On Distance Learning Essay Example for Free

On Distance Learning Essay Distance education represents a way of teaching with geographically dispersed individuals and groups. Moore related that as early as 1978, regular mail service was used to aid distance education, but the advent of the internet brought new and exceptional dimensions to the world of distance education (10). It offered access to geographically and physically separated individuals to courses and instruction in a more interactive manner through increased education, interactivity among participants, and incorporation of collaborative pedagogical models. But even with the increasing number of courses and degrees delivered entirely online, and the number of supporters this type of education has gained, many still express opposition to it as against the traditional classroom education. Former college teacher James Barszcz’s is one well-known critic of distance education. He strongly asserts in his essay that distance learning cannot fulfill the true purpose of education. The diffusion of the Internet worldwide has literally changed the traditional structure of the school, and, as it can be noticed from the previous examples, it is doing in many different ways that are more and more interesting. It must not be forgotten, of course, that parents keep on worrying about the fact their children’s opinions are circulating all over the world and that this could mean danger and repression for them. These anxieties, however, cannot erase the advantages coming from the introduction of this new technology into the educational are, most importantly, of bringing education to everyone. But what is the true purpose of education, really? In its most basic sense, I strongly believe that the essence of education is to instill in an individual the capability to make out at the world for oneself, to generate one’s own choices, to declare what is black or what is white. In whatever manner this education may come from, it is still learning and discovering about new things that help shape a person into what he is. Distance learning has brought a remarkable means of delivering this education to students in rural or remote areas, so that they make take advantage of continuing learning and give them the ability to schedule learning at times convenient to them. Not only that, a great number of distance education programs cater to the requirements of a lot of diverse people of all ages, sexes, occupations, learning backgrounds and health conditions. Granted that personal contact which is very important in effective education is missing with this kind of education, but as is the situation with all new technologies, there are negative and positive aspects to distance learning. Many instructors, as well as students of distance education miss this. Distance learning can admittedly be lonely sometimes. There is always a price to pay, whether it be big or small. Although this is the case, steps could be done to assuage this drawback. Encouraging students to share something about themselves is one activity that can at least give all participants the feeling that they know something about their colleague and the professor. Additionally, many courses are well supported and, for students who are unable to attend residential events, there are usually opportunities for students to participate in online discussion groups, clubs and societies. It would be noteworthy to point out that for distance learning to be effective, a conducive learning environment needs to be created and maintained. Considerable thought and effort should go into the criteria required for setting-up learning centers and how these criteria would be put into practice and monitored. If this would be followed, distance education, with an extensive record of providing learning to out-of-the-way and distant learners, will become the effective, mainstream method of education and training that advocates claim it to be. In a world where continuous learning is a must, distance education has paved the way for everyone to have access to the educational system without having to physically go to school. Discipline is needed, of course, but it is one value that even traditional schooling teaches students to have. In the end, distance education can only provide a win-win situation for everyone involved in it.

