Distance Learning:
The Growth and Reasons Behind It

Distance Learning: The Growth and Reasons Behind It

     In today’s generation, the views on distance learning have exclusively changed. At one time, a majority of the world was leery about the idea of online learning, but as the use of the Internet has continued to grow, so has the idea and use of distance learning. Many colleges and universities were unsure if distance learning could replace the traditional in-class style of learning, but the accepted choice for means of study has changed. According to Marshall Smith, of the U.S. Department of Education, the most recent studies indicate that this type of learning is not just as good, but more effective than the customary in-class instruction (Bourdeau, 2009).

     This decade reveals that online learning has become the accepted choice to learn. This acceptance can be derived by the popularity and success of it, and the enrollment rates that reflect higher numbers every year show that it has become more popular. The growth of distance learning has proven to be a huge success for several colleges and universities worldwide, and there are several factors behind this growth.

     During the spring of 2004, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation financed a study that was conducted by the Sloan Consortium, an organization that supports online learning. Out of the 1,170 institutions that were surveyed in the United States, there were approximately 1.9 million students enrolled in at least one online course during the fall semester of 2003, which was 19 percent more than that of the previous year (Carlson, 2004).

     The Sloan Foundation has been studying the growth rates of online learning enrollment for many years, and the numbers continually rise every year. The graph in figure 1. illustrates the number of students that were enrolled in at least one online course during the fall semesters of 2002 through 2007. These figures show that the number of enrollments has went up by 2.3 million, just during this 5 year time frame.

Figure 1. Enrollment numbers for the fall semesters from 2002-2007 (Allen & Seaman, 2007, 2008).

     The latest study conducted by this foundation in 2009, revealed that approximately four million students have taken an online course during the 2007-2008 year. Also, the growth rate of online enrollment over the traditional in class enrollment was 10 times more (Breslau, 2009).

     Other countries, including Canada, have experienced this explosion in growth as well. In August of 2008, it was reported that out of all 24 community colleges in the Ontario province, online programs make up for 10% of all registrations. At that time, Algonquin College had also reported that each year 25% of all enrollments were for online programs (Bitti, 2008). This has been a tremendous shift from the days that people were still concerned about it being a different way of learning to the increased acceptance level of online learning.

     The development of the World Wide Web along with the advancement of technology is the biggest contributing factor to the popularity and growth of distance learning. This type of learning would have been impossible without the development of the Internet. It was first used only by universities, research institutions, and the military, but once the government allowed commercial businesses to access the Internet things started to change. Various businesses, such as communication carriers and hardware/software vendors, saw the need to offer new and better services, so they helped in the development and enhancement of the Internet. The result from this involvement was increased bandwidth at a lower cost, and the invention of (HTML) Hypertext Markup Language and (HTTP) Hypertext Transfer Protocol by Tim Berners-Lee, which created the World Wide Web in 1989 (Deitel, 2008).

     The technology behind improved bandwidth played a big role in this enrollment growth, especially with the advancement from the old dial-up days to the faster broadband connection. HTML allowed for the sharing of information through hyperlinked documents, and HTTP is the communications protocol, which is still used today to send information over the web. This lead up to the creation of the Mosaic browser, the first web browser introduced in 1993, which it’s user-friendly graphic interface has greatly enhanced the use of the web (Deitel, 2008). With the help of these technologies, the Internet exploded in use by the end of the nineties.

     During this decade, technology has flooded the market with the introduction of numerous online tools, that aid in learning. The web browser has made it easier to create applications of several languages that can communicate to the browser and be executed on a web page. Students can interact to the instructors and other students through the use of email, bulletin boards, blogs, wikis, forums, pod-casts and much more. There are several java applications that allow users to conduct real time web conferences that have the capability of sharing and viewing documents. Reagan (2007), a columnist from the Christian Science Monitor, said "With the spread of broadband technology and improved online teaching tools, students and teachers are finding online classes to be a more fluid and rewarding experience" (p. 17).

     Convenience has also played an essential role in this growth rate of online enrollments. There are several conveniences provided by online learning that are beneficial to the student. The ability to study comfortably from home at one’s own time and pace, and to save valuable time would be some of the obvious advantages. According to the Sloan Foundation, convenience is one of the main reasons that nearly four million students took atleast one online class during the 2007-2008 school year (Breslau, 2009).

