Modern students have a wide range of new technology and devices to contend with. From smartphones like the Blackberry, to digital gadgets like the iPad tablet, students are able to access information anywhere and at any time. Some believe this opens up possibilities for distance education degree.
Students participating in online degree and certificate programs for the most part access their coursework and participate in studies through the Internet. Many online college and university programs are flexible in that students can schedule time for studies when they’re not working or tending to family responsibilities. There are other methods of online learning as well.
Second Life, according to the DailyCollegian.com, might become the next virtual classroom. Through Second Life, participants utilize “avatars” to represent themselves in a virtual reality world. They create the avatars with distinct appearances and can have them walk or fly the globe and travel between teleports. Some aspects of Second Life are free, while others might be purchased. Several colleges and universities reportedly maintain campuses on Second Life’s 3-dimensional islands.
A 2006 CNN report suggested Second Life was the “classroom of the future.” Science Daily in 2007 noted that attending class through the site was “otherworldly.” A New York Times article in 2007 reported that its education community was growing, with more than 1,000 education listserv subscribers, at least three open to the public islands run by library groups, and universities making space on their islands available for idea sharing. Students can hold chat discussions and create multimedia presentations, according to The Times.
Second Life is said to have debuted in 2003 as a social networking site. Through structured scenarios on it, students in childcare, teaching or psychology programs might benefit, the DailyCollegian.com noted. A computer science and engineering professor from a Florida university guided his students on a Second Life tour and discussion of digital objects, according to the Science Daily article. The professor found that Second Life offered potential for collaboration, immersion, creativity, aesthetics and social interaction, the article noted.
A professional association of educators working to improve instruction through technology also has a Second Life presence. The group is known as the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. One of the drawbacks of Second Life: When avatars fly above students trying to focus on a class discussion, it can be distracting, according to what an Ivy league student told CNN.
Second Life is only one way that students in college online can interact with fellow students and their professors. Students with web cams and internet connections might utilize an internet program known as Skype to communicate. Skype allows students working together on associate or bachelor’s degree projects, or those associated with certificate programs, to collaborate with people who are physically thousands of miles apart.
Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace also allow for collaboration. Students working with the same textbook might establish a group on either of these sites. They can post information to MySpace and Facebook forums and connect with other online college and university students regardless of the distance between them. Students on these sites can also chat in real time.
What seems clear is that students in the future are going to be learning online. Everything is there, from a classroom two blocks away to a student-partner in China taking the same course online. What also seems clear is that students can right now take advantage of