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National Distance Learning Week

Flexibility and Accessibility of Online Learning

This year, National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) is from November 7 to 11. NDLW was created to bring greater awareness to distance learning. At Montgomery College (MC), we want to recognize our leaders and faculty who are working together to give our students the best learning experience in their distance learning courses. Our online degrees have received numerous awards over the years, and many of our faculty have completed the Quality Matters (QM) program. The QM program is a national program that identifies online courses that have been reviewed and have passed the required standards to be recognized as a high-quality online course.

The reason distance learning has grown, especially here at MC, is because of the convenience it offers students from a scheduling standpoint. Distance education allows them to schedule classes and complete their study when they're working or when they're dealing with family issues. Distance learning offers flexibility in the students’ lives.

MC Online Learning Quick Facts
  • MC has 20 fully online degreesnew window and certificates (12 degrees and 8 certificates)
  • 505 online sections in 261 courses were offered Fall 2022 semester
  • 263 individual faculty members taught an online course in Fall 2022
  • Students took 27,012 online course credits in Fall 2022, compared to 25,775 in Fall 2021, an increase of 4.8 percent
Events Calendar

Students are invited to attend the events for the week to celebrate National Distance Learning Week. You can also download the Events Calendar (PDF, Get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader - Link opens in new window) .

12:00 PM
Communication Studies Major and its Benefits – Dr. Nader Chaaban
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2:00 PM
Student Employment Services with Resume Writing Guidelines – Beth Reilly
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2:00 PM
English Language for Academic Purposes (ELAP) Common Course Sequence – Carina Rock,Michal Marell, and Dr. Rashi Jain
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Election Day

11:00 AM
Exploring Program Transfer Agreements – Angela Rhoe
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2:00 PM
Navigating IT Career Pathways at MC – Eunice Melo and Kimberly Bloch-Rincan
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6:30 PM
Virtual Middle College: An Online Degree Program for High School Students – Akima Rogers
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12:00 PM
Virtual Student Support Services
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4:00 PM
Virtual Student Support Services
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6:00 PM
HyFlex Course Delivery: The How and the Why – Lori Kelman
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10:00 AM
Virtual Course Modality Advising Session (student drop-in) – Dr. Shinta Hernandez
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Four Types of Education Modalities

In-person course formats offer the intimacy and familiarity of face-to-face learning and allow interaction among all those present.

This course format is the most flexible and easiest to implement, with one exception: training on-campus professors to make the shift to fully online classes. Because this has been done since the advent of online classes from campus-based institutions, many faculty have experience with doing this efficiently. Online classes offer all of the advantages of virtual education, including the ability to learn anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Self-paced study as well as the integration of virtual tools and online resources are just a few of the advantages. However, active learning with hands-on experiences are typically more difficult online, especially for students who learn best by doing.

Hybrid formats split time between on-campus and virtual environments. The hybrid format is not the same as the HyFlex format. Students attend on-campus classes at designated times and engage in virtual learning activities, which may be synchronous or asynchronous, at others. In this modality, coursework is intentionally designed to be delivered virtually for specific activities and in-person for others. For example, lectures are delivered via Zoom or other videoconferencing tools while learning activities, such as a labs/active learning projects, are delivered in-person.

The HyFlex (hybrid flexible) course format is designed to accommodate individual students’ preferences for in-person or online learning, and to approximate the in-person experience for those who chose the online option. Instructors must build a course that originates in the classroom and is broadcast for online learners, with open expectations as to how students will attend. Each class is held on campus but is also recorded for synchronous (live) and asynchronous (available when student is ready) delivery online. Essentially, the intent of HyFlex is to offer an equivalent experience regardless of selected modality of participation.

*Information taken from 4 Types of Education Modalities: On-Campus, Online, Hybrid and HyFlex (examsoft.com)new window

Student Online Learning Experiences

MC students talk about their experiences with online classes at Montgomery College.

MC Online Learning Map
montgomery college online learning map

Montgomery College has students taking online classes from various states that include California, Hawaii, Ohio, Missouri, Texas, and Washington. View a map of our online studentsnew window!