     Flexibility is another convenience that distance learning provides, merely because for some students it is a difficult task to juggle education around personal and work schedules. As the growth of distance learning has expanded, institutions are offering more online courses and programs. A study identified that faculty and students agreed that flexibility and increased learning opportunities were the motivating factors for online learning (Alexander, Perreault, Waldman, & Zhoa, 2009).

     Instructors can take advantage of distance learning as well, since it can happen at any time and from anywhere, as long as an Internet connection is available. Professor Bemski, from Regis University, stated "I can be anywhere. I started a class sitting at my desk, went to Brazil for two weeks, then to a workshop in Chicago, and continued teaching my class. I don’t miss a beat" (Tahmincioglu, 2008, p. 15).

     The economy has also had a big impact on the growth of online learning, especially with the rising unemployment rate. According to Kolowich, more adults are seeking shelter in the classroom, during these economic storms (2009). As the unemployment rate goes up, and the educational expectations of hiring employers expand, more people are either wanting to learn new skills, or expand the knowledge that they already have. During an interview with Ms. Ellen from the Sloan Consortium, she stated "A lot of people want to increase their skill levels or get that degree they didn’t have. The threat of losing their jobs can be as big a motivator as the actuality" (Kolowich, 2009, p. 2).

     Fuel cost has also had an effect, and there is no doubt that with the rising fuel rates, it could be cheaper to learn from home. Frank Mayadas from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation stated "In these tough economic times, with unemployment up and higher cost for heating and transportation, we will inevitably be able to see the appeal of online education grow" (Allen, & Seaman, 2009).

     It is clear that the use of distance learning has expanded, and that it has become an accepted choice for means of learning. The popularity of it will continue to rise, so therefore the enrollment rates will also continue to grow. The contributing factors to this growth are technology, convenience, and the economy.

     The demand for this type of learning will continually push technology to advance and introduce more online-learning tools. In this busy world, more and more people will enjoy the conveniences and flexibility that it has to offer. With the current economy situation, online learning will remain to be a choice for several people. Just imagine what the numbers of online enrollment will reflect during the upcoming decade.

References

Alexander, M. W., Perreault, H., Waldman, L., & Zhao, J. J. (2009). Comparing   AACSB faculty and student online     learning experiences. Journal of Educators Online,6(1)1. Retrieved November 8, 2009, from Directory of Open     Access Journals database.

Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2007, October). Online education: Five years of growth in online learning. The Sloan     Consortium, Retrieved December 8, 2009, from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/online_nation.pdf.

Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2008). Staying the course: Online education in the United States, 2008. The Sloan     Consortium, (7)10. Retrieved November 8, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Bitti, M. T. (2008, August 21). Surging wave of e-learning: Students tuning to online continuing education. The Financial     Post, p. FP10. Retrieved October 6, 2009, from Lexis-Nexus Academic database.

Bourdeau, C. (2009, July 6). Online learning gains approval: Study finds it effective for adults, maybe not for children.     The Washington Times, p. A13. Retrieved November 8, 2009, from Lexis-Nexis Academic database.

Breslau, K., & Henig, S. (2009, August 17). The sound of one hand clicking: Online schools are booming, thanks to     convenience, low cost, and improved quality. Newsweek Kaplan College Guide, p. 0. Retrieved November 10, 2009,     from Lexis-Nexis Academic database.

Carlson, S. (2004, November 26). Online-Education survey finds unexpectedly high enrollment growth. The Chronicle of     Higher Education, (51)14, A30. Retrieved November 13, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Deitel, H. M., & Deitel, P.J. (2008). The Internet & World Wide Web: How to program (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:     Prentice-Hall.

Kolowich, S. (2009, January 16). Recession may drive more adult students to take online classes. The Chronicle of     Higher Education, (55) 19, A11. Retrieved November 14, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Reagan, T. (2007, October 31). Online learning grows more popular. Christian Science Monitor, p. 17. Retrieved     November 13, 2009 from Lexis-Nexis Academic database.

Tahmincioglu, E. (2008, March 9). The faculty is remote, but not detached. The New York Times, p. 15. Retrieved     November 14, 2009, from Lexis-Nexis Academic database.