What is distance learning? What are its benefits and drawbacks?

Distance education is a form of education in which students and teachers, students and educational organizations are linked by systematic teaching and communication mainly through a variety of media, and in which courses are transmitted to students in one or more places off campus. Modern distance education, on the other hand, is education in which courses are transmitted off-campus by means of audio, video (live or videotaped), and computer technology, including real-time and non-real-time. Modern distance education is a new type of education that has emerged with the development of modern information technology. The development of computer technology, multimedia technology, communication technology, especially the rapid development of the Internet (internet), so that the means of distance education has made a qualitative leap, become a high-tech conditions of distance education. Modern distance education is a modern means of distance education, compatible with face-to-face, correspondence and self-study and other traditional forms of teaching, a variety of media optimization combination of education.

Modern distance education can effectively bring into play the characteristics of distance education, is a relative to face-to-face education, teacher-student separation, non-face-to-face organization of teaching activities, it is a cross-school, cross-region education system and teaching mode, which is characterized by: the separation of the student and the teacher; the use of a specific transmission system and communication media for teaching; a variety of ways of transmission of information; the learning place and It is characterized by: the separation of students and teachers; the use of specific transmission systems and communication media for teaching; a variety of ways of information transmission; and the flexibility of learning places and forms. Compared with face-to-face education, the advantages of distance education are that it can break through the limitations of time and space; provide more learning opportunities; expand the scale of teaching; improve the quality of teaching; and reduce the cost of teaching. Based on the characteristics and advantages of distance education, many knowledgeable people have recognized the importance of the development of distance education and broad prospects.

Distance education due to the different ways and means of information transmission, its development has gone through three stages, the first is the mail transmission of paper media-based correspondence education stage, the second is to radio and television, audio-visual radio and television teaching stage; the third is through the computer, multimedia and telecommunication technology combined with online distance education stage. With the gradual popularization of television, telephone, computers, the Internet, online distance education is getting closer and closer to us, in the big city for us in fact, it has come to us.

At present, the number of people attending online schools is gradually increasing, according to the different learning objectives are divided into academic degrees, vocational training, online charging and other three types. Learning mode is now mainly divided into collective classes and individual learning two. On the other hand, a variety of online schools can be found everywhere on the Internet, including online schools for undergraduate and postgraduate courses run by regular universities and recognized by the State Education Commission for their academic qualifications, online schools for test-oriented education run by nationally renowned key high schools for college entrance examination tutoring, and online schools for vocational and technical training organized by commercial websites for those who recharge their batteries on the Internet. Peking University Business Network is the teaching and implementing agency of Peking University's management distance education, belonging to the first category.

The Requirements of Distance Learning for Learners

The characteristics of distance learning determine that distance learning is mainly self-study, and most of the students' study time is separated from their teachers and classmates, and there is no classroom, and even less classroom atmosphere, which will inevitably lead to some difficulties for many students who have just begun to study at a distance or are not accustomed to it. The vast majority of students who participate in distance learning are adults, and their motivations for learning are varied, but they are no more than improving their academic qualifications, increasing their skills, recharging their batteries on the job, and expanding their careers, etc. They generally have a strong motivation for learning. They generally have strong motivation and clear learning objectives, but whether they can maintain their motivation during the years of study is the key to their success or failure.

The spirit of active exploration. Adult students should be able to determine how much time to devote to their studies, develop their own study plans, and choose and adapt to a learning method. Learning to learn has become one of the four pillars of education in the 21st century; for distance learners, this is also of great significance. In the specific learning process, in the face of a problem, active learners will not only accept an answer, or wait for the teacher to tell you what viewpoints or positions to take; nor will they be limited to a certain book or textbook to find the answer to a certain chapter or section. Active learners try multiple solutions, build their own ideas, and decide what they want to do and how they want to do it after active exploration. The BYU Business Network encourages students to explore actively, think actively, and work hard to understand what they are learning rather than rote memorization and passive acceptance.

In addition, with the formation of an information-based society, a learning society and the advent of the knowledge-based economy, education is undergoing profound changes. Participating in distance learning, it is necessary to change their learning concepts and understanding.

● Although there is less time for face-to-face teaching and the requirement for independent learning is higher, one can improve one's learning ability through this new form of learning.

● In an information society, people's living and working environments are changing more and more rapidly, and they need to face the constant emergence of new knowledge and new technologies. One-time school education is increasingly unable to meet the lifelong social needs of individuals. Only continuous learning can keep up with the rhythm of life and work.

● Modern distance education provides equal learning opportunities for all seekers, so that receiving higher education is no longer a right enjoyed by a few, but a basic condition for individual survival; the breadth of educational resources, educational objects, and educational time and space, provides the possibility of lifelong learning for the masses.

● To receive education is not only to learn knowledge, but also to learn to learn, to develop good learning habits for future continued learning; master the necessary learning skills. Learning to utilize modern information technology for independent learning will be very beneficial to the future continuous acquisition of knowledge and improve the level of education.

Third, what teaching information can be obtained online

Currently, the online teaching information provided by Peking University's business network mainly includes information on teaching organization and management, course information, teaching dynamics, tutorial information, BBS (bulletin board) and other information on faculty management.

