Online learning, A to Z

There are more options than ever before. But what’s right for you?

Earn Your Degree in Seven Days!” “Be An Ordained Minister Now!” “Discreetly Earn Your Degree Based on Your Experience. No Bad Press!” It's internet ads like these that give non-traditional degrees a bad name. Nonetheless, legitimate degrees based on work done outside of traditional classrooms are everywhere. It's called “distance learning” or “online learning,” and it's a growing sector of the education market.

According to one study in 2006, 10 percent more students used an online learning method for at least part of their learning than a year earlier. And that followed several years of similar growth. Produced by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and based on responses from more than 2,500 colleges and universities, the report also showed that in 2006 nearly 20 percent of all higher education students in the United States were taking at least one online class.

With the spread of high-speed internet connections, media streaming, instant messaging and chat rooms, online students can hardly be said to be out of touch any more. Even such venerable institutions as MIT are getting into the act, sort of. MIT offers what they call “downloadable classes” (ocw.mit.edu), audio/visual presentations of classroom teaching with access to syllabi, study guides and assignments. Wonderful, yes, and free. But it’s a one-way street, done for one's own pleasure or edification, and offering no credit.
Other institutions offer full-on, credit programs online. Naropa University began testing the online education waters in 1999 by offering two online classes, Tibetan language and Buddhist meditation. The thinking among Naropa educators was that the online language class would do well, but that teaching Buddhist meditation online was nearly laughable. Surprisingly, the opposite held true: the language class languished, and meditation remains the most popular class online.

“What’s important in online teaching is to be able to post questions or topics that will provide an environment for the students to discover something about themselves and share it,” says Jirka Hladis, director of distance learning at Naropa. That aspect fits the practice of meditation very well, and isn't as natural in a language class.

How can a university achieve what Hladis calls a “transmission of the wisdom” between teachers and students? Mainly through audio lectures – 90 percent of Naropa's distance learning classes offer these via live streaming or podcasts – and through “threaded discussions,” or community forums in which the teacher posts a topic, and the students respond to the group throughout the week.
There are those who argue that there's nothing like the immediacy of a classroom discussion. But the online option isn't less good, it's just different, says Hladis. A typical online class at Naropa (and at many other accredited institutions) involves a specific timeline, with chapters assigned on a weekly basis, and assignments that take the students away from their computers and out into their communities. Then students are required to participate in the threaded discussions, and in some cases meet for one week each semester on campus as well.

Now, for all you naysayers out there who view online education as a mediocre second-best, or you traditionalists who are shaking your heads in steadfast defense of the classroom learning format, please read on: if a program is well designed and comes from an accepted university or institution, it may be not only as good as a classroom education but also, in some ways, better.

Some of the benefits are obvious: students can control their schedules, maintain their lives while pursuing their aspirations, and sample a new area of study without making a big commitment. Other advantages having to do with classroom dynamics are less apparent, but equally important. Outgoing students can't dominate classroom discussions, and shy people have an equal chance because the technology slows down the back-and-forth of the community forum. Indeed, the time delay may well improve a student’s quality of thinking and writing: in live seminars, people may speak before thinking; that’s less likely to happen in a blog format. And some students may feel safer baring their true thoughts in the relative anonymity of cyberspace.

A certain closeness can develop in long-distance cyber relationships. Jerry Shifrin, of Colorado Springs, has taken 10 online classes through Naropa, all in the transpersonal psychology department. “It's a lot more intimate than you might expect,” he says. “My experience is that people do a lot better when there's interaction and feedback.” When it’s structured right, a good online education can provide it.

In the realm of the mind, an online education seems workable. But what about bodywork? Massage isn’t easily learned without hands-on instruction, no matter how many videos a student watches. At some point, you’ve got to reach out and touch someone. Even so, ancillary skills can be taught without a direct, hands-on experience.

Both national professional associations – the American Massage Therapy Association (www.amtamassage.org) and Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals (www.abmp.com) offer continuing education classes online – but not the basics of massage itself. These online topics include ethics, business practices, and the application of massage in specific situations, all pretty cerebral stuff. The touching of human flesh, however, can only be experienced with skin-to-skin contact.

The kinesthetic factor applies to a few other areas. Bauman College (www.baumancollege.org), for example, opened a branch in Boulder this fall, expanding from its three branches in California. It offers two programs – nutrition educator and nutrition consultant – online. Their third program, Natural Chef Training, is only offered in person. Anyone who has ever watched The Iron Chef and then tried to prepare the same food knows that there’s a world of difference between virtually cooking and really cooking. Hands-on experience counts, and the novice chef can’t truly learn about handling sharp knives or heavy pots of boiling liquid in the privacy of his or her kitchen. It’s the sort of situation where a “don’t try this at home” approach applies. (By the way, Bauman College offers free community presentations each month that can give you an idea of their programs; check their website, or call 800-987-7530 for details.)

