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The Issues & Challenges of

Distance Education in

Different Environments

Krystal Hooker

ETEC 645

Fall 2011

Dr. Parton

Distance Education in a Campus-Based Environment

Throughout the years, distance education has went from being 50% online and 50% in the classroom to now being 100% online. There are two reasons why distance education in a campus-based environment has its issues and challenges.

The first reason is sometimes the quality of the distance education courses can go unmonitored. For instance, if a student takes an 100% online history course, then when it comes time to take the tests, the student passes every single test with an “A” because no one is monitoring them while they take each test. They are most likely going to use their notes and/or books to take the test; and as a result, they pass the class. However, they have not learned anything from the class because they have not applied themselves.

The second reason is that the quality of the courses may be neglected if the professors fail to give their students work that will challenge them. Some professors will give their students assignments that can be easy for the students to complete and even easier for the teacher to grade.

Forsyth, H., Pizzica, J., Laxton, R., & Mahony, M. (2010). Distance Education in an Era of eLearning: Challenges and Opportunities for a Campus-Focused Institution. Higher Education Research And Development, 29(1), 15-28.

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Distance Education in a Prison Environment

Once prisoners serve their time behind bars, they are released, and they cannot get a job. This is because they do not have any skills, and they have been in prison. If no one helps these prisoners out, they will become repeat offenders and go back to prison. The challenges of teaching distance education in a prison setting are: computer access and studying.

Most prisons do not have the funds in their budget to purchase computers for the inmates. Therefore, many prisoners are not able to partake in distance education courses.

Secondly, there is not anywhere for prisoners to study because if they choose to study in their cells, they will be bothered and harassed by their cellmate. They are always being watched by guards and other prisoners which may make them feel awkward and pressured to just give up.

Watts, J. H. (2010). Teaching a Distance Higher Education Curriculum behind Bars: Challenges and Opportunities. Open Learning, 25(1), 57-64.

Distance Education in a TESOL Program Environment

Distance Education taught by TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Teachers is definitely a cost-saver; however, it does have its flaws just like most other things. These flaws include: a high volume of email communication, a large workload, and the lack of understanding by the students.

Both the teacher and the student may receive a high volume of emails which may lead to someone overlooking some important information. This is because people generally don’t even read email communication very well because they may skim the email and miss details.

TESOL Distance Educators usually have a larger workload than face-to-face TESOL Educators which may tend to be a problem if administrators aren’t concerned about them. The class sizes are larger than most which becomes an issue when there are almost 100 students in a class.

The final issue of TESOL distance education is that the students may not fully understand what is being taught because it is online. This is similar to an English speaking student taking a foreign language course online. As a result, the student will face the biggest issue of all: pronunciation.

Hall, D. (2009). Issues in the education of TESOL teachers by distance education. Distance Education, 30(1), 63-85.