School's Out: The Pros and Cons of Distance Education in EMS

You are considering advancing your education and want to take some courses toward your paramedic degree. You look into various paramedic educational programs in your area and find there are prerequisites to all allied health and nursing programs. However, the prospect of committing 4-5 days a week leaves you undecided. How can you attend college courses while working and raising a family at the same time? Then a colleague tells you about some college courses he's taking online. You had never considered distance learning. After thinking about it, you decide you want to investigate this form of education to find out if it is for you.

What Is Distance Learning?

Distance learning (DL) is an educational delivery option in which a person can take a course via the Internet (World Wide Web) using their home computer. Distance technologies allow learners who might not otherwise pursue courses because of time and family constraints the flexibility of taking a college course in the comfort of their own home or at any location that provides Internet access. DL courses are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

DL has existed for more than a century, originally consisting of correspondence courses and materials. Information and assignments were mailed to students, and students mailed their work back to the instructor, who would analyze and grade it and return comments by mail. This system was slow and not particularly interactive; however, it worked for soldiers and rural Americans, and is still operating today at places such as Penn State and Washington State Universities.

Correspondence courses were followed by video-based DL, using the technology of television to deliver content and course information. The mail system was utilized for assignments and written communications. As technology progressed, two-way video was developed, allowing interaction between multiple sites. Video courses were usually synchronous, with students and teachers being in different places while learning and communicating at the same time. The invention of the VCR made taped materials available for private viewing.

Today, the term distance learning (or distance education) has come to mean online learning, employing the World Wide Web for content, delivery and communication. Online courses include traditional educational materials such as books, journals, videos and any digitized content (text, pictures, video, simulations, journals, library materials, specialty websites), as well as articles authored by publishers, instructors and students. Communication tools include e-mail, threaded discussions (online conferences), chats (synchronous online conversations using text, audio or even video), white boards and videoconferencing, as well as faxes and phones. Assignments can be delivered over the Web, students can collaborate with each other, and the instructor can provide feedback, all using the same set of communication tools.

Online courses are commonly delivered using a course management system (CMS). This is an application (software) that integrates all the learning tools (Web pages, tests, threaded discussions, chats, etc.), offers both students and instructors a consistent interface, and even supplies administrative tools to track grades, attendance and course access.

In higher education, some of the more common CMS products include BlackBoard and WebCT, among others (see www.edutools.info/course/productinfo/index.jsp for additional listings).

The key element of online distance learning is the convenience of learning anytime. This allows students who have varying work schedules and family responsibilities to learn at any hour during the day. In Web-delivered courses, students may not interact directly with the instructor; instead, they can access course materials, assignments and, most important, other students from wherever they are and at a time convenient to them. Many courses use cohorts of students and move those cohorts through the curriculum at roughly the same rate, but with sufficient flexibility that students feel they are working at a pace that works within their lifestyle.