Poes Fall of The House of Usher Essay: Beyond Empiricism and Transcend

Beyond Empiricism and Transcendentalism in House of Usher      Ã‚   When Edgar Allan Poe wrote "The Fall of the House of Usher," two factors greatly influenced his writing. A first influence was John Locke's idea of Empiricism, which was the idea that all knowledge was gained by experiences, exclusively through the senses. A second vital influence was Transcendentalism, which was a reaction to Empiricism.   While John Locke believed that reality or truth was constituted by the material world and by the senses, Transcendentalists believed that reality and truth exist within the spiritual or ideal world. They believed that the external world was dependent solely on the conscious. Beverly Voloshin suggests that "Poe presents transcendental projects which threaten to proceed downward rather than upward" (19). Here it becomes obvious that there is a strong connection between John Locke's Empiricism and the resulting ideas of Transcendence, and the powerful effect that they had on Poe and other emerging Romantic writers of that time. In "The Fal l of the House of Usher," Poe establishes a new type of literature, one that emphasizes aspects of Empiricism as well as the idea of Transcendence. Poe uses this unique literature to introduce the Usher mansion and its intriguing and very troubled inhabitants.    Locke wrote the "Essay Concerning Human Understanding," which was published in 1690, and is credited with opening up the period of Enlightenment in Europe.   Its strongest connection to Poe was that it had a   "late popularity in New England"(Voloshin 18). With this popularity in New England, many of the writers of the time either voiced their approval of Empiricism, or took an opposite stance in their literature. Locke believed th... ...an upward. "The tales have a paradoxical structure in which transcendence is figured as an outward or downward movement, as the method for going beyond the universe of Lockean empiricism is to go through it" (Voloshin 19).   Poe brings this out with the narrator's "depression" and the "unredeemed dreariness of thought."   The language that is used in "The Fall of the House of Usher" presents a connection between the mental and the physical world, which then correlates with the debate between Transcendentalists and the empiricism presented nearly two centuries before.       Works Cited Koster, Donald N. Transcendentalism in America. Boston:   Twayne, 1975. Sahakian, Mabel Lewis and William S. John Locke. Boston:   Twayne, 1975.   Voloshin, Beverly. "Transcendence Downward: An Essay on 'Usher' and 'Ligeia.'" Modern Language Studies 18 (1988): 18-29.

Human beings Essay

As human beings, we sometimes wonder why some things are the way they are. These questions come as a result of us being curious about what is around us. Man has to be aware of himself and his immediate environment. Generally, one of the basic characteristic of human beings is self-awareness and self-discovery. Man finds himself doing some things and wonders why he is doing such things the way he/she is doing them. Thus, in order for man to function properly in his society, he must understand some things about himself in order to unlock the mystery behind his behavioral pattern. This becomes important because self-discovery is the only way to understand one’s place or position in the universe. Personally, I have sought to know how my life fits into my environment. For one, I believe that things don’t just happen and that man is not just created to fill an empty space. This has made me embark on a quest to understand what the world actually is and how I fit into this mysterious world. I am a proponent of the purposeful universe and I believe, as opposed to the idea of Charles Darwin, that the world is essentially created to fulfill a purpose and that it is part of a â€Å"master plan†. Therefore whatever happens in this life, as I believe, is to fulfill a purpose and come from intent. The question here is who is the purposed the world and who is the master planner? In her book titled, â€Å"The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos†, Brian Swimme maintained that the world is not a series of puzzle but an amazing mystery that shows the presence of God in each passing phase. This essentially deviates from the theory of evolution. For Brian, we as humans are at the center of the universe and our discovery of this fact will determine make us appreciate the world we live in the more. He believes that not only is the universe a work of the divine, it is also supported by the will of the divine. Therefore, we will be making a categorical mistake by conceiving that things or occurrences in the world are merely a product of chance. From my point of view, I think that Brian Swimme has a point. This is because some things can not be explained from the point of Darwinism. For instance, as a child, I have always wondered which came first between the chicken and the egg. If eggs hatches into chickens and chickens lay eggs, then which one will we say came first? Although science can be credited for a lot of things that they have sought real explanations to, there are some things that transcend scientific explanation. This is accounted for in the thought of Huston Smith. In his book titled â€Å"Why Religion Matters; The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief†, he claims that scientism has taken over all spheres of our lives and we will be committing a mistake if we believe that its explanations are the only valid explanations. I believe that the world is a masterpiece and it is sustained by the master planner – the silent onlooker who sees and sustains the universe with his power and in his might. Furthermore, I believe that since the world is created for a specific purpose, then man as an integral part of this universe is also created for a purpose, which is to be the representative of the divine here on earth. Consequently, this should make us pursue some values that will facilitate the purpose of the divine in this world. I believe that the divine has given man the power to make choices but that power should be tailored towards the achievement of the divine purpose. Liberty, as I believe, is not the right to do what we â€Å"want† but we are at liberty so that we can do what we â€Å"have to do†. As a result of these, I live with the consciousness of the fact that I have to fulfill my purpose. Personally, I believe that we as humans should value the equality of humanity and should treat each man as Immanuel Kant said; we should treat each man as an end in themselves and never as a means to an end. I believe that we should strive for whatever will be considered virtuous by the divine. As human beings, we must seek to value each other by being truthful and faithful to one another. This, for me, is the greatest form of respect that we can give one another. Reference: Huston Smith, â€Å"Why Religion Matters; The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief† Harper Collins 2001 ISBN 0-06-067102-5, 14. 95 Brain Swimme â€Å"The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos†, Orbis, 1996 (1999, ISBN 1570752818)

