How are Distance Learning and Online Learning Different?

Over the last few years online learning has become very popular. Of course distance learning has been around for a long time. This does raise the question of just how are distance learning and online different and why has online learning become so much more popular?

Online learning is of course a type of distance learning, when we refer to distance learning therefore we can also be talking about online courses. There is however a pretty big difference in the way that online courses are presented as compared to traditional distance learning and this largely has to do with interaction.

Traditional distance learning usually required you to learn pretty much on your own. You were sent the course material and largely left to your own devices to work through it. In some cases there might have been a phone number that you could call to contact a tutor but many schools didn't even offer this.

Online learning allows for much more communication between you and your teacher and in some cases even your classmates than was ever possible with traditional distance learning. In addition to watching lectures on video you will likely be expected to take part in chats or video conferences as part of your course work. The result is that online courses are much more like regular college classes than traditional distance learning.

Most people would assume that online learning is a better option because it allows you to take classes that are similar to the ones that regular college students take and for many students this is in fact the case. There are however some students who do better learning on their own and prefer the traditional paper based courses. You should therefore not jump to the conclusion that you would be better with online courses.

Before you make a decision on which type of course you should enrol in you are going to want to think about what kind of learner you are. If you are the type of student who likes to take part in class discussions online classes are ideal. However for students who would rather just be left alone and allowed to do their work you will probably find that traditional distance learning classes are the best option.