Online education in Puerto Rico is a trend that surrounds us every day more, for this reason is useful and necessary, as teachers have an open university clarify some concepts that guide the work of teachers. This paper presents some ideas which aim to place the teacher in the context of a distance education model and understand what their role and responsibility in student learning and success of an educational program.

Elements of the process of distance education
 
Distance education models are based on three elements:
a. educational materials
b. advice or guidance of a teacher or specialist in the field
c. evaluation as a means of accreditation.

These elements are complemented by administrative infrastructure, management systems, university centers, information sources, among others, which are integrated into a teaching model as a complete and complex system of relationships designed to fulfill one goal: to educate. The actors in this process are the teachers, students and the institution sponsoring the program, we have an educational process comprising the universe of relationships that may arise between the actors and model components.

The teacher is responsible for conducting the process, tracing the lines of learning that must follow the student and provide necessary educational resources, their work is reflected through the development of materials and advice, their participation is vital because of its correct performance depends on the success of the program, either in terms of assimilation of content, as attrition rates, student satisfaction and approval.

The student is the center of the educational model, it is routed to all actions and efforts of teachers and the institution. At a distance model is necessary to be clear that the student is the protagonist of his own background, is he who, through effort and perseverance in reaching goals that will mean their whole degree. The formative nature of self-care educational materials, implicitly, the work of the student learning is largely autonomous and self-regulating. It is autonomous because it is he who develops the various activities, assignments and readings for each section which includes the subject, is self-regulated, because it is he who marks his own pace according to their possibilities of time, distributing the workload over time in order to complete the total of activities within the prescribed deadlines.

The institution, for its part, is responsible for the academic support, legal and infrastructure of educational programs that are offered. The institutional obligations can be grouped into two. The first group refers to all those logistical, organizational, technological, together constitute the necessary platform for the educational process to develop properly, the second group consists of academic and legal aspects, which give the rigor, quality and validity to the program.

The harmonization of the elements and actors of the educational model is a complex task. On each of these elements and actors is affected by numerous factors that can cause imbalances when operating together. The operational details, academics and methodology are of great importance and significance to the success of a program. Hence, the need for clearly defined roles and responsibilities of the actors and especially that they know the model and the role that he met others involved in the process. Integrating the work of actors, facilities and resources that present model elements achieve an integrated and interrelated whole affected by a set of interdependent variables whose impact is crucial to the performance of other system components.

Educational models and distance
They are a complex set of processes aimed at achieving a more meaningful learning in students. It consists of a set of subsystems with specific functions that involve interrelated and interdependent variables. From an overall perspective, the educational model can focus their attention on the teacher or the student, in the first case, the educational models focusing on the teacher are used by educational institutions, training providers face in the second case, the educational model focusing on the student, are used by institutions offering distance learning.

The traditional educational models are characterized by face focus development in the teaching process, relegating the student to be an observer and listener in most cases. Such models weigh a lot more learning and teaching that its applicability is limited to face environment. The teacher plays a leading role in combining the use of some resources, mainly the board and his voice through these, achieves what is commonly known as “transfer of knowledge” rather than actual learning, the result being a low level assimilation and resulting in “a temporary knowledge which tends to forget easily. The student, meanwhile, is a recipient of the transmission performed by the teacher, their learning is limited in many cases, what is memorable as a result of “listening and observing.”

Distance education models, by their nature, lack of a teacher to guide the process in person, so they are forced to separate the leading role of the teacher and the student pass, he does through an appropriate methodology and means to a dialogue didactic, strengthens their own learning and development. Learning is based on the work, whether through reading, learning activities, group work, formative assessment, and so on. This work has the advantage of learning activities raise the level of assimilation of the content, as it learns and assimilates what we do better than those who simply hear and see. A student-centered model is conducive to self-learning and the transmission of values, their different components orient their efforts to facilitate student learning, providing it with resources, complemented with previously scheduled activities, adequate monitoring and support of the teacher can achieve a more effective and meaningful learning.

