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Alexandra Bendit
English 102
Professor Deadrick
May 4th, 2016

Distance is Equal
Research Argument
Electronic Learning or Distance Learning has become a norm in college curriculums, and
has provided opportunities for students who would not have the time in their schedule for
classes. Majority of colleges received an increase in funding for the creation and completion of
distance learning curriculums; and teachers jobs became easier and much more flexible because
they do not have to physically be in a classroom to instruct distance learning students. Many
students find it easier and more effective to cut out the middle man, the middleman being the
classroom and get straight to what they need to do to finish their courses. However Distance
Education is confusing for a lot of students, they feel left in the dark and are unsure of what
assignments are due for a grade. Distance Learning is not for everyone, but it creates more
income for already employed individuals and opportunities for people who are too busy to attend
classes and those who have to work more than two jobs to support themselves and their families.
Distance Learning allows students to learn their course curriculum in several different ways, as
many distance learning programs are equipped with interactive videos, video chats with
instructors and game-like assignments. Online students have to train themselves to become
technically savvy to succeed, as they are learning almost one hundred percent of the time via a

laptop or computer. Visual cues provided in online curriculums are often easy for students to
miss, leading to confusion later on in the course. In recent years the ways information is
conveyed in distance learning curriculums has become much easier for the majority to
comprehend. In fact Distance students perform at about the same levels as traditional students in
accredited institutions. Online education should be considered equal to traditional education from
accredited colleges and universities, or of the same quality because students have different
learning needs, circumstances, opportunities and majors that are met effectively with online
courses and distance education.
There is no statistical difference across the board in the performance of Online Students
versus the performance of their traditional counterparts; however there are small variations
within individual surveys and studies comparing the two. A study done by Thomas Wayne
Atchley at Taron State University in Stephville, Texas, over 16 weeks with the objective of
discovering if statistical differences exist between the performance of online students and
traditional students with the same professor and same courses at the same time (Atchley 7). This
data was collected using the Banner Student Record System at Taron State University between
2004 and 2009 with a population of 319,153 anonymous students. Summer semesters and eight
week courses were excluded from the study; however, blended or hybrid courses were included.
The data includes course term, ethnicity, grade, student type, grade point average, grade point
average hours completed, number of online course completed, total courses completed and the
students final course grades (Atchley 9). The retention portion of the study is achieved on an A-D
letter grade scale, a grade of F equivalent to failing and not retaining the course. The online
courses were delivered via Blackboard, an online educational platform used at various
institutions and colleges, with no face to face communication or designated classroom setting.

The online courses moved at the pace of the individual students while the traditional and blended
courses moved at the pace of the class as a whole.
The results yielded from the first objective, academic performance, with a total sample
population of 5,477, an online population of 4,120 and a traditional population of 1,357; online
students had the highest population of As at 34.6% with the traditional students at 31.3%
(Atchley 37). In objective group two, retention, the course completion rate of traditional students
was 95.6%, while the rate for online students was 2.3 % less at 93.3% (Atchley 38). There is less
than a 4% variance between retention and performance of Online Students and Traditional
Students. In objective group three, retention by discipline, the subjects included Agricultural
Education, Accounting, Computer Information Systems, English, Finance, General Business,
Health, Human Resources Management, Management, Marketing, Physical Education,
Psychology, Reading and Special Education. The results from group three indicated that the
Online Students had a 91.9% completion rate as an average of all the subjects, equating to a low
a letter grade average with Reading being the highest percent of completion at 98.2% and
Finance being the lowest at 82.2%. The data shows that overall the Online Students and
Traditional Students in the three objective groups preformed and completed the subjects at
similar rates and received letter grades within the A-B range. The distance students in the study
did not have any forms of learning disabilities and performed at about the same levels across the
board as the traditional students, however if they did studies suggest they would perform better
than traditional students without disabilities in online classes and significantly worse in
traditional classes than the traditional students in the study.
Students with learning disabilities, such as ADHD and Dyslexia have a track record of
preforming poorly in Traditional Classroom settings; even with the help of councilors and

medications. Those students are forced to push themselves harder than their peers because of the
way their brains process information. Programs designed for students with learning disabilities
and tutors are expensive and many cannot afford them; leading them unfortunately to drop out
and struggle throughout life working minimum wage jobs. Luckily Distance Education programs
usually work at the pace of individual students, making students with learning disabilities feel
comfortable working at their own pace. Distance Education also generally does not require any
classroom time, as majority of the assignments are completed online; calming those with
performance and social anxiety. Distance Education curriculums from accredited institutions are
almost always based off their traditional counterparts curriculums but have more methods of
learning, such as multimedia instructional videos, interactive assignments, video conferencing,
and chat rooms between students and instructors; making it easier for ADHD students to focus
because they learn visually at their own pace as opposed to in the form of a lecture at the pace of
the class. Ironically it has been proven that students with learning disabilities perform better in
Distance Education programs than students without.
A Study done by J.F Stewart, C Mallery and J Choi called A Multilevel Analysis of
Distance Learning. Achievement: Are College Students with Disabilities Making the Grade?
takes in in depth look to see if students with learning disabilities course grades are better in
Distance Education Programs versus in Traditional Classroom settings. The research questions
formulated were Does disability status have an effect on students course grades after
controlling student level covariates (cumulative GPA, gender, and total credit hours
accumulated), while accounting for classroom differences? (Stewart 29), Do disability status
effects on student outcomes (class grade) vary over classrooms after controlling for student-level
variables (cumulative GPA, gender, and total credit hours accumulated)? (Stewart), Does

