The Master of Distance Education degree prepares students for a career as a supervisor of a community college or university’s distance learning program. A growing number of students have a family or a full-time job that consumes the majority of their time and prevents them from pursuing a traditional on-campus education. Distance education allows students to learn from home by using the Internet to access lecture materials and submit homework. Students may be required to visit the campus once a week in hybrid courses, while other programs provide materials and tests entirely online. The Master of Distance Education degree prepares students to organize effective distance learning classes and ensures professors are aware of how to communicate with students via email or computer chat.
When a person earns a Master of Distance Education, they are learning how to deal with the unique challenges that distance education presents. Students have little or no face-to-face time with their professors and are forced to learn solely from recorded or printed materials. Professors must establish easy and regular communication with students, often via email, and monitor their progress by providing weekly feedback. Those with a master’s degree in distance education learn how to instruct college professors on what to expect when teaching an online course versus an on-campus course.
The most important skills taught in master of distance education courses are planning and goal setting. Although a college may offer a variety of distance learning degrees and courses, the overall structure should remain consistent. As the head of the distance education department, you’ll need to figure out how to set up online classes, assemble a technical support team, and make sure the hosting server can handle the constant traffic from students and professors who log in at all hours of the day and night.
A bachelor’s degree is required before pursuing a Master of Distance Education. This degree is frequently focused on a field of education or business management. Organizational and leadership skills, goal setting, people skills, and information technology should all be covered in distance education leadership classes so that students are aware of the technical challenges of setting up an online course.
Although colleges are the most likely to implement distance learning programs, businesses and organizations are increasingly adopting the technology. Businesses may offer distance learning options to instruct employees on new projects for freelance or at-home workers who cannot make it into the office on a daily basis. Employees may also be trained via distance learning, allowing them to work from home. This is particularly common when a company wants to hire a high-profile employee who lives too far away to attend training.