The growing popularity of distance learning courses — correspondence courses, online courses, webinars, E-Class (asynchronous) courses, etc. — is easy to understand.  The convenience of distance learning courses gives them immediate appeal: they usually require no travel or travel expense, are often easier to fit into one’s schedule, and are often less expensive than classroom seminars and courses. The quality of distance learning courses, however, can vary …widely.

One popular type of “correspondence” course involves the mere purchase of a workbook, with a multiple-choice test at the end of it.  Fill out the test — and you may be able to do so WITHOUT reading the material, by simply looking up the answers in the book — and then send in your completed test for CE credit! Nothing could be simpler …or more worthless as an educational exercise. There is no ongoing guidance from a live instructor, no intermittent feedback, and no interaction designed to engage the student and aid both understanding and retention of the key learning points in the course.

Another questionable form of distance learning is the impersonal Internet-based online course — often resembling little more than a PowerPoint presentation on the Web. These courses have are often self-paced, with the ability to start, stop, and restart at any time. The student simply clicks through successive screens of information (mostly text), hopefully reading what’s on each one, and occasionally answers a multiple-choice question on the reading, which he or she must do correctly in order to progress through the course. Of course, if the student wants to short-circuit the process, he or she can simply guess at the answers to each question — without reading ANY of the material — and keep guessing until he or she does so correctly, until reaching the end and getting the desired CE credit! But DID this student end with any real learning?

The common element in most distance-learning options that seem to have the LEAST potential for real learning is that they are almost all instructor-LESS. While independent self-guided study is a worthy centuries-old practice that can be invaluable for the right individual, most Real Estate Commissions do not INTENTIONALLY give Continuing Education credit for the “short-circuiting” of independent study in either of the forms above.

The initial implementation of distance learning in the real estate industry has been dominated by instructor-LESS courses, in either online, disc-based, or correspondence (print) forms. Proprietary schools (including several national “edu-businesses”), as well as local, state, and national REALTOR organizations, and a growing number of designation vendors, have all seized upon instructor-less distance learning as a low overhead way to make a lot of money. Eliminate the instructor fees and expenses, find a low-cost delivery method, and just collect the income … attractive, huh?

And with skyrocketing fuel costs making travel to and from courses even MORE expensive, distance learning makes greater sense every day!

If we’re in the education business, however, shouldn’t our FIRST concern be whether or not actual education takes place? Shouldn’t we care if people learn something that can make a positive difference in their careers and services to the public?

For distance learning to grow up and develop into the asset it truly can be for the real estate industry, let’s not overlook the incredible value that a talented and dedicated instructor can bring to the learning process.

A well-guided, well-coached distance learning course — or a “blended” learning experience combining some classroom time with instructor-LED distance learning — can be even MORE effective than a classroom course alone! It’s our challenge to make such courses a reality and the “norm” in the industry.

How will we find — and develop — the distance learning instructors we’ll need? That’s a posting for another day…