Technology TransactionsBarriers Still Exist to Distance Learning
Over 25 state real estate commissions think so. Distance learning has been allowed
in states such as Texas, New York and Alabama, but that leaves 25 states whose
real estate commissioners still believe that computer courses should be taught in
classrooms. Are they helping or hurting their licensees?
Real estate education companies are introducing new online distance learning products
that will save licensees time, money, and effort. Yet, many Realtors are not taking
advantage of them to keep up their CE requirements.
Last minute students
Most Realtors are going to wait until the last minute to complete their continuing
education coursework. But there is a price to be paid for procrastination. If you live
in a state that doesn"t allow distance learning through the Internet, you will have
a limited amount of time to select a course, and you will only be able to take courses
which are currently being offered. This could put you at risk of sitting through
a course that isn"t as relevant to your everyday business as a course selection which may
have been offered earlier in the year.
Bob Collins, president of Computaught, a computer-based education company, says, "We
have found that the optimum time to take a continuing education course is six
months prior to renewal."
The advantages of getting it done earlier, explains Collins, is that you stay
currant with what"s happening in the industry, you avoid the rush, and there is a
greater course selection available to you. "You have control over your options,"
he says.
All of those advantages would be available through the Internet. So what is keeping
Realtors from turning to distance learning in greater numbers?
Are Realtors resistant? "No, it is the people who approve the courses," says Collins.
"Many are choosing distance education. In Georgia, about 35% of people who take CE
courses choose distance learning options. It"s even higher in pre-license. That
indicates great receptivity."
Distrust of distance learning steeped in tradition, not fact
What"s preventing the greenlighting distance learning?
"It"s the weight of tradition, a mistrust of the new approach to
things," suggests Collins. "It is a cultural bias that all education has to take
place in a classroom. Some of it is a historical."
He says that many commissioners view distance learning as a glorified correspondence course, where there were no controls over the work and quality of the process. But distance learning is an evolution, which has shed the faculties that didn"t work before.
"Distance learning is better in educational quality and in the integrity of the
process - assuring that work is actually done," maintains Collins. "On the
computer, it is highly interactive and adaptive learning process. There is
rigorous educational activity and accountability in which the actions and the time spent
by the student is documented. The computer monitors what you do to a specified
criterion."
Education is a low priority for agents
Despite advances in some states where distance learning is allowed, some real estate schools are still experiencing lack of interest from agents.
Dmitriy Meleshko, a representative of the New York Real Estate Institute, says, "Our school (www.nyrei.com) is actively using distance learning courses to help real estate agents in New York to complete their continuing education requirements."
"Despite quite active advertisement on our part, not many real estate agents were actually interested in using computers to complete continuing education courses," says Meleshko.
"Most real estate agents are not interested in education. 99% of our continuing education students are taking our regular courses because they have to, not because they want to. It"s a common practice to see a student taking course after his/her license has expired, and only after we send a notification with the words "Your license will expire on ..."
Meleshko believes that the problem also lies in the unreadiness of the real estate community to embrace new technology.
"We have asked a number of our students about their use of computers. Our conclusions so far:
1) Agents who work/live in Manhattan are more used to computers at their
homes/companies, as opposed to Brooklyn (the school has two locations).
2