Distance education, distance learning, dlearning, or D-Learning is a mode of delivering education and instruction, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional setting such as a classroom. Distance learning provides "access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both." Distance education courses that require a physical on-site presence for any reason (including taking examinations) have been referred to as hybrid or blended courses of study. Massive open online courses (MOOCs), aimed at large-scale interactive participation and open access via the web or other network technologies, are a recent development in distance education Internet The widespread use of computers and the internet have made distance learning easier and faster, and today virtual schools and virtual universities deliver full curricula online.[31] In 1996 Jones International University was launched by Glenn Jones, CEO and Bernard Luskin, Chancellor as the first fully online university accredited by a regional accrediting association in the US.[32] Between 2000 and 2008, undergraduate enrollment in at least some distance programs became more and more common. The share of students "in at least one distance education class expanded from 8 percent to 20 percent, and the percentage enrolled in a distance education degree program increased from 2 percent to 4 percent."[33] Many private, public, non-profit and for-profit institutions worldwide now offer distance education courses from the most basic instruction through the highest levels of degree and doctoral programs. Levels of accreditation vary: Widely respected universities such as Stanford University and Harvard now deliver online courses—but other online schools receive little outside oversight, and some are actually fraudulent, i.e., diploma mills. In the US, the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) specializes in the accreditation of distance education institutions.[34] In the United States in 2011, it was found that a third of all the students enrolled in postsecondary education had taken an accredited online course in a postsecondary institution.[35] Even though growth rates are slow, enrollment for online courses has been seen to increase with the advance in technology. The majority of public and private collegTransfer Moneyes now offer full academic programs online.[35] These include, but are not limited to, training programs in the mental health,[36] occupational therapy,[37][38] family therapy,[39] art therapy,[40] physical therapy,[38] and rehabilitation counseling[41] fields. Distance education has a long history, but its popularity and use has grown exponentially as more advanced technology has become available. By 2008, online learning programs were available in the United States in 44 states at the K-12 level.[42] SazmandAsfaranjan, Y., Shirzad, F., Baradari, F., Salimi, M., & Salehi, M. in a 2013 research paper argued that implementation of internet forum, online discussion group and online learning community contribute to an efficacious distance education. Researchers showed that socialization plays the most vital role in effective distance education.[43]Technologies Although the expansion of the Internet blurs the boundaries, distance education technologies are divided into two modes of delivery: synchronous learning and asynchronous learning. In synchronous learning, all participants are "present" at the same time. In this regard, it resembles traditional classroom teaching methods despite the participants being located remotely. It requires a timetable to be organized. Web conferencing, videoconferencing, educational television, instructional television are examples of synchronous technology, as are direct-broadcast satellite (DBS), internet radio, live streaming, telephone, and web-based VoIP.[44] Online meeting software such as Adobe Connect has helped to facilitate meetings in distance learning courses. In asynchronous learning, participants access course materials flexibly on their own schedules. Students are not required to be together at the same time. Mail correspondence, which is the oldest form of distance education, is an asynchronous delivery technology, as are message board forums, e-mail, video and audio recordings, print materials, voicemail, and fax.[44] The two methods can be combined. Many courses offered by The Open University use periodic sessions of residential or day teaching to supplement the remote teaching.[45] The Open University uses a blend of technologies and a blend of learning modalities (face-to-face, distance, and hybrid) all under the rubric of "distance learning." Distance learning can also use interactive radio instruction (IRI), interactive audio instruction (IAI), online virtual worlds, digital games, webinars, and webcasts, all of which are referred to as eLearning.[45] Media psychology and media studies have evolved as the research area in the study of media effects. Each has grown into important academic areas with graduate degree programs now providing professional research, teaching and field staff to help build understanding of the behavioral implications of media. The first MA, PhD and EdD programs in Media Psychology and Media Studies were launched in 2002 by Bernard Luskin at Fielding Graduate University. Benefits Distance learning can expand access to education and training for both general populace and businesses since its flexible scheduling structure lessens the effects of the many time-constraints imposed by personal responsibilities and commitments.[46] Devolving some activities off-site alleviates institutional capacity constraints arising from the traditional demand on institutional buildings and infrastructure.[46] Furthermore, there is the potential for increased access to more experts in the field and to other students from diverse geographical, social, cultural, economic, and experiential backgrounds.[39] As the population at large becomes more involved in lifelong learning beyond the normal schooling age, institutions can benefit financially, and adult learning business courses may be particularly lucrative.[46] Distance education programs can act as a catalyst for institutional innovation[46] and are at least as effective as face-to-face learning programs,[37][47] especially if the instructor is knowledgeable and skilled.