course delivery format (online or offline) have an effect on student outcomes after controlling
class room level covariates (type of course, and level of course)? (Stewart 29), Does course
delivery format (online or offline) have an effect on the effect of disability status on class grades,
after controlling classroom level covariates (type of course, and level of course)? (Stewart 29);
respectively. Students with disabilities in Distance Learning courses preform at the same levels
as students without in the same Distance Courses; however did not perform as well as students
without disabilities in traditional classroom environments. The findings from the study suggest
that students with disabilities may benefit from learning via online environments that are media
rich and have various different methods of learning (Stewart 35).
Distance learning in combination with new technologies like text-to-speech software
paves a path of success for physically disabled individuals, providing new possibilities for them
that they would not have in Traditional Classroom settings. Students with physical disabilities
struggle to go to college because of their lack of mobility and the lack of handicap accessibility
in the institutions they wish to attend. Therefore, a lot of disabled students miss out on
opportunities to make more money and advance their careers because of the lack of handicap
accessibility at traditional colleges. Although those students do not lack the mental knowledge or
skills to succeed in life, they are still held back from accomplishing their goals due to their lack
of mobility and accessibility. An article written by Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D. covers a variety of
ways educational institutions can and should accommodate disabled individuals in Distance
Education programs. When we think of physically disabled people, usually there is an image in
our heads of a person on crutches or in a wheel chair, but, many are blind or have speech
impediments. Course completion is especially hard for the blind because majority of curriculums
are not translated into brail, and it is impossible to make brail available online. However students

and instructors who are blind should be provided with text-to-speech software by their college or
institution. The text-to-speech system reads, with a synthesized voice, whatever text appears on
the screen (Burgstahler 1). The text-to-speech technology in combination with Distance Learning
programs gives the blind opportunities to excel in non-traditional learning environments.
There are many kinds of physical disabilities, such as, deafness and epilepsy that are not
typically accommodated in Traditional curriculums; leaving students with physical disabilities at
an unfair disadvantage. A perfect example would be software associated with a many
instructional videos, using a flickering light to keep students attention, and the unfortunate fact
that epileptic students are susceptible to seizures if they see flickers of light, (typically between 2
to 55 hertz), flashing repeatedly (Burgstahler). Students with mobility impairments, for example,
paralyzed individuals who cannot or have a hard time moving their hands and fingers should be
provide with alternative keyboards or speech input. Alternate keyboards are small keyboards
attached on the wrist or underneath the hand that verbalize what the user types (Burgstahler).
These alternative aids accommodate physically disabled students and allow them to have the
same advantages and disadvantages as regular students without disabilities. Distance Education
even makes it possible for students who are completely immobile to complete programs with the
proper aids, and they deserve to because they are no less qualified than regular students and
should not be held back due to lack of accommodations. Distance Education gives physically
disabled students education options they would not typically have in Traditional Education
settings because there are various modes of learning in Distance Education programs, the
material is easier for physically disabled students to comprehend with the help of
accommodations based on their learning needs.

Despite the benefits of Distance Learning, some online Instructors find it difficult to
motivate students without physically being in their presence (Murdock). Distance Learning
students are typically individuals with busy lives who do not need an instructor to motivate them.
Distance learning students do not expect to be consistently pushed and motivated by their
instructors because they are too busy to waste their time and money by procrastinating and not
participating. However Online Instructors can motivate their students by reinforcing positive
behavior, congratulating them on their grades and encouraging them to keep up their good work.
Another issue is the transfer of curriculum contents that were originally designed for Traditional
Classroom instruction to be formatted and taught to students electronically (Murdock).
Reformatting curriculums is a necessary procedure when transferring them from one learning
environment to another, if Online Instructors see this as an issue they cannot solve, they should
hire a graphic designer to visually reformat the curriculum to fit the needs of its Distance
learning environment because all students deserve to receive the same level of education
regardless issues with transfer of information. Online Students pay the same tuition if not more
for their education and should expect teachers to find ways to effectively convey information in a
way that they can comprehend; teachers should review in their Online Instruction method for
teaching from a distance. Unfortunately Instructors often have to redesign a course to fit online
learning objectives (Murdock). Redesigning a course is as essential to the success of its students
as reformatting the curriculum to fit their needs.
Distance Learning Programs continue to meet the diverse learning needs and
circumstances of students who are pursuing degrees. Online programs from accredited
institutions continue to create opportunities for those with learning disabilities and physical
disabilities who struggle in traditional classroom settings. In fact studies suggest that students

with learning disabilities preform at higher levels in Distance Learning environments than in
traditional classroom settings. Various modes of visual and kinesthetic learning delivered
electronically as opposed to traditionally through lectures in classrooms, makes it easier for
students with learning disabilities to process and comprehend the lessons because they have the
option to choose the way they would like to learn the information. The accessibility of Distance
Learning programs makes earning degrees easier for physically disabled individuals as well,
because they do not have to leave their homes or worry about access to buildings and getting
around campus. The programs give students who are partially mobile or immobile chances at
higher education. Aside from the opportunities Online Education makes possible for disabled
students, it helps regular students with families and busy lives earn degrees. Distance Education
makes it possible for individuals who have to work full time to support themselves and their
families to bring home more income and live the lifestyles they dream of. The performance of
Distance students and traditional students based on GPA and retention rates shows no difference
across the board therefor the two should be considered equal.