Is Distance Education (DE) Study for me?

Increasingly, organisations are requiring their staff to hold formal qualifications. Sometimes, experienced workers can feel frustrated and hurt that their experience alone is often not considered in the promotions or career advancement process and there is anxiety about having to gain a formal qualification. For many adults the thought of returning to study can be daunting. We can be anxious about such things as fear of failure (especially if we haven't studied for a long time or if our previous study experiences were not happy or successful) and concern for how we will fit study into an already busy work and life schedule.

Studying via Distance Education (DE) can be an ideal way for existing workers to study for a vocational qualification. It can provide the opportunity for the learner to read and explore current knowledge about their industry and apply that knowledge and practice new skills, in their own workplace.

Our experience in delivering vocational qualifications to workers across Australia via DE has been that students who prepare well before enrolling in DE study are very successful. We provide the following suggestions to help you to prepare for DE study. We suggest you consider these before you enrol in a course.

  1. Be clear about why you are undertaking the study. The more committed and passionate you are about learning, the more successful you will be. Set yourself clear goals in relation to what you want to achieve and set a realistic time frame within which to achieve your goals. Use these as motivation and to prioritise your time.
  2. Make time for your study. This might mean putting some other 'things' on hold so you can allocate the required time to your study. You might also need to discuss your goals with your family so they can support you (eg by doing extra household chores). If you are going through a lot of change in your life or if you have a lot of family responsibility, it might not be the best time to study via DE. It is also useful to consider your workplace too; will there be time for you to apply your learning on the job?
  3. Check that the workplace will support your study. It is useful to discuss your study plans with your manager and to gain approval to undertake the study on-the-job. It may be necessary to make some workplace adjustments to accommodate your learning, eg allocating time for you to meet with your supervisor or mentor to discuss your learning, providing access to workplace policies and procedures, changing rosters to allow you to work in areas that might be new to you, allowing you to implement work based projects to bring about improvements in the way work is done.
  4. Determine the source of funding for your training. It is a good idea to find out if your workplace will fund part or all of your study. Your employer may be eligible to access traineeship funding to support your study. If your workplace is funding your training, take time to get all the required approvals. If you are required to fund all or part of your study, it is useful to contact the training provider to find out payment options so you can budget accordingly.

Addressing these issues before you enrol in your qualification, will allow you to jump straight into your study and to begin to experience success!

Working through the attached checklist should help you to determine if DE is an appropriate mode of study at this point in your life.

Is Distance Education for me?

Self Assessment

Skills, attributes and resources

Tick if this applies to you

1. Do I have a good reason for doing the course?

  

2. Am I willing and able to commit the required hours to study each week?

  

3. Do I have the support of my family to study?

  

4. Do I have the support of my employer and work colleagues?

  

5.Do I have a quiet place to study?

  

6.Am I self motivated and do I have self-discipline?

  

7.Am I willing to take responsibility for my own learning, rather than relying on a teacher to 'make' me do my study?

  

8. Do I enjoy studying independently?

  

9.Do I learn well by researching, reading and reviewing on my own, rather than on a face-to-face basis with other students and teachers?

  

10. Am I good at reading and following written directions?

  

11. Are my computer skills adequate or can I develop them sufficiently (for example to use email, internet and word processing)?

  

12. Do I have easy access to the required equipment, such as a computer with internet access and necessary software?

  

13. Am I willing to contact my facilitator if I have difficulty with any parts of my course?

  

14. Am I comfortable communicating with my facilitator using email or phone, rather than face-to-face?

  

15. Am I willing to wait for a response from my facilitator?

Facilitators are not available 24 hours per day, seven days a week. If you choose to study late at night and have problems, it may not be possible to receive instant assistance

  

16. Are you willing to be active in your learning?

Are you willing to "work some things out for yourself?"

  

Results

Number of ticks

Suitability for Distance Education (DE) Study

14-16??

Highly suitable for DE study.

You seem to be very motivated, self-disciplined, committed and proactive. You also seem to have the support of your family, employer and colleagues and the required resources.

12 to 13

May be suitable for DE study. You will need to organise your time to fit in study. You should also discuss your plan and goals with your family, employer and work colleagues and gain their support. It might also be useful to check that you have the required resources. It will be important for you to ask your facilitator for assistance.

0 to 12

Probably not suitable for DE at this time. Face-to-face session will probably work best for you and support you to develop your confidence as a learner. Try to focus on developing the skills and attributes and acquiring the resources listed in the checklist above and you will be in a better position to prepare your self for DE study.

Source: Adapted from IBSA (2008) TAADEL405B Coordinate and facilitate distance based learning, Learner Guide.