Educational models and new technologies
It is important to understand that there is a difference between distance and attendance system supported by technology, areas in which each applies are different, and therefore the effects on the educational community are also different. Additionally it is necessary to be clear that the technological aspect is an element that is subject to the requirements and institutional needs and in no case has a defining character lines on policy or institutional action. In this sense we can say that technology is only half the work easier and opens up possibilities in many cases, but is not a straitjacket that determines the educational work.

The technologies have evolved educational models regardless of their approach, have affected both models to-face training as a model for distance learning. In regard to the latter, the change has occurred in its three basic elements.

Teaching Evolution
The way of teaching is the one that has been affected, the teacher’s role has changed, now having to contemplate additional functions that require primarily skills and motivation, the teacher’s activities have diversified and new general conception of the role has acquired can be summarized with the word “manager” of learning. This new task must be tempered with qualities and skills that together allow for adequate performance and help guide the learning of a group of people. Mentoring made by the teacher to address those concerns that may arise in the student learning during development, has become more flexible. The use of tools such as email, discussion forums and virtual discussion spaces have fostered a new concept of “group learning” which uses the knowledge distributed in each of the students and faculty to create new knowledge based on reading, reflecting, through exchange of views argued.

The main advantage of the use of these tools (discussion forums and virtual) is on the asynchrony, the participants of a forum or debate can log their views at any time within a given period, but generally large (one or two weeks) and the recipients have access to each share and may respond as they saw. In the case of email, the application eliminates the problems of saturation of the teacher with phone calls and gives you more freedom and time to prepare more elaborate responses and aid, while able to respond within a reasonable time to all students of queries.

The student role has also been affected, consider that the distance student is an entity with assets and facilities of communication technologies that have the potential isolation of the victim was, and no longer can assert virtual spaces to interact and build their own knowledge as a product of discussion and exchange with peers and teachers in managing group learning.

Institutions should consider the possibilities that technology opens up the teaching and preparing teachers to meet the challenge of combining technology and learning opportunities aimed at enhancing student learning which the target of ongoing efforts is.

Evolution of materials
There is a misconception that the use of technology for learning, means less burden from the student activities. The reality is that this distance is hard work and is based on activities and reading content. Printed materials, though it seems hard to believe, not out of fashion, even the most important universities in the world have this medium as a basic element of their educational models. It is very common that students receive textbooks, teaching guides including printed and virtual universities using the same scientific articles that are not physically sent when they are downloaded from the Internet by students, who are responsible for printing. Digital educational materials such as electronic books, multimedia applications, among others, are considered elements of support, very useful but not essential in a distance learning process supported by technology. Such materials have a scope within the context of a course or subject, should be framed to cover those aspects in which the benefits of the implementation is practical and effective.

The technologies have enabled educational materials are acquiring new shapes and presentations, interactivity can be achieved with multimedia applications, the portability of eBooks, audio and video are elements that have great advantages for a more meaningful learning . The use of these advantages lies in its strength within the content, but mostly right mix experience ensures a better outcome in the satisfaction and level of assimilation of the student.

Evolution of the evaluation
The evaluation of distance education is taken in two ways:
a. the first one as a learning strategy
b. the second a means of accreditation of knowledge.

In any case, the technology applied to personalize the site evaluation process and meet the student’s skills. Are used interactive self-assessments, which argued, immediate feedback is very important and useful for the student to know the level reached the correct time and know the areas in which content must focus more. The online evaluations are common for certain types of programs, they will have a period of time to answer a questionnaire with questions selected randomly and be objective, but not the referent of the knowledge gained by the student. Despite the technological development achieved can not be certain that the person doing the online assessment is who should be, for that reason the online assessment is applied as a learning strategy that leads the student to apply what learned and yet to know what their weaknesses.

Conclusion
It must be clear to teachers as an educational institution at university level should be open-minded considering that the model applies is student-centered and therefore the task of teaching to be a comprehensive guide, motivator and facilitator, and is limited in his starring role in the process and must consider the student as a receiver of knowledge. Being one of the elements of a distance education model involves a willingness to coordinate teacher training and resources and consider the student not as an isolated issue but as a central part of the proactive education community.

The distance learning student is based on what they can develop and build through learning activities, lectures, development of self-assessments, group work and with the help of the teacher and distributed through its teaching materials, advice and feedback. The combination of these efforts is reflected in the acquisition of skills, abilities and knowledge development.

