Editing Distance education (section)

== Paced and self-paced models ==
[[Andreas Kaplan|Kaplan]] and Haenlein classify distance education into four groups according to "Time dependency" and "Number of participants": 
# [[MOOCs]] (Massive Open Online Courses): Open-access online course (i.e., without specific participation restrictions) that allows for unlimited (massive) participation; 
# [[Small private online course|SPOCs]] (Small Private Online Courses): Online course that only offers a limited number of places and therefore requires some form of formal enrollment;
# SMOCs (Synchronous Massive Online Courses): Open-access online course that allows for unlimited participation but requires students to be "present" at the same time (synchronously);
# SSOCs (Synchronous Private Online Courses): Online course that only offers a limited number of places and requires students to be "present" at the same time (synchronously).<ref name="Kaplan Haenlein 2016"/>

Paced models are a familiar mode since they are used almost exclusively in campus-based schools. Institutes that offer both distance and campus programs usually use paced models so that teacher workload, student semester planning, tuition deadlines, exam schedules, and other administrative details can be synchronized with campus delivery. Student familiarity and the pressure of deadlines encourage students to readily adapt to and usually succeed in paced models. However, student freedom is sacrificed as a common pace is often too fast for some students and too slow for others. In additional life events, professional or family responsibilities can interfere with a student's capability to complete tasks to an external schedule. Finally, paced models allow students to readily form communities of inquiry<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://coi.athabascau.ca|title = Community of Inquiry site|publisher = Athabasca University}}</ref> and to engage in collaborative work.

Self-paced courses maximize student freedom, as not only can students commence studies on any date, but they can complete a course in as little time as a few weeks or up to a year or longer. Students often enroll in self-paced study when they are under pressure to complete programs, have not been able to complete a scheduled course, need additional courses, or have pressure which precludes regular study for any length of time. The self-paced nature of the programming, though, is an unfamiliar model for many students and can lead to excessive procrastination, resulting in course incompletion. Assessment of learning can also be challenging as exams can be written on any day, making it possible for students to share examination questions with resulting loss of academic integrity. Finally, it is extremely challenging to organize collaborative work activities, though some schools<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title = Teaching Crowds: Learning and Social Media|last1 = Dron|first1 = Jon|publisher = AU Press|year = 2014|last2 = Anderson|first2 = Terry}}</ref> are developing cooperative models based upon networked and connectivist pedagogies<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.19173/irrodl.v12i3.890 |title=Three generations of distance education pedagogy	|journal=The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=80–97 |year=2011 |last1=Anderson |first1=Terry |last2=Dron |first2=Jon |doi-access=free }}</ref> for use in self-paced programs.