Originally Posted by
Laurie
Hi Rep,
Thought I'd jump in here, as I teach in an NFOS school and am very involved with Distance Learning.
While I cannot answer for all schools, I can tell you that those involved with Distance Learning are doing very well and enjoying large increases in enrollment.
Years ago, I had a conversation with the Exec Dir. of Florida, asking why we can't get rid of the outdated model of apprenticeship once and for all, given that distance learning answers the access question. (sorry for run-on sentence!)
; )
He stated that, instead of trying to legislate mandatory AS degrees, we should make going to college for opticianry as attractive as possible. (kind of "If you build it, they will come"). He was absolutely right. We have made our distance learning program very attractive...accesible geographically, economically, and user friendly. It is not just written text...it is a series of streaming videos of lectures (didactics) with structured experiencial labs off site. We include contact lens fitting (by the very fabulous CL guy, Bill Underwood) as well as refractometry.
I am confident that we, as opticians, will move forward with education, even inspite of ourselves.
: )
Hey Warren - Nice to see you here...keep up the great work!
Laurie
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