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October 1, 2002
Is Distance Education for Kids?
By Tianna Tang
The prevalent research on distance education has focused mainly on adults and some high school populations, where it shows the benefits to be compelling. However, can distance education achieve the same results with children between the ages of five to twelve? What are the arguments for and against distance education for children? Can distance education be a reality for children?
Distance Education may be necessary in some special circumstances. For example, this may be the only solution for a child who is ill. Even in that circumstance, a face-to-face meeting may be required between the teacher and the student. Of course, if face-to-face meetings are still required, then the convenience of distance education for both the instructor and the student is lost. The other extreme case is when a student has no access to schooling at all. Then distance education is undoubtedly better than not attending any school.
With 84 percent of all classrooms now online, distance education may be one of the tools that educators should consider for increasing student achievement. With today's content standards-driven educational atmosphere, distance education might be an appropriate way of getting some of the students to achieve the content standards. And with educators scrambling to improve test scores for all students, having the academic curriculum available to students who are chronically absent or ill, might help the students maintain academic progress. But is distance education appropriate for all children? Both the benefits and disadvantages of distance education are very convincing.
Some of the benefits of distance education for elementary students are:
- It allows for individualized instruction. The teacher is able to tailor the curriculum to each student's instructional needs.
- It permits instruction to take place anywhere, anytime. This is convenient for students, parents, and teachers.
- It allows further exploration of individual interests. Teachers can develop hyperlinks for students to pursue personal interest in depth.
- It provides availability of information. Information for distance learning is typically more up to date and screened by the teacher.
- It allows for interactive simulation. Due to the absence of personal instruction, the activity for the content being studied is highly interactive and may involve simulations.
- It allows for appropriate feedback for all actions. All students will have equal participation time.
- It develops self-discipline. Learning is student-driven rather than teacher-driven.
- It makes all students apparent in the classroom. Quiet students cannot hide from participation.
- It creates a focused environment. Less discipline problems means less time spent off the topic.
- It provides efficient use of time. Students and parent do not waste time commuting.
Some of the disadvantages of distance education for elementary students are:
- There's less face-to-face interaction time between peers and between teacher and students. Also students do not have recess time to socialize and play.
- There's a lack of time to develop appropriate social skills. No face-to-face meeting for interactions among peers and with teacher in different settings.
- There's less physical activity. It means not getting up to do scaffolding activities or activities that are geared for the kinesthetic learners.
- Students may not have the necessary resources and skills (typing, equipment, software, etc.) at home.
- It requires more adult supervision time at home. Young children cannot stay home by themselves for the whole day. Someone must be available to supervise them.
The list of benefits seems to outweigh the list of disadvantages for distance education. In order to weigh the list equitably, the concept of social development must be taken into consideration. Is it possible to develop children socially through distance education as one would through schooling process? Even though social development takes a step behind academic development, it is vital to the development of the whole child. Before considering distance education for children, the outcomes of schooling must be discussed. If the goal of schooling is merely to obtain academic content, then distance education may be effective. But if schooling is more than academic development, then distance education, as defined, may not be appropriate.
Also, it is not realistic to expect children to attend distance education classes at their time and place of convenience. What if it is during the parents' work hours? Will the child be home alone taking the class? Will supervision be necessary for the child who goes to distance education classes? Until these and other pertinent questions are answered, distance education will not be questionable reality children.
Distance education is not prevalent among elementary students but distance learning as a supplemental program has been successful implemented by pioneers. For example, Distance Learning Among Mexican and Texan Children demonstrates that distance learning activities between the students in Mexico and the students in Texas promoted cultural understanding. Also, Crall cites examples of exemplary distance learning to promote math, science, foreign language, art, and music instruction. Another exemplary hybrid approach of distance education is the TEAMS Distance Learning (http://teams.lacoe.edu/) project, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. It involves the collaboration of the TEAMS instructor and the classroom instructor. The original focus was the science and math curriculum. Now, it has evolved to include social studies and staff development in reading as well. The TEAMS project incorporates the Internet, print, and television broadcast as its delivery methods. The success of this program is credited to the collaboration of the distance education instructor and the classroom teacher who is face to face with the students.
For both the gifted child and the special needs child, it may the only avenue to provide appropriate instruction for that child without removing the child from the age-appropriate environment. In that case, the distance education is a supplemental or enrichment part of their education. Once again, distance education is not a stand-alone program for the child, but a supplemental instructional tool for the child with some face-to-face interactions with peers and teachers.
At this moment distance education is not a viable reality for all elementary school students. Instead, elementary educators can use distance learning to supplement face-to-face instruction to provide for a challenging and appropriate educational experience for all students.
Email: Tianna Tang
Distance Learning Resource Network: "What is Distance Education?"
Education week on the Web: "Efforts Link Sick Children to Classes"
Cifuentes, L, "Distance Learning Among Mexican and Texan Children," Educational Technology Research and Development V 47 no4 , 1999.
Distance Education in Elementary Schools
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