[40] Distance education can also provide a broader method of communication within the realm of education. With the many tools and programs that technological advancements have to offer, communication appears to increase in distance education amongst students and their professors, as well as students and their classmates. The distance educational increase in communication, particularly communication amongst students and their classmates, is an improvement that has been made to provide distance education students with as many of the opportunities as possible as they would receive in in-person education. The improvement being made in distance education is growing in tandem with the constant technological advancements. Present-day online communication allows students to associate with accredited schools and programs throughout the world that are out of reach for in-person learning. By having the opportunity to be involved in global institutions via distance education, a diverse array of thought is presented to students through communication with their classmates. This is beneficial because students have the opportunity to "combine new opinions with their own, and develop a solid foundation for learning.".[48] It has been shown through research that "as learners become aware of the variations in interpretation and construction of meaning among a range of people [they] construct an individual meaning," which can help students become knowledable of a wide array of viewpoints in education.[48] To increase the likelihood that students will build effective ties with one another during the course, instructors should use similar assignments for students across different locations to overcome the influence of co-location on relationship building.[49] The high cost of education affects students in higher education, to which distance education may be an alternative in order to provide some relief. Distance education has been a more cost-effective form of learning, and can sometimes save students a significant amount of money as opposed to traditional education. Distance education may be able to help to save students a considerable amount financially by removing the cost of transportation.[50] In addition, distance education may be able to save students from the economic burden of high-priced course textbooks. Many textbooks are now available as electronic textbooks, known as e-textbooks, which can offer digital textbooks for a reduced price in comparison to traditional textbooks. Also, the increasing improvements in technology have resulted in many school libraries having a partnership with digital publishers that offer course materials for free, which can help students significantly with educational costs.[50] Within the class, students are able to learn in ways that traditional classrooms would not be able to provide. It is able to promote good learning experiences and therefore, allow students to obtain higher satisfaction with their online learning.[51] For example, students can review their lessons more than once according to their need. Students can then manipulate the coursework to fit their learning by focusing more on their weaker topics while breezing through concepts that they already have or can easily grasp.[51] When course design and the learning environment are at their optimal conditions, distance education can lead students to higher satisfaction with their learning experiences.[52] Studies have shown that high satisfaction correlates to increased learning. Students who are enrolled in distance education with high satisfaction in their online coursework are then motivated intrinsically to learn, which often means that their performance in class will improve.[52] For those in a healthcare or mental health distance learning program, online-based interactions have the potential to foster deeper reflections and discussions of client issues[38] as well as a quicker response to client issues, since supervision happens on a regular basis and is not limited to a weekly supervision meeting.[41] This also may contribute to the students feeling a greater sense of support, since they have ongoing and regular access to their instructors and other students.[38][41] Distance learning may enable students who are unable to attend a traditional school setting, due to disability or illness such as decreased mobility and immune system suppression, to get a good education.[53] Distance education may provide equal access regardless of socioeconomic status or income, area of residence, gender, race, age, or cost per student.[54] Applying universal design strategies to distance learning courses as they are being developed (rather than instituting accommodations for specific students on an as-needed basis) can increase the accessibility of such courses to students with a range of abilities, disabilities, learning styles, and native languages.[55] Distance education graduates, who would have never have been associated with the school under a traditional system, may donate money to the school.[56] Distance Learning may also offer a final opportunity for adolescences that are no longer permitted in the General Education population due to behavior disorders. Instead of these students having no other academic opportunities, they may continue their education from their homes and earn their diplomas, offering them another chance to be an integral part of society. Criticism Barriers to effective distance education include obstacles such as domestic distractions and unreliable technology,[57] as well as students' program costs, adequate contact with teachers and support services, and a need for more experience.[58] Some students attempt to participate in distance education without proper training of the tools needed to be successful in the program. Students must be provided with training on each tool that is used throughout the program. The lack of advanced technology skills can lead to an unsuccessful experience. Schools have a responsibility to adopt a proactive policy for managing technology barriers.[59] The results of a study of Washington state community college students showed that distance learning students tended to drop out more often than their traditional counterparts due to difficulties in language, time management, and study skills.[60] Distance Learning benefits may outweigh the disadvantages for students in such a technology driven society however before indulging into e-learning a few more disadvantages should be considered.[citation needed] Some[who?] say a negative to distance education is the lack of social interaction. Not all courses required to complete a degree may be offered online. Health care profession programs in particular, require some sort of patient interaction through field work before a student may graduate.[61] Studies have also shown that students pursuing a medical professional graduate degree who are participating in distance education courses, favor face to face communication over professor-mediated chat rooms and/or independent studies. However, this is little to correlation between student performance when comparing the previous different distance learning strategies.