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Reasons for Teaching at a Distance
Effectiveness of Distance Education
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Reasons for Teaching at a Distance
Many instructors feel the opportunities offered by distance education outweigh the extra work preparing for these courses requires. In fact, instructors often comment that the focused preparation required by distance teaching improves their overall teaching and effectiveness with their students. Distance education classes afford the opportunity to bring new types of material and topics to learners that would be more difficult to include in traditional face-to-face instruction. Instructors can supplement their courses by incorporating other people and their skills into the program, including outside experts knowledgable about topics covered in the course as well as teaching assistants or monitors who can respond to studentsí questions via email or telephone.
Distance education courses give instructors the opportunity to:
Reach a wider audience
Meet the needs of students who are unable to attend on-site classes
Involve speakers and share curriculum resources
Link students from different social, cultural, economic, and experiential backgrounds
Improve learning by incorporating materials and experiences from different backgrounds
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