A fraternal twin’s higher education choice can be influenced by family values, social economics, environmental and instructional decisions. For centuries, traditional education can be characterized by using direct contact between an instructor and student. Immediate feedback and increased social interaction may be formed during a defined period in classroom instruction. Distance learning, now considered a new term, has been around for over a century. Correspondent courses started in Europe and remained the primary means of distant learning until the middle of the twentieth century (Imel, 1996).
Distant and online education offer many of the same characteristics along with distinct features, of indirect contact with faculty and classmates through technology driven methods such as discussion forums and synchronous or asynchronous communication. (Mahmood, Mahmood, & Malik, 2012). Distant learning allows students to learn and study at their preferred learning style and own pace. Similar to the unique characteristics of fraternal twins, nontraditional and individual needs students may require the adaptability and flexibility of distant education to fulfill their academic and professional goals. Distant and traditional education use many of the same pedagogical techniques the online learning format enables students increased opportunities to suit their skills, interests, and profession.
One Twin’s View on Traditional Education
The long established delivery system for traditional higher education has remained a face-to-face classroom setting. Students listen to lectures and taking notes on material covered. Grading, determined by completing assignments, tests and written essays exams in a timely manner. Interactions with the teacher and students develop both social and academic relations.
A student can expect to complete literature and course related assignments in specified timeframes independently or within group learning teams. The expectations of traditional higher education are to acknowledge another person’s ideas or opinions within the academic paper. With the growth of Internet media and concerns of plagiarism, writers and publishers developed a method to show different sources reviewed in their publication. Referencing styles and formats varies among fields and institutions.
There is no one method to ensure students success, but studies have shown high impact to undergraduate programs and student retention rate with select modules. Traditional education promotes critical thinking skills, rational and logical reasoning to solve problems in a structured format. Assignments and exams combined, benchmark students success among all degree programs. Performance benchmarking and success for traditional education varies among state and general academic institutions. Once ranked first globally, America ranked 10th in the percentage of young adults with college degrees. (Baldwin, 2011). The decline in graduation and retention rates currently stress the need to develop effective information systems to track a student’s progress, promote organizational learning, and behavior change management.
Investigation on the effects of student achievement and motivation consist of research questions given to students, of undergraduate and graduate business programs. Faculty and student perceptions of teacher availability and collaboration favor the framework of traditional learning in undergraduate degree programs. (Al-Salman, (2011). The face-to-face interaction among instructor and the student has the advantage of immediate response to questions or concerns about course related material, compared to dependence of electronic communication and faculty availability in distant educations. Traditional students conveyed comfort in one-on-one and corroborative support (Holmberg-Wright, & Wright, 2012). Perception among both undergraduate and graduate students present traditional education offers greater opportunities to collaboration. Students also enjoy live debate with students, faculty and the social relationships among their communities and support services.
Though, undergraduate and graduate students prefer traditional classroom curriculum. Both groups considered taking distant education as an additional option to complement the preferred learning process of face-to-face education. Graduate students state interaction with on campus faculty and other students have increased value for a graduate program (Holmberg-Wright, & Wright, 2012).
Another Twin’s View on Distant Education
Innovations in educational delivery methods challenged the paradigm of traditional education. Distant education offers many benefits to the flexibility and pedagogical techniques used for experienced and disadvantaged individuals. Face-to-face interactions predominantly favored in a traditional class setting and a slight increase or equal value to student perceptions of student achievement, attitude and retention toward distant education (Holmberg-Wright, Wright, 2012). Instructors have a significant impact on the educational value a student receives. Concerns to faculty and student interactions include, reliance to technology resources, and electronic communication delayed response because of the instructor or student availability.
The online module encourages, traditional and nontraditional, adult students to participate in the learning management system offer. Students not only receive knowledge but also interpret and learn while setting the pace of their own learning method. Academic instruction designed for nontraditional adults and individual assisted needs tend to be more effective when in learner-centered curricula, than if they enroll in instructor-centered courses. Online didactics encourages passive learning to distant learners through increased access of resources and multimedia. The resources support or replace traditional methods of learning and various learning style accommodations.
