Reflections on distance learning

Here I sit, 110 miles from the institution of higher education from which I'll - hopefully, eventually - earn my Master's degree. I'm following in the footsteps of my mother who, at 40, returned to school. She drove over an hour each way daily after dropping me at a babysitter's and got her second bachelor's degree despite the constraints of 4 children and traffic.

Of the 4 classes I've taken so far, 3 have been web-based. What a change, almost 40 years after my mother's experience. A friend's husband is earning a doctorate from a university in New Mexico - he'll visit twice during his program of study. Gone, I think, are the days when 'distance education' meant second rate, buy-your-degree programs. Now we have this nearly instantaneous mode of communication that allows relationships between instructor/student and between student groups.

So why not do it all online? There are such programs, and they offer several advantages: flexibility of time and savings in gas being two of the biggest. I've noticed, though - and this may just be my preference - that I miss the face to face relationships. While I appreciate the flexibility at this stage of my life - I don't know how else I could work full time, parent 3 teens, have any sort of life, and take classes - I miss sitting at the proverbial feet of instructors. Sometimes the gems are found when we're not looking for them... in those lingering conversations in the hall, over a cup of coffee between classes, walking to the parking deck. Online learning is certainly more efficient, but I'm glad the entire program isn't done this way.

Disclaimer: I may have a different opinion next semester, when I travel a day a week and have to work every other Saturday to compensate for the time!