enhancing their standards with time
• There must be transformation from the prevalent conventional examination pattern to a system that highlights on the learning outcome

Since critical stakeholders from both public and private sectors along with Namadi Sambo, the Vice President, participated in most of the sessions, a key note of optimism popped up in regard to fixing fundamental issues on Nigerian education. Now, it’s going to be a new challenge that would let Nigeria move from action through talks to restructured education.

Implementing reforms is education is crucial

A serious aspect that has been discussed here is implementing reforms in the education sector. Having chaired by one of the retired UNESCO Directors for Education, Professor P.A.I. Obanya, along with departments and institutions under membership, far-reaching recommendations were made by the panel. As per the presidential panel, both the state and federal levels have witnessed a steady rise in the number of bureaucracies along with an increasing demand. Despite, a proportionate improvement in service delivery was not achieved and there was instead a huge amount of transactional costs.

What the findings have moreover exposed is that the current management models cannot effectively promote education policy as well as educational service delivery in the nation. So, what’s essential now are:

–         Decentralisation of power

–      Necessary resources for developing and managing basic education that can serve education authorities run by the local government

–    Existing top-down approaches must be reversed by making states work with federal authorities since the phase of conceptualising the initiatives

–         Involvement of expanded stakeholders must be there at almost every level of education in the nation

Besides, digital learning has played a key role in strengthening the educational standards of Nigeria. As per reports, the country now holds around 48.4 million internet users, and this clearly shows that the nation is gradually equipping itself to compete with the developed ones.

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