Educational Edge – What Videoconferencing Does For Distance Learning

Whenever you hear of video conferencing, you probably associate it with business deals, meetings and the pursuit of market share. Yet did you know that videoconferences are no longer the sole domain of big business but now have even entered the educational system? Distance learning has often been a somewhat laborious process for those who hoped to take some classes that perhaps were not available in their local area. Other times, it was a degree that the hopeful applicant was looking to earn.

Of course, distance learning had its pitfalls. For example, your average language course in the old way of distance learning involved the payment of the tuition, the receipt of a set of workbooks and tapes, and a syllabus. The student was then required to listen to the tapes, do the workbook exercises, and mail back any assignments. For the oral portion of the grade, the student was required to tape her or himself reading a script. This is not much fun, and most certainly no longer worthy of the technological advances we now enjoy.

While the old fashioned method did nothing to spur on the student to the completion of the course, it most often discouraged him or her simply because it was such a seemingly one-sided process that offered very little feedback and interaction. These days, video conferencing has changed the face of distance learning. Video conferencing is now an integral part of the virtual classroom, and permits for long distance interaction with professors, fellow students, as well as experts who may be guest lecturers. Real time interactions allow the students to receive the motivation they need to keep on task and do well in their studies while offering the teachers the ability to adequately gauge each student’s progress and skill levels. Additionally, lectures and other presentations may be recorded for future replay. This permits instructors to record lectures at their leisure and does not force them to adhere to a strict schedule while still making them available to their students at the students’ convenience.

Of course, not only colleges are seeing the advantages of distance education. As a matter of fact, the National Guard has discovered that their rigorous classroom training can now be facilitated via video conferencing. Instructors can now reach students nationwide in an effort to streamline training, and prepare the men and women who serve in this capacity to be on the cutting edge when it comes to skills, information, and overall training.

Another market for distance learning that so far has remained under served is the rural student population. Many students -- on the elementary, middle and high school, as well as college level – live in rural areas that are not readily served by high tech classrooms, exciting course offerings or even big schools. For such students, distance education is the only tool that will enable them to stay in step with the times and their colleagues in the big cities. Of course, this kind of technology is not merely limited to education in this country. Many third world countries are now beginning to build the networks needed to utilize this technology, but because of the abject poverty, children are not properly educated, and very often have to leave the school system there is in order to help contribute monies to the family budget. Fortunately, many volunteer organizations have stepped into the gap and helped with the education of the children, but how much more can be done by installing video conferencing systems and permitting children and adults to learn at times that are convenient to them? Lectures can be saved and replayed on demand. Children who may help with the labor will be able to spend a half hour before meals at a learning center to also learn about reading and writing. Progress in third world countries is already helping many to leave behind the trappings of poverty, and a proper education will help the next generation to have an easier time of it than their parents and grandparents did.

As you can see, distance education is but one of the many facets of video conferencing. Yet it is quite possibly the most important one. A person’s marketability is tied directly to their skill level, and video conferencing offers a wealth of learning opportunities.