Although some college or university personnel think online degree programs have not done too well. It is presumed that some institutions will have to learn from universities that have done well in online courses. Florida is one of the universities that offer admission to about 6,000 students in online degree programs yearly. The University is recognized as one the online colleges providing quality online education to people all over the world.

Florida University does not put a limit on registrations in Online Education degree programs. Full-time Florida professors produce the course content, while part-time faculty members read and mark assignments from students. University of Florida has discovered how to scale, and they do that through additional faculty. Westwood College is another college that is viewed as successful in online education; this college has campuses all over the country, along with its online degree programs that is accessible worldwide.

The question is; how will the idea of online education for beginners be brought to bear on a teaching industry that is deep in tradition? The answer is to learn how online education is delivered. In this perspective the truth is that nonprofit colleges could learn a lot from profit-making ones as far as education on the Internet is concerned. Profit-making institutions are quicker to take action and are able to adapt to any changes based on students needs and market demand, because the technology used in these online universities are updated promptly.

Finally, there is a strong demand for online education and many institutions or colleges are finding success with online courses. The truth is that success does not always come speedily; sometimes it takes many years to yield good results. Make sure you do research on an Online Education Degree program to know if the courses are accredited or the institution is approved by the relevant authority or agency to run the program.

How much it will cost you to complete the entire online education degree program? Your cost not only related to the online class portion but books and any other costs do need to take into reflection especially if you have tight education budget. Some online universities do provide financial aids in term of loan or scholarship to their students while others may let you pay for online degree by installment which will make the overall education much more affordable. There are online universities that allow the maximum flexibility in expression of learning schedule. These schools let the students to pursue their own pace of study at 100% online education options, while other schools may requisite the students to logon to the online education options classes for real time interaction at the specific schedules. Moreover, there are online education options that required a specific hours of presence physical classes at the campus. You should determine the learning format that can fit your schedule and meet your prefer learning style.

Last but positively not least, the good reputation of the university that offers your selected online education options  program is imperative to ensure your degree is worth the money and will be widely accepted in the job souk. Therefore, try to do some research online through internet forums or offline by asking friend and family who know about the online education options offered by your selected school to make sure you will select the best online education.

Internet is the main and the only waterway of communication among the students and the faculty. The classes in these online education options are taken through V-SAT sessions and course material is in the form of CDs or DVDs that also hold lectures of different faculties. Tasks, projects and case-studies are delivered through e-mail. Problems and doubts can be cleared through chat sessions, and students can have every little thing at their fingertips without leaving the comfort of their home.

But there is a question on authority of the degree. Do not fall prey to non-accredited universities offering illegitimate degrees. Just imagine what will happen to your vocation if the degree you’ve obtained with so much hard work and money proves out to be fake?

Time, age, job, family or other constraints keep us from obtaining a high degree. But with the help of the internet, we no longer have to lose hope. Online education options are there to cater to the needs of those who cannot attend regular colleges due to any of the above mentioned reasons or should I say constraints.

Online education options are for just about everyone and everyone has reasons for enrolling in an online education options, reasons are many, the main is education becomes suitable through online study. Options are many for the people who want to attain higher degrees. The tuition costs are much lower as compared to customary land-based colleges or universities.

You can attend classes sitting at your own home and learn at your own pace. It saves money, time and the risk of travelling to the campus. You can make your own learning schedules, which allows you more independence to work for as many hours as you can. Education is much more flexible with online education options.

How about studying the most difficult concepts in Physics of the luxury of sitting in your cozy room? Sounds interesting! If this entices you enough to try your hand at online education, hold on! You will be happy to know that this is only one of the several benefits of online education. There is a lot that online education has to offer to school students in terms of the quality and quantity of subject specific study content and a host of other related benefits.

To elucidate on the benefits of online education to all you students in school out there studying under various boards such as CBSE, ICSE, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Matriculation Board, here are a few points.

