School or university may seem like a distance memory, but it’s important to still keep your skills up-to-date. You may be looking to refresh what you know, or gain all-important qualifications to upskill in your career or retrain to something completely different.
But what are the benefits and disadvantages of distance learning?
Benefits:
- Studying at your own pace allows you to fit your learning around your family and career. You can set your own pace, and revisit things as many times as you need to ensure it sticks!
- You can choose where to study to, whether in a busy coffee shop, in a tranquil home environment or on your commute. Generally as long as you have WiFi you’re good to go!
- It also doesn’t matter how far you live from your study centre – and they’ll be on-hand to help when things get tricky, or when life doesn’t go exactly to plan and you need some support
- You’ll gain transferable skills, as well as the qualification, which gives your CV a boost too.
Disadvantages:
- Some people thrive in the buzz of a classroom with a tutor directly in front of them. Distance learners can sometimes feel isolated, but this can be mitigated by joining online class forums and keeping in touch with your tutor regularly
- You’ll need to be self-motivated and organised. Similarly to having a class timetable, it’s best to set yourself a home study timetable when you dedicate specific blocks of time to getting stuck into your course
- Some study options offer you the choice of both face-to-face and online learning – this could be the ideal learning method for you.
Ultimately you need to remember the end goal of what you will achieve from your distance learning - it’ll also set a good example for family members too if they’re nearer coursework or exam dates!
We offer short online distance learning courses for adults at MidKent College. Find out more about what’s on offer here.
