Distance, virtual and online education.

Differences that exist between distance, virtual, and online education.

  

 

The pandemic has changed many things around the world from the relationship and contact between people, the ways of working, and especially in education.
  

Governments, secretariats of education, schools, and teachers had to modify the teaching process, adapting to the virtual.
  

Since the pandemic began, a lot has been heard about online, virtual, and distance classes, but between these concepts, there are differences that many people are not aware of, including some governments and managers.

DIFFERENCES.

 

Before sharing the differences between these ways of teaching, it is very important to know two terms: SYNCHRONIC AND ASYNCHRONOUS.
  

• SYNCHRONOUS: It is when teaching follows a schedule and both teachers and students must coincide for the class to develop.

• ASYNCHRONOUS: Here teachers and students don't need to coincide on the schedule.

  

Now yes, here are the differences between distance, virtual, and online education.
  

• LONG DISTANCE EDUCATION. This occurs when students have control over time, space, and pace of learning, an internet connection is not necessary. The materials to be used can be physical, for example, booklets and books, or multimedia via USB sticks or CDs. This material can be delivered in person, by correspondence or email if there is a possibility. The accompaniment and feedback between the teacher and the student are carried out by phone through calls or text messages. In some educational systems, this modality relies on radio and television to reach contexts in which a telephone connection is not possible.

• VIRTUAL EDUCATION. Within this modality, an Internet connection is necessary since contact with the teacher is through a multimedia platform in which students can review and download various materials such as documents, slide presentations, or videos. One of the main characteristics of virtual education is that teachers and students don't need to coincide in the schedule, in other words, it is asynchronous. Normally the platforms that are used in this modality have a forum so that students can express doubts or concerns, in the same way, the teacher when assigning the activities establishes a deadline for the delivery. When reviewing and evaluating them, it includes feedback to students, who can later consult it to verify their progress and areas of opportunity.

• ONLINE EDUCATION.  It has all the advantages of the virtual model, but with an extra characteristic: it is synchronous, that is, the teacher and the students coincide in the timetable. For this, platforms that allow the use of video calls are used, so the classes are live and various teaching techniques such as debates or forums can be implemented, as well as the resolution of doubts and feedback is in real-time. Another positive aspect is that the platforms used to allow the classes to be recorded and the study materials archived so that, if a student has not been able to take the class they can consult it later. These modalities of education must be known so that there is no later confusion between institutions, teachers, and students.