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What is distance learning?

Distance learning allows people to study when and where they want, rather than on the same site as the institution that is providing the education (as is the case with ‘traditional’ study). As well as ‘distance learning’, you are likely to come across terms such as ‘open learning’ and ‘distance supported learning’. In truth, all these types of learning are likely to overlap, but, as a rough rule of thumb, open learning includes more face-to-face classes than distance learning, while the word ‘supported’ usually indicates that there are tutors and physical material available to help students.

Distance learning ranges from courses of even as little as a few hours, to degrees and postgraduate qualifications that may involve several years’ study. So-called ‘short courses’ typically last days or weeks as opposed to months or years. Even those subjects with a strong practical element often have modules that are appropriate for distance learning.

Readers of a certain age are sure to remember the days of having to wait until the early hours of the morning to catch a bearded, bespectacled boffin fronting a grainy, black-and-white Open University broadcast on BBC2. With the technology available today, that’s a thing very firmly of the past. These days, learning materials and support may be provided by either one or a combination of the following means: books, pamphlets, telephone, fax, video, DVD, CD-ROM, email, the internet, and via pocket PC (mobile learning), where the student accesses course content stored on a mobile device or through a wireless server. Some providers now even offer course elements via the iTunes Store, which can be downloaded free of charge. Many courses make extensive use of the web. Others involve tutor groups, which may meet regularly, and summer camps of a few weeks’ duration for classroom education on top of regular, directed coursework at a distance.

Convenience is the key

The great thing about distance learning – especially for those in the Armed Forces, who may be posted anywhere in the world – is that it puts you in control of your education. Once you have chosen and enrolled on your course (see below), you are free to study when, where – and, these days, how – you choose, so you can fit your education around your current work and/or family commitments.

You might be an early bird, who works best first thing in the morning; or you might be a night owl, who finds the evenings the best time to study successfully – it’s entirely up to you. And of course, in these days of laptops and mobile learning, you can set up and study at a location of your choice – home or work, at a cafe, even while travelling. Importantly, too, you can work at your own pace – there are no term-times to be rigidly stuck to (although you may have to sit exams, and these may take place only at specific times).

To sum up, distance study enables you take responsibility for your own learning. However, although you will be in control, a good provider will offer support – so you will most certainly not be alone, left completely to your own devices, but will have back-up and assistance as and when you require it. There are also likely to be self-checks and interim tests to help ensure that you are on target, and tutor-marked assessments to provide valuable feedback, as well as a telephone helpline to call or an address to email for advice if you get stuck.

How do I choose a course and provider?

Although necessarily influenced by market forces (i.e. demand from learners), a vast array of courses are available in distance learning form. And because the choice of provider is huge, too, you are more than likely to be able to track down the course that you are looking for. This may be something that will give you a general grounding or background in a particular subject or area (that you may go on to study in more depth later), or you might be looking to focus on something very specific – such as the entrance examinations of a particular professional body.

Both higher education (HE) and further education (FE) courses can be taken via distance learning. The difference between is not always clear-cut, and in some cases (e.g. foundation degrees), both are involved. Many qualifications are modular; this means that they can be earned by learners completing modules, often of their own choosing; credits gained from a selection of such courses can be added together to gain degrees and other HE qualifications. It is not always necessary to have an undergraduate degree to gain a master’s; neither is it necessary to have one in order to achieve many professional qualifications.

Increasingly, Service people will take distance learning modules as part of the training that produces their career progression. So, you could be studying with a view to gaining qualifications that will help you while in the Forces or when you leave, or just for personal interest – out of enthusiasm for a particular subject.

But how do you know who is a good provider and who is not? And exactly which course do you need? All this choice can prove confusing! In the accompanying box, there is a checklist that should help you.

Finding out more

Service education and training staff, both within the learner’s unit and specialists, often provide the best advice about what individuals want and what it is actually possible for them to achieve. They can also provide access to the funding available to support study, and recommend the subjects that you should be encouraged to pursue – particularly with a view to a second career when leaving the Services. Increasing numbers of Forces learning and education centres and personal learning advisers also have access to e-learning opportunities.

Information about courses is also available from learndirect (see ‘Key contacts’). It, too, runs its own courses and learning centres with tutor support, where students can undertake online learning, and which use ICT systems to enable users to access learning.

Other information sources include direct from the ‘horse’s mouth’ (somebody who has first-hand experience of a course or a training provider), written prospectuses and, of course, the internet. The website of the Open and Distance Learning

Quality Council (ODL QC) is particularly helpful (see ‘Key contacts’).

Who are the learning providers?

Many learning providers are neither HE nor FE institutions, although they may have links of varying strengths with one or more colleges or universities. Many companies run large training departments, and there are also many commercial organisations that provide training to paying clients. Much of the training such providers deliver is of excellent quality and targeted carefully at the needs of civilian employers in a specific market sector. Many commercial businesses offering training use the premises of academic institutions to deliver courses, and may have contracts with employment agencies to help their students find work.

You are likely to have heard of some of the bigger distance learning organisations, such as the Open University (OU) and the National Extension College (NEC), both of which offer various discounts to Armed Forces personnel (see boxes). However, as mentioned above, there are many other providers out there, too, also offering a wide range of courses, some with discounts for Service people (ask your education and training adviser for further information). To see a list of ODL QC-accredited learning providers, visit its website and click on the ‘Accredited Providers’ link.

Funding

Course costs vary enormously, and it is very important to discover all the costs of a course before embarking on it, including hidden extras like revision courses, exam fees, materials used and ‘subscriptions’. Those in the Armed Forces should also recognise that they should expect to pay for at least some of their personal development – including distance learning courses – themselves. After all, they will benefit in the long term, and civilians, likewise, certainly expect to at least make a contribution to their own learning.

Service people are eligible for grants and some other financial support when undertaking distance learning. Chief among these are enhanced learning credits (ELC) and standard learning credits (SLC). There may even be other funding routes that education, learning and training staffs may be able to access, and travel and subsistence allowances may be available if the training has some military value. Selected learning providers (such as the OU and the NEC – see above) also offer discounts to Service personnel, so do check with them direct.