• The anywhere, anytime factor! Unlike tuition classes which have fixed hours, students can study online anytime, as per their own convenience. All that a student needs is a computer and an internet connection. Once the necessary hardware components are in place, students can start surfing their way through the plethora of information available online. The advantage of round-the-clock availability of interesting study content has indeed made more students get inclined towards this medium in addition to using other conventional study mediums and methods such as books.

• A Student-centric teaching approach! Unlink the regular classroom teaching at schools and tuition centres, the online education follows an approach that is more student-centric rather than being teacher- oriented. Students not only have a say in the timing of their study schedules but are also equipped with the power to decide their own pace of learning. While studying online, students are under no pressure whatsoever to complete their studies within a stipulated time period. Online education is especially a boon for students tend to learn at a pace slower than most others in the class, as they can take as much time to understand and learn a concept well as they wish to. While studying online students need not feel shy in asking questions and wanting to read the said study material over and over again.

• Involvement of multiple media! Studying from simple black and white text is no more a compulsion for students studying under CBSE, ICSE, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Matriculation board. Online education offers a lot of interesting and innovative methods in teaching concepts to these school students. Apart from the regular study material, students can study using videos, animations, multimedia enriched puzzles etc. There are various websites that provide curriculum aligned study content for these boards using multiple media that can make studies very interesting and learning easy.

• Low cost! With very low cost involved, online education will not burn a hole in the pockets of students. Unlike study courses at tuition centers that involve a hefty monthly or a yearly fee, online education is a comparatively low cost affair. Apart from the subscription costs, there is no significant cost involved in studying online. Studying using online education, students can save a lot of money and time that is saved in doing away with unnecessary commuting to and fro schools, colleges, tuition centers etc.

I am positive that all these benefits of online education will help you understand and use this medium better and will also help you with your studies in school.

Following are some of the benefits that will make you understand the value of distance learning.

Self paced Study

Do you want to learn at your choice of time? This is now possible with distance education. One can study at its own convenient time; the online education lets you study wherever you are in a mood or motivated enough to easily get hold on your course/subject.

Economical education

Are you looking for economical education with accreditation? Online education is far more economical then campus based education because the online universities don’t have to pay for electricity usage in class rooms, per lecture fee for professors, staff salaries, and at last the online universities don’t have to maintain and manage complete university which is real expensive; in short the online university expenses got reduced while providing the same quality standards and accreditation. Because of less expenditure, they offer courses and degrees at lowers fees as compared to campus schools.

Accredited Degree

Degrees offered by online universities are always accredited with higher authorities, those which are not could be scams (be aware of them) or will bring you no benefit. Some of the accreditation authorities are International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities (IAAOU) for United States, United States Department of Education (USDE) or Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Before opting for any online degree or course, one have to make sure that the online institute in accredited with USDE and CHEA.

24/7 Availability of Lectures

Online education facilitates self scheduled study plan because online lectures are available 24/7, one is not required to be in class at specific time to attend the lecture. This has also increased study to time ratio, means to increase grasping power because study plan is not dependent on strict university schedule where students have to be in class whether they can grasp or not, on the other hand, online learning facilitates learning at time when the student wants to learn. However there are certain level of constrains e.g. to submit assignment on time, achieve certain marks to pass the course etc

World Wide University/Course Selection

Distance learning is another sign of global village; the growing trends of online education can be assessed by the stats that 96% of the colleges and universities within U.S are offering distance learning courses and degree programs. Among them are the world’s best universities including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Yale University.

Student Interactivity and Discussion

Online education also facilitates student’s group discussions through forums, chat rooms, and discussion boards where students around the worlds can contribute to and participate in and start group discussions. There platforms are managed by the online universities to keep discipline. These platforms also support teacher and student discussion where students can ask their teacher about problems and concerns.

Online Education Schools Offer Flexibility

If time and scheduling issues have prevented you from completing a degree or certification, you’ll be glad to know that online education colleges and high schools offer a degree of flexibility that brick and mortar institutions cannot match. When working through the course requirements for online education degrees for example, you may have up to twelve months to complete a given class. You choose when to hand in assignments and when to take exams, all of which makes it easy to plan around your work and family lives.

