Advantages and disadvantages of distance education

The training is the base of the global growth, the know does not occupy place and is the best form to progress of efficient way in a society that is in a constant movement and that precise of an education adapted to the demands and needs thanks to the new technologies. Now more than ever the education to distance earns greater importance and incorporates  of natural way to our daily routines, so much to professional level, educational like personnel. It is the era of the teleformación or education to distance, also called and-learning. 

The teleformación is the process of education-learning made through internet, with help of the technologies and of telematic form, in which it offers  to the student some multidisciplinary educational surroundings, interactive, dynamic and in constant update. The student is now the true leading of his learning.

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Advantages of the education to distance or teleformación

The versatility and ease of the learning that offers this system in which the student can access practically anytime and place of the world is the big advantage of the teleformación. Nowadays the access to the information is immediate from practically any device connected to Internet. Other big advantages of this type of education to distance are:

Global, universal and of easy access: education to distance without distances

The teleformación allows to reach to any person, community and organisation from any place by what the access to the information expands his access of form practically boundless. They do not exist already barriers neither of space neither of time to study and form. The fact of not having to displace facilitates the access to people that can not assist of face-to-face way or suffer some type of inability that does not allow them desplazazarse, that not to form.

Always up to date. The access to tools of education to distance through Internet opens the information to all the world and favours an update of the same of way faster and dynamic, in accordance with the times and the society that live.

Flexible, so much for educational like students

The educational and students no longer have to be slopes of the schedules of the classes since the access to the same produces  of constant way the 24 hours of the day. By this reason, can access to give this type of education to educational distance that in other cases could not paginate his obligations with the training as well as the people that by work and other impossibilities can not assist. The learning goes back  flexible by what adapts  to the needs and lives of each person much more that when it needs  attend to face-to-face classes to determinate hours of way more fixed or constant.

This yes, exist teleformaciones that from time to time demand also conferences, talks or tutorías face-to-face in direct, to clear doubts or other educational reasons, but that in a lot of occasions even can  adapt to the needs of ones and others. A computer, a smartphone  and a connection to Internet is sufficient to follow advancing in our studies.

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Better follow-up of the progress thanks to the technology

The tools of education to distance propose methods of follow-up of the evolution of the training of his students supporting in the technologies. The professor can know at all times in which point finds  the student, that goes surpassing the diverse phases of the plan of studies or autoevaluaciones that remain registered in the system for his comprobación and in a lot of cases to be able to give step to the following block of work.

Greater interactiveness: the educational social network

They allow to keep a permanent contact with professors and other students through tools like forums or chats that approach the study to a network of students and professors that in face-to-face conditions is used to to be more reduced. Many times it is easier to dare to ask a doubt through a forum or chat that do it in person attending to the dispatch of the professor. The social networks can use his best expensive to help to people with a same aim to know , are of where are, thanks to the technology and  Internet. Never ask a doubt was so easy, if it wants .

Material more up to date: the on-line training is in constant progress

The use of the new technologies in the training of students allows that they can update  the contents of way more constant  as well as the educational resources and environments of teleworking, like the intranets or tools of follow-up and evaluation. The adaptation to the needs of the students and professors makes  of way faster favouring an up to date education. Besides, the high demand of courses of on-line training demands to the institutions that organise them have the best temarios so that his students choose his plans of study.

It avoids besides that the educational have to make repetitive tasks, as have to give the same class in several groups. This fact frees it of time and of labour stress to be able to improve the following trainings and investigations on the thematic.

Economic: study to distance can be cheaper

The fact to be able to avoid trips for educational and students, avoid rents of temporary accommodations to be able to study or even that it needs  less material form for the study economiza the study. No always they are cheaper the on-line courses, but also largely due to the fact that they contribute material that of another form it is necessary to buy it apart from the registration. Besides, the time also is gold by what can organise our time so that it help us to optimise it, apart from not spending time in trips to be able to it invest in other activities or responsibilities.

Specific advantages for the students to distance.

For a student, the fact to form  supposes to put in a balance the pros and contras. Some of the general advantages for the student to part of the already mentioned are these:

• It allows to paginate with other activities: work, other studies, family, sport, etc.
• Personalised learning: study when and as I want to. It is used to to be matched to an elder rendimento académmico.
• Automotivación: The fact to be able to  organise of individual way increases the motivation for undertaking without depending on other factors. Everything depends on your personal autonomy and your strength of will. Which is a learning that can transfer  to other appearances of the life.
• Development of skills of research of information.
• Better management of the autoevaluación. When being conscious of the advances improves  the perception of the progress and therefore is a reinforcement to continue. In case of not surpassing the autoevaluación always can go back backwards to improve the learning.
• Better data in relation to the absenteeism. When facilitating the assistance to telematic classes the assistance is greater that the one who demands a trip or tie to specific schedules, many times that coincide with other activities.

Problems of the education to distance

No everything go to be advantages in  to training to distance. Obviously, the face-to-face training enriches to the student and educational to the interactuar socially of way more effective and making bows of union stronger between the people, which also is an important factor for the development of a process of education-effective and committed learning.

Another of the problems is related precisely with the technology. Although a big number of people has access to technological tools although they are simple and to the use of Internet, the reality is that they still exist a lot of limitations in this regard and does not arrive by the same to all the world. This technological capacity reduced closes the field of the education to distance to a wide number of people that yes could allow the face-to-face education.

What better was mounted the on-line course less inconvenient or more reduced will find  the students and professors. Still like this, the most usual problems for the students are what follows:

• It requires  a greater strength of will, independence, responsibility and automotivación that although the own education to distance strengthens it in a first moment is a problem to initiate this type of studies that involves a big level of auotgestión. There is not anybody that throw of you to begin a project that depends only of one same.
• When deleting the face-to-face contact deletes  the socialisation that in a lot of occasions is the first motivante to make the training, even more than the fact to want to learn the contents of the course.
• Mayor desorientación and difficulty to look for information. If they do not use  the tools properly or the course does not offer them of efficient way the student can not knowing where resort to resolve the doubts by what will generate a loss of considerable time in this appearance and the possible boredom or frustration for the student. All this avoids  choosing courses with a good structure and professionals behind that they support to the student at all times.
• Greater temptation to the distraction. When we study in group, the own group throws of one to put  to study. Therefore we go to study to the libraries. However, the fact to be only can disperse more the mind and put to make other tasks or postergarlas to play or lose the time more easily. It is more difficult to concentrate if this motivation grupal present.
• The tiredness for happening so many hours in a computer, the stress by not knowing use properly the technology and the time devoted, sometimes without fruit, can give place to periods of anxiety that can not be paliados by the verbal communications with other students. This can cause abandonment by the frustration of not being able to surpass the courses of autonomous way.
• Copy. Yes, it is easier falsear autoevaluaciones, works or even examinations. Avoid this is part of the evolution of the tools of  education to distance, but goes to depend always of the will of the student for learning of ethical way. At the end it is profit for him same.
• Technological problems. No only for the students that need of the technology and his update to be able to adapt to the requirements of this type of training, but also for the institutions that gives them that they have to improve his computer teams and form to his professors in the utilisation of the same.