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What is Distance Education?
Distance education provides educational opportunities for students who are separated from the instructor by time and/or physical distance.
Gaston College offers two main types of distance education courses:
Internet courses meet online, where students receive lessons, complete assignments, and communicate in a virtual classroom. Students must have regular access to a computer and the internet; have good computer skills; work independently; and be self-motivated. Internet courses have course content, a schedule for completing online assignments, and require a minimum of 2-4 hours of independent study per course credit hour. Generally students are NOT required to come to campus; however, some Internet courses may require proctored tests/presentations or labs to complete the course.
Hybrid/Blended courses meet onsite and online, as designated on the course schedule. While these courses utilize some of the same technologies as Internet courses, students also attend some face-to-face sessions.
Many of our traditional face-to-face courses will use Blackboard to supplement instruction.