Not for couch potatoes
You might think online education would be the ideal fit for slacker types. It’s true you can schlep to class in your jammies, but that’s where the goof-off aspect ends. Students have to be extra-motivated to stay on top of requirements. When there's a schedule to maintain with weekly readings, assignments, mandatory chats and email-based feedback, procrastinators can get in big trouble, really fast.

Here’s an example: the Homeopathy School of Colorado (HSC, www.homeopathyschool.org) offers a resident study program, but added two distance learning options in 2002 in response to student demand. The residential program for professional homeopathy certification is structured around one very full weekend per month for two years, with summers off. One of the distance options is exactly the same: one unit per month, finishing 22 months after beginning. Procrastinators beware: you can’t slack off until the end of the program. You have to finish your section every month, as you would in a classroom. Deadlines are just as real.

At HSC, snail mail is still part of the deal. The school mails DVDs of professors’ lectures, study guides, and case study materials. Assignments are submitted via email. Students teleconference with the professors and each other at least monthly. And each student has a certified homeopath as a supervisor who offers individualized support via mail, email or fax. For those outside the United States and some within it, a self-paced program based on the very same materials is possible. Students can begin a section and complete it as time allows; go-getters can get ahead, but the lackadaisical student may never quite get to the end.

Barbara Seideneck, CCH, RSHom, one of the co-founders of HSC, says distance learning works surprisingly well for homeopathy. “Homeopathy is a very individual treatment, and the style of the school is to be very individualized as well,” she says. Students are often surprised by how much personal contact (albeit through a computer screen or a telephone wire) they have.

The money factor
Sorry, but you won’t get much of a bargain learning online (except for the perhaps substantial cost of traveling). For the university or college, classes may be somewhat cheaper to produce, but the same instructor time (or even more) is required, so price savings are not great. Indeed, the Online Nation report says that institutions do not cite cost savings as a major motivator in beginning or enlarging distance-learning offerings. Instead, they list improved student access to options at the top of the list. Job prospects
And while we’re considering money, you might wonder about the impact of an online education on landing a potential job. It all depends. Bauman College has a good track record of job placement, and nutrition is an area where personal referrals are significant. In general, the reputation of the institution may be what matters most. A degree from the 34-year-old Naropa University is one thing; if it's from Starry Eye’s College of Transcendent Love, watch out.

A Zogby study released earlier this year asked CEOs and business owners if they would accept online degrees. Forty-five percent said yes; more importantly, 83 percent of those who were familiar with online colleges said yes. That developing acceptance can only lead to more growth.

There are those, however, who cast a wary eye toward online degrees, and some believe online education is inadequate for medical fields. The Colorado Association of Naturopathic Physicians (CANP) has been working to establish regulation of naturopaths in our state. Those regulations would include a requirement of four years of post-graduate, in-residence training in a program accredited by the US Department of Education – not online education. 

“The public assumes that the title ‘doctor’ is earned after a period of hands-on, in-person training under the direct supervision of properly trained and qualified instructors,” says Dee Koloski, ND, LAc, president of the CANP. This assumption applies not only to MDs, but also to NDs, chiropractors and others in the alternative medical field. “While on-line training provides participants with a basic introduction into the natural health field, I do not believe the training they receive qualifies them to call themselves doctors in the sense that the public generally understands the term," says Koloski.

The best route to a new you
Even if you already have the seven-day-online-degree and are an internet-ordained minister, you may still find that you need lots more marketable professional expertise. As many others have found, piping the university into your home office via distance learning may be your best, most affordable, and perhaps, only option. And if it saves airplane or automobile fuel, dorm space, cafeteria food and keg beer, all the better.

Online learning: Is it for you?
If you’re the kind of person who thrives on - even requires - a lot of physical, one-on-one contact and kinesthetic learning, an online degree might not be your thing. Otherwise, consider these questions:

• What’s the reputation of the institution? Will it put you in touch with alumni so you can see how well they’ve fared in the job market?
• Does the institution offer a sample online class that gives you direct experience with how their system works?
• Are you self-motivated?
• Do you have the needed technology in place - high speed internet connection, multimedia programs, and plenty of hard drive space?
• Do you already feel comfortable communicating electronically?
• Since most communication is written, can you write well?
• How does the school supervise real-world experience?
• Can you “mix and match” residential and online learning? Many times having some in-person contact with the school can make a difference.
• Would you yourself make use of a professional if you knew he or she had an online degree?