Week 13: Distance Education & Virtual Schooling

This week we discussed distance education. Distance education is becoming more common today as students find it easier and cheaper to get their degree online. Even the University of Florida provides some online course work. The growing problem with this is that more and more people are going to unaccredited colleges/universities. This means that someone can get a degree by simply turning in a resume and paying a certain amount of money. If employers do not check the accreditation of the college, then my degree would be as good as their "degree." To get educated on the difference between online and in person schools check out this website.

Florida Virtual School is an accredited organization here in Florida. This "school" provides courses for high school students attempting to gain college credit. Many of my peers have used FLVS to take AP courses and have passed their exams. I think this is one example of how distance education can be positive and a legitimate source of education and accreditation.

This video highlights some of the problems with online degrees.

As a future teacher, I think distance education as advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that more people can get an education. But as a teacher, I would like to know my students and teach them face-to-face. I believe people can do well in online courses, but many students need the interaction that a live classroom provides. As I mentioned before, when attending an online school it's important to keep ethics in mind. It would not be fair for me to attend a 4-year university and have the same degree has someone who paid $1,500 and received their degree without any work.