[37] There is a theoretical problem about the application of traditional teaching methods to online courses because online courses may have no upper size limit. Daniel Barwick noted that there is no evidence that large class size is always worse or that small class size is always better, although a negative link has been established between certain types of instruction in large classes and learning outcomes; he argued that higher education has not made a sufficient effort to experiment with a variety of instructional methods to determine whether large class size is always negatively correlated with a reduction in learning outcomes.[62] Early proponents of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)s saw them as just the type of experiment that Barwick had pointed out was lacking in higher education, although Barwick himself has never advocated for MOOCs. Finally, there may also be institutional challenges. Distance learning is new enough that it may be a challenge to gain support for these programs in a traditional brick-and-mortar academic learning environment.[38] Furthermore, it may be more difficult for the instructor to organize and plan a distance learning program,[41] especially since many are new programs and their organizational needs are different from a traditional learning program. Distance e-Learning Distance e-Learning or DeL, is the combination of Distance Education and e-Learning which is characterized by the extensive use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the delivery of education and instruction and the use of synchronous and asynchronous online communication in an interactive learning environment or virtual communities, in lieu of a physical classroom, to bridge the gap in temporal or spatial constraints. Distance e-Learning combines the strengths and advantages of Distance Education and e-Learning. "The focus is shifted to the education transaction in the form of virtual community of learners sustainable across time."[63] The Distance Education model has its traditional focus on content delivery or correspondence, and emphasis on independent learning. Distance e-Learning has its roots on computer conferencing and collaborative constructivist learning approach; it encourages collaboration in an interactive learning environment. Distance e-Learning is also different from e-Learning. Distance e-Learning goes beyond the use of ICT as tools to access information which primarily characterizes e-Learning use in classroom teaching or in the residential setting. One of the most significant issues encountered in the mainstream correspondence model of Distance Education is transactional distance. Transactional distance results from the lack of appropriate communication between learner and teacher. This gap has been observed to become wider if there is no communication between the learner and teacher and has direct implications over the learning process and future endeavors in Distance Education. Distance Education providers began to introduce various strategies, techniques, and procedures to increase the amount of interaction between learner and teacher. Service providers began to use e-Learning, the generic term for all technologically supported learning, to deliver online courses or tutorial services. These measures e.g. more frequent face-to-face tutorials, increased use of Information and Communication Technologies including teleconferencing and the Internet, were designed to close the gap in transactional distance.[64] The increase in utilization of ICT, particularly the Internet, ushered in a new era in course design and delivery of instruction in ways never before experienced in the mainstream model of Distance Education and traditional education paradigms. The marriage of the two concepts, Distance Education and e-Learning, marked a new strategy in delivering courseware for academic programs and other learning resources developed by Open Universities and conventional educational institutions.Your only exposure to the term “structured settlement” may be late night TV ads hawking immediate access to your money. “It’s your money,” they’ll exhort. “Cash in your structured settlement and use your money now!” If you are (or were) a successful plaintiff in a lawsuit, your contact with structures may be more personal. You may have received one, be evaluating one now, or have considered one but opted for cash. But what should you know? Even if you already have one, you may not know how they operate and why they’re set up in the arcane fashion they are. Like so much else in the world, structured settlements are mostly about taxes. Cash vs. Periodic Payments. 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Brokers can run many financial projections based on a term of years, payments over your life, over your joint life with your spouse, etc. You can even call for no payments for say 10 or 15 years, with payments starting thereafter as a way to fund your retirement. Thus, structured settlements are very flexible. Provided that you consider these issues before signing a settlement agreement in your case, you can structure as much or as little as you want and take the rest in cash. With all of this, though, they have to be set up properly. Mechanics. You can’t own the annuity policy or the tax benefits won’t work. Rather than paying the cash to you or your lawyer, the defendant will send the money for the structure to a life insurance company’s subsidiary called an “assignment company.” The assignment company will buy the annuity from its parent life insurance company, and the assignment company will hold the policy and pay you each month as the contract requires. Special provisions in the tax code allow this arcane structure. Apart from special benefits to insurance companies, the arrangement allows you to be a mere recipient of the periodic payments over time. Even though you’re guaranteed to receive each payment, the tax code doesn’t treat you as owning anything except an expectation of each payment. Structured settlements are tax efficient and can have asset protection and spendthrift advantages too. Like other tax deferral ideas, their results are more impressive the longer their term and the slower they pay out. They aren’t for everyone, and you shouldn’t structure every nickel you receive. Once they are set up, they generally can’t be changed. Get Your Cash Now! Who are the “cash it in and get your money!” crowd advertising on TV? They are factoring companies. They buy up structures at a discount from accident victims who are receiving structure payments but whose circumstances have changed so they need the cash now. 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