Flexibility of online curriculum allows students to balance increase responsibilities of time management because of nonacademic obligations to family and professional lifestyle. The designed course material offers students the convenience to complete assignments in their home or any location outside the traditional environment. Decreased expense to student transportation cost compare to brick and mortar academic institution. Investment to distant higher education and expansion of technology along with increased, diverse collaboration can be perceived greater, compared to traditional offline instruction. However, studies convey the need to improve satisfaction of participants in undergraduate and select graduate degree programs to enhancements in collaborative mythologies. (Means, Toyama, Murphy, Bakia, Jones, Department of Education., 2009)
When Twins Work Together
Fraternal twins, are two separate beings that share one system of environmental and social economic factors until the individual’s characteristics and learning style emerge. The confluence of pedagogies and educational modules, known as hybrid or blended learning, enable students additional options to accommodate their learning style. Typically, students do not share the same learning styles. Blended curriculum promotes independent, critical thinking skill to problems, in turn, promote a complete educational experience. Adults that presently have careers, goals, and family obligations have the advantage to use technology and organizational skills to manage to competing obligations in accordance to scheduled classes and interactions with instructors.
Characteristics of a nontraditional adult student include, years of experience and knowledge, self-directed, opinions, and established values. The choices of hybrid programs range from traditional instruction, supplemented by online instruction from time to time, to preferred, online instruction with traditional instruction is a smaller proportion of course. Hybrid instruction allows an individual to gain knowledge through the online experience and coordinate instructor coaching sessions in person. Distant learners can fulfill career obligations and focus to career advancement opportunities.
Many companies today use learning management systems of computer-based or Internet driven programs in training and development of the existing workforce. Blended learning also benefits institutions by improving efficiencies and increase learning outcomes while reducing instructional delivery expenses. (Means, et al., (2009) Research on blended courses found potential increase in learning outcomes while lowering attrition rate when compared to fully online courses.
Conclusion
An American historian, Henry Steele Commager, said, “Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change. Education is essential to change, for education creates both new wants and the ability to satisfy them” (Quotes.net. Henry Steele Commager Quotes, 2010). Institutions adapt by developing organizational arrangements that accommodate both teaching and learning environments. Similarly to fraternal twins, one student’s proffered learning and education path may not coincide with another. The various modules allow flexibility, self accountability, and responsibility to ensure one’s success in academics. Nontraditional students benefit, from incorporating distant learning or blended courses into their current lives without compromising career obligations. The influences of technology, electronic communication, and multimedia help shape today’s value systems compared to previous generations and traditional education. Blended learning represents a universal model that is congruent with individual or professional lifestyles. Enabling all students to learn, grow, and progress as the paradigm of higher education changes and future generations evolve.

References
Al-Salman, S. M. (2011, October). Faculty in online learning programs: Competencies and barriers to success. Journal Of Apllied Learning Technology, 1(4), 6-13. Retrieved from https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/search/basic?sid=945da53f-af1a-4707-9f5f-e8f98be4ae76%40sessionmgr115&vid=4&hid=102
Baldwin, C. (2011). Measuring student success. New Directions For Community Colleges, (153), 75-88. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f93a24a3-5e2b-498d-8feb-3af70dc9a5b1%40sessionmgr113&vid=7&hid=115
Holmberg-Wright, K., & Wright, D. J. (2012). MBA and Undergraduate Business Student Perceptions of Online Courses: Experienced Online Students versus Students Who Have Not Taken an Online Course. Global Education Journal, (1), 169-186.
Imel, S., & ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, C. H. (1998). Distance Learning. Myths and Realities. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED426213.pdf
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., Jones, K., Department of Education (ED), O., & SRI, I. (2009). Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. US Department Of Education, Retrieved form https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?vid=9&hid=6&sid=6f9c141b-b799-43be-b563-f44fbfa532ca%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=ehh&AN=78300147
Quotes.net. (2010). Quotes. Retrieved from http://www.quotes.net/authors/Henry+Steele+Commager