For many adults, distance learning, online learning, or as many are now calling it, e-learning, provides opportunities to continue your educational pursuits while working, raising a family, or when you do not have immediate access to a campus. E-learning can be undertaken in a variety of forms, but its central feature is that the learning takes place when the instructor and students are not in a traditional "face-to-face" classroom. Traditional interaction, whether between faculty and students or students with their fellow learners, is conducted through some form of technology. That technology, more and more, is the computer and the Internet.

E-learning offers you options not available in on-campus learning situations and provides flexibility and convenience for a growing number of adult learners needing to balance work and family responsibilities. Learn more about e-learning in the following sections, assess your readiness for it, and review tips and tools for success. CALL makes it even easier, with resources, services and specialized programming designed for you to reach your educational goals.

Adult and e-learners…you are not alone!

There has been an explosion of adults returning to college over the past decade, attending as both full-time and part-time students, on campus, off-campus and in growing numbers through e-learning. Indeed more than 6 million adults attend college in the United States, and the average age of the college student continues to rise. You will not be the only adult in class!

The reasons for this growth are numerous. Changing demands in the workforce; the need to secure new job skills or to update existing ones; employer requirements to secure certification, licensure, or to renew them; a desire to pursue a new career path; or simply a desire to engage in learning all contribute to the growth. One other factor — the changing ways in which higher education is delivered — has opened the door to many new adult learners. E-learning has provided learning opportunities in more convenient ways, allowing those adults, like you, with busy work schedules, family commitments, and other responsibilities and activities the opportunity to learn.

No longer is a commute to a campus or off-campus center during rush hour or a long commute over country roads a hindrance. As more and more colleges and universities establish and expand online learning courses, programs, and related services for learners, the traditional barriers of time and location have been reduced dramatically. And with the growth and availability of "high tech" tools and innovative instructional programming that allow faculty to move course content and activities "online," e-learning is getting better and better.