How Does Home Learning Work?

Home learning is really just another name for distance education which encompasses a whole variety of different ways that you can learn. Regardless of the option that you choose the idea is that you can take classes from wherever you happen to be, for most people obviously this is as at home.

Far and away the most common method of home learning these days is online. The internet has opened up all kinds of opportunity for learning in places other than school. This is mainly because unlike traditional distance learning courses the internet allows for interaction with your instructor and other students. Normally when you take online courses you will be required to watch taped lectures and in most case to take part in video chats. There are however a huge number of different ways in which these courses can be structured so it is best to look into exactly how the course that you are planning to take works.

If you are not interested in online learning, and there are a lot of people who aren't, you do still have the option of taking traditional distance learning courses if you prefer. These are usually paper based, you will be given a study guide and a list of textbooks and expected to work through the material on your own. Most schools will provide a tutor that you can call if you get stuck however. This is a good option for independent learners who are not interested in a lot of interaction.

When you are choosing a school for your home learning courses it is important to make sure that you look at how the courses are scheduled. Some schools stick to the traditional school calender which means that you will have to stick to their schedule. Other schools offer self paced courses that you can start whenever you want and work through at your own pace. Obviously the self paced courses give you more flexibility but they also require a lot more discipline to make sure that you keep up with your studies.

Almost all home learning courses that you take are going to require that you submit assignments. How many will of course depend on the school and the particular course. It is a good idea to check how many assignments there are are before you enrol in a course to see how much work will be involved. The number of assignments is usually listed in the course catalogue under the course descriptions.

In all likelihood you will have to take a final exam for your course as well, this is probably the trickiest part of taking a home learning course. If you live near the school you can usually write it there so there will be no problem. If you don't live near the school you will probably be responsible for making your own arrangements, this almost always means finding a proctor. This can be a major headache so make sure that you find out about exams and have a plan in place for writing them before you register for a home learning course.