Alternative Learning Systems

Week 12

What are alternative learning systems? How might they enhance traditional education?

From my understanding in reading the chapter, alternative learning systems are non-traditional instruction for teaching students that may not go to a “regular” school. Distance learning is an example of an alternative learning system. What I mean by a “regular” school is that students would go to a building, gather their notebooks and textbooks, and sit in a desk or table. In an alternative learning system, students would go to “school” in a different manner. Such manners could be by teleconferences, by internet, or through email and blogs online. In more severe cases where the internet and the world wide web are not available, I can imagine that school correspondence could be done through regular snail mail, fax, or voice mail.

Through alternative learning systems, there is much more responsibility placed on the student. The student has to place time aside on a regular basis to spend for the class. I personally try to put aside several hours on Saturday morning to put for this class. Right when I wake up on Saturday morning, I do my work for this class (though that hasn’t been the case for the last two weeks).

The way that alternative learning systems may enhance traditional education is that it gives the opportunity for people who have to go to work to get an education. Those people who have families and more responsibilities are given the chance to go back and possibility start a new career. They are not forced to sit down in a building and put away time every week at the same time every day to work on school. Rather, they can manage their time in a way that they see beneficial each week to work on their school stuff.