PPEL – The idea of a Learning Partner in distance learning

(Slaatto T. & Paulsen, M (2006). Learning partner – opportunities for cooperation in distance learning. Available at http://www.elearningeuropa.info/directory/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8294&doclng=6. Accessed on 26-10-2009.

This article talks about a very interesting concept in distance education that is applied by NKI Distance Education, a non-governmental educational institution based in Norway : the learning partner. This concept arises based on the Cooperative Freedom Theory which states that distance students although need individual freedom also need cooperation. According to the article “Learning partners are online students who help and motivate each other”. These partners can communicate online, by phone, email, text messages and they can also meet in person if they like.

If a student wants cooperation that should be given to him/her. It is proven that it will improve students satisfaction and motivation and make the learning process more appealing and attractive.

The concept of a learning partner in online education shows that online students look for peers in order to keep their enrollment in their learning. This makes me think about the typical classroom education: we look for peers to share experiences and to learn with. I believe that we, as online students, need some individual freedom in order to respect our own learning pace and to achieve our own goals, but for some students that will be only possible if they have a partner that is going through the same process and who is at the same level. I think it is not an innovative idea in terms of how human beings work, but it is for sure a innovation in terms of nline education, very much appreciated by the students who tried it (as mentioned in the article).