subject: Distance Learning: Lack of Opportunities for Developing Skills [print this page] Distance Learning: Lack of Opportunities for Developing Skills
Overestimating one's abilities Distance learners are said to juggle their work with studies and allot enough time to everything. Convenient schedule and opportunities to manage one's time at one's reasonable discretion sound alluring, don't they? Still, some distance learners might be disillusioned. Impressed with opportunities of an early start of one's career and adult life, they might overestimate their abilities. There are not so many people who might become a successful distant learner. The majority of students lack self-motivation and time-management skills. Distance students often do not start working on their assignments before the last moment. They have problems with meeting the deadlines. Allotting not much time to the assignments, distance learners deprive themselves of opportunities to develop their professional skills. Most recruiters have got certain prejudices concerning degrees received via Internet. Most young specialists are not able to develop professional skills studying in online colleges. Perhaps, the situation and public opinion will change in future, but the existing state of affairs leaves much to be desired. Precautions for school leavers choosing distance learning Before choosing an online college, a person has to evaluate one's motivation and skills critically. Young people are in the wrong if they think that distance learning will allow them allotting more time to their personal life. Distance learning is not a condensed course, it does nor presuppose devoting less time to one's studies. Distance learners have to allot to their studies as much time as ordinary students at campus do. For enhancing the effectiveness of one's distance learning a person has to get rid of one's misconceptions concerning its peculiarities. Deciding between distance learning and traditional campus courses, a person has to take into consideration level of development of one's time-management skills; level of one's self-motivation; opportunity to develop practical skills combining work with studies.