● Teaching organization and management information includes teaching plan, professional teaching implementation plan, course teaching design plan, course introduction, and all kinds of notices and circulars in the teaching process, which are mainly used for the overall guidance of the teaching process and the organization and management arrangement of the teaching, etc.

● Course organization and management information is mainly used for the overall guidance of the teaching process and the organization and management arrangement of the teaching.

● Curriculum information, teaching dynamics counseling information refers to the teaching schedule in accordance with the requirements of the timely provision of targeted guided learning information to students, including the key points of each chapter of the content of the teaching, difficult to explain the tips, synchronized homework and quiz questions and analysis, and so on.

● BBS discussions are mainly thematic seminars, feedback on learning difficulties, personalized questions and answers, etc. At the same time, through the discussions to understand the actual difficulties of students' learning, in order to improve the school's teaching work.

● Other teaching information also includes class activities, notification of online school activities, introduction of students' learning and life dynamics.

Distance learning is a new way of learning, and it is not terrible for beginners to encounter some difficulties. How to make a study plan that suits you? How to overcome the loneliness in the learning process? How to set up a long-term learning confidence? How to grasp the skills of distance learning? How to improve learning efficiency? How to deal with homework and exams? This manual will help you overcome these difficulties and establish a personalized distance learning mode for yourself.1. Four modes of distance education

(1). E-learning University, Correspondence University: the mode of education system established on the traditional information channels. For the first time, people know that access to knowledge does not necessarily require a fixed classroom, but still centered on "teaching", even if there is a learning feedback is also a long period of time, low efficiency.

(2). Cable TV: large bandwidth, fast transmission, multimedia data transmission has good adaptability. But it is still a one-way transmission, poor interactivity, affecting the communication between teachers and students, students and students. Now is researching cable modem based on the two-way transmission of cable TV network.

(3). Remote Satellite Transmission: satellite communication technology linked to the LAN use applies to organized periodic downloading of information to browse within the LAN.

(4). Internet: rely on the global Internet or local area network to share resources, exchange and transfer information. This is currently the fastest growing, most advantageous and most promising information carrier for distance education.

2. Advantages and prospects for the development of Internet distance education

The reason why we so respected Internet distance education, in addition to his own development is really such a rapid in addition to the fundamental reason is due to the Internet distance education has the advantages of the advantages of far more than the disadvantages of the development of a broad prospect.

(1). The use of Internet distance learning, learners will not have too much learning pressure, easy learning, entertainment learning. This is because the Internet distance learning in a variety of forms: games, entertainment teaching and a rich and colorful visual and auditory artistic experience. So that students can really relax and have the attraction of learning in the knowledge.

(2). Breakthrough time, space limitations, human communication is not subject to the constraints of the physical characteristics of space, learning time does not have to be commuting, going to and from school, or the limitations of the day and night.

(3). Replaced the 19th and 20th century teacher-centered, textbook-centered, classroom-centered old traditions, but to the student-centered, in line with the "human-centered" concept of education.

(4). The importance of Internet distance education is the broadness of education, equality. Monitoring efforts to equalize." Class" does not have "front row", "back row" points, the teacher treats each student as equal, audio-visual effects are also equal.

(5). Not only to break the time and space restrictions but also to break the age limit of students. In today's highly competitive society, there are many adults who still need to continue to learn and enrich themselves, and online distance learning provides a wonderful opportunity for these people. In fact, the so-called these people should be each and every one of us, as long as there are conditions, everyone should "live to learn. Lifelong learning" is the need of modern society, and the concept of education in the 21st century.

(6). Teacher control means and methods more scientific. Teachers play a role in helping and facilitating learners. The means of control are weakened and aimed at the realization of the student's subjectivity. Teachers can apply more means and methods to control teaching. And since teachers and students are not in touch with each other, this control is more hidden and subtle.

(7). Interactive operation is good. Make the exchange of teachers and students have a "far-flung realms" feeling, students can always ask the top experts, scholars or teachers of their specialties on the Internet, video phone as in face-to-face exchanges.

(8). Helpful for student learning. For example, a school's distance learning system allows students to complete assignments online while teachers correct them online. Students can also read and comment on other students' articles through the website. This improves the efficiency of teachers in correcting assignments and students' interest in learning. Some students say that they can learn a lot from the comments on other people's articles, and they can also learn about other people's writing experience and feelings, so that his writing level improves very quickly.

(9). Immediacy. Such as E-mail, oicq, BBS, chat rooms and other teaching transmission is very fast.

(10). Affordable. Schools do not have to build classrooms, but as usual, charging tuition, school costs, costs are reduced, although the equipment and maintenance also need funds, but in the long run there is still a future for development.

The distance of distance education corresponds to face-to-face teaching (face-to-face teaching is close learning, distance education is distance learning), the advantage of distance education is that you don't have to go to the school according to the fixed time of the class, that is, in the study of time and place (space), there is no restriction. Suitable for working people to learn. But there must be a certain degree of self-learning ability. Correspondence is the most traditional distance learning, now rare. Distance education utilizing online learning is currently popular. There are 67 distance learning institutions in the country that provide learning education. Radio and Television University is one of them.