Distance Education And Its Future

Learning has not always been as accessible as it is now. At one point in time, it was considered quite normal for the majority of a country’s population to be illiterate and or innumerate. This situation was actually considered favorable because it gave the nobility an opportunity to retain their power by being the only ones with education. This position was also enjoyed by the clergy who were the only ones who really knew the contents of the religious texts. Slowly this system was replaced by the one we currently enjoy and this essay can explain that process.

Mentorship

Initially, the children of wealthy families were mentored by scholars and given a instruction in various fields that were considered to be useful to people who were intended to rule. On the other side, people who were impoverished were taught the skills that would make them better able to earn a living. There was very little overlap between the two. At this stage, the concept of learning from someone who was not present could not be explored. Books were very expensive and too few people could read for their widespread use to be worthwhile.

The more modern system

The classroom of today owes much to the Prussians. In their attempt to ‘mass produce’ education, they implemented many of the rules we are accustomed to today. They decided that classes would be separated based on age, that some students would be funneled into certain fields based on their excellent grades and others would have more limited choices. This allowed for vacancies at all levels of society to be filled. After a few decades of this system, the world was ready to accept a more radical form of education in which correspondence courses allowed the student to study far from the educator.

Online education and beyond

Distance education got a major boost from the growing popularity of the internet. Anyone can teach a course and even huge players in the field have created learning modules. Some of these can even be accessed at no cost. These help people who might not have been able to afford it to learn useful things. The process of gamification has also allowed people with problems focusing to absorb new material, all without a teacher present.

There are many more advances that will come into being in this field given time. The old model of teaching appears to be growing more and more obsolete by comparison.