Internet Dependency - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 781 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/09/24 Category Advertising Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Television Essay Did you like this example? Internet has been the fastest source of all kinds of information nowadays. We can just visit the net, type, click search then we can get what we need and learn what we consider as necessary in our life. Some even look up the latest news neither in the television nor in radio but instead in the internet already. Yes indeed it is one of the easiest and quickest ways to get news. But, the question is, is it accurate enough to believe? People in this generation are very dependent on the web because of the variety of things that the internet can do. It is very easy for them to spread the news through the use of web sites, forums, and blogging without undergoing security measures or even verifications. An information about an event occurred here in the Philippines can even reach the whole world in no time. This has somehow brought danger in the condition of Philippine news media in talking about the context of how it is formed. The internet affects the precision of news concerni ng crucial events happening in the country and other places globally. And when a critical incident is taking place, all eyes are focused on it since it has become abundant and circulating freely in the net that everyone can have an access with it. Just like what is happening in Twitter and Face book, which are social networking sites where people starts to update their accounts regarding issues of their lives, fabricating various posts on the latest happening. They post whatever they hear on the radio and watch on the television though it’s not yet final and confirmed that eventually makes people to start exchanging unproved details thus forming up altered news. These situation leads to the weakening of the news media’s credibility in terms of propagating news stories. It’s now then hard to control the spreading out of news to whomever in the net. Random people, even people outside the country can read it and in the long run would believe it and have, more or less the wrong perception of the issue about our country. The truthfulness is by then changed. In due course, the true and exact details are hard to figure out. Then, confusion follows. Just in the recent hostage drama initiated by Mr. Rolando Mendoza, the web’s role had been tested. I’ve personally seen various reports and statements about the drama. Distinctively, a noticeable change in number of killed people was observed. Some sites said it was 9 some said it was 7. It did not show a clear picture of the truth because of the varied information that were coming out but still, it did shocked its readers and created a great impact towards them which has resulted to different reaction that has worsen or improved the condition of the Philippine news media and society. Other example of such is the spread of showbiz news in the net. Showbiz has been a hot topic for all season since people love to intrigue and have this passion for rumors about people whom they d o not personally know. There are various web sites with the intention of featuring the updates on the lives of the â€Å"stars† or â€Å"celebrities. † One will say this and the other will interpret it differently and then pass it again to others. The wrong unreliable information that frequently passed on to the internet has caused damage not only to the people involved but also the country where these people involved belongs to. As a result, erroneous and immense issues concerning them were constructed which deteriorate their credibility as a public figure and as a citizen of the country. Individuals are blaming the Philippine news media whenever they get incorrect reports. They tend to forget that internet can also be the reason for that. Our media’s integrity is now at stake since people’s minds get tangled by the various and altered news. Instead of helping, internet causes further bewilderment. People can’t now figure out the truth. They ar e misled by anonymous information spreading. Of course, it is good to have assorted source of news but if the meticulousness of details are at risk, better yet have one reliable source. And spend time to get into the core of the issue and grasp what is the truth. What’s the point of having a quick way of spreading news if its straightforwardness is lessened? Accuracy is much more important than speed and it is still better to believe in things that you have actually found out yourself rather than consider things that you have just heard from or read from the internet. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Internet Dependency" essay for you Create order