What is Distance Education?
Distance Education is not a new concept. With the introduction of computers, the Internet revolutionized the entire distance learning model. With the success of the Open University classroom idea, educational institutions interested in offering Distance Education programs started moving to online learning.
Distance Education courses at East Los Angeles College are delivered over the Internet using the Etudes course management system. These types of courses are called Fully-Online courses. Students sign on to Etudes where they "meet" their instructor, access the syllabus and other course materials, participate in discussions, collaborate with other students, take quizzes and exams, and turn in assignment. Not all, but some, online courses do require students to come to campus to take exams.
Courses which are held both on-campus and online simultaneously are called Blended/hybrid courses. Students who take blended/hybrid courses will still go on campus to meet their instructor and classmates just like a regular on-campus class, but they will also do some of the course work online via Etudes. Some of the blended courses also link out to publishers CMS that allows instructor to enhance the learning experience.
Click here to watch a video on ELAC course management system Etudes
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