The other advantage here is that there is no need to travel; all coursework can be completed in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

Accredited

In fact, most online education schools are operated by public school districts; likewise, online education colleges are most often part of a traditional brick and mortar institution. This means that online education degrees have the same credibility and weight as any other.

Cost-Effective

Because institutions that offer online education are part of brick-and-mortar institutions, they are eligible for the same financial aid programs. In addition, online education degrees don’t have the same expenses that would involve attendance in person; you won’t have to pay lab fees, parking fees, student body fees, Internet usage fees, dining fees, or fees for the privilege of paying more fees. There are hardly any drawbacks to online education schools.

Choices

Finally, you’ll discover a wide range of degree programs offered through online education. Most online education schools offer the same programs and options to their Web-based distance learners as they do their local on-site students.

The main challenge about an online education is narrowing your focus. There are literally hundreds of thousands of choices on the World Wide Web, so it’s a good idea to have a solid plan made before you start checking out distance learning programs on the ‘Net.                               Whether it’s finishing your high school equivalency or  starting in on a pre-med program, you will find that online education offers effective options.

Consider the busy lifestyle of most people. Between work and family responsibilities, the average person has little time to dedicate to outside pursuits even when those pursuits could mean a better job, more money and better benefits. Simply finding the time to attend regular classes may be impossible so an online education becomes a viable option. But the same reason that online education is a great option – lack of time – is the very reason that online education is often difficult.

When you’re attending a traditional class, you go to school at a prearranged times. You are expected to be in class and you are forced to keep up with your instructor’s assignment schedule or risk failing the course. With an online education, there is probably no one checking your progress on a regular basis. You may be given some guidance along the way, but you and you alone are usually responsible for working your way through the course. Since you can work at your own pace, some people find themselves putting the work off until they don’t have enough time to finish the requirements.

If there are no time requirements, the opportunities to put off working on the material is even greater. You can literally go for weeks or months (or even years) without finishing the material to get credit for the course. You’ve paid for the opportunity to learn, but a lack of motivation is often the downfall of those who seek out online education.

Another major disadvantage is the lack of interaction. You aren’t in a classroom and don’t have the opportunity to hear questions and discussion from other students. This isn’t always an issue, depending on the subject of the online education course you are taking, but it could be an important factor in deciding whether an online education is the best option when seeking out opportunities for learning new skills or gaining new training.

About the author: Matt Norman is the founder of Easy Distance Learning a website providing information on learning online

First and foremost, there are some obvious benefits in obtaining online instant degrees. For example, juggling a job, school and a home can be very difficult as far as commuting to the classroom every day. With online education, you eliminate the need to attend classes, and instead access your coursework from an internet website. This presents an obvious benefit to the overworked college student because his commute is basically slashed in half. What’s more, many distance education programs allow students to complete the coursework any time during the day, while still adhering to overall deadlines. This allows for flexibility that a traditional classroom setting can ordinarily not provide.

However, is an online education truly comparable to the type of education a student would receive in an actual classroom? Many professionals in the field say yes, and certainly students seeking online degrees can confirm this response. Not only does online learning provide a stimulating environment for students, but it promotes even interaction among every student because everyone has a say in classroom discussions. What’s more, online education programs allow each student to learn with the methods that work best for them. Plus, many employers respect online degrees as much as a traditional college degree, so there’s really no difference in the amount of education or respect a student will receive when attending an online college.

While traditional colleges will never be eliminated, there’s definitely been an increase in the amount of students attending online colleges in recent years. Many people choose to follow the online education route for the diversity of material they can find, or because the teachers are more approachable via the internet than they would be in a classroom setting. Students definitely need discipline and self-motivation to succeed in obtaining online degrees, but there’s still the same level of help and support from teachers and students online that there would be in a classroom. What’s more, internet college students are learning skills that will be beneficial to them in the workforce and beyond because of the way technology is evolving today.

Online degrees are becoming an increasingly popular way to obtain a college education and many students are turning to online education because of the quality of material, convenience and the level of flexibility inherent in distance education programs. Because there’s no distinct differences between an online education and a traditional education, students are assured they are receiving the same kind of education that they would in a brick and mortar setting. There are definite benefits to online degree programs, and students with discipline and motivation can and will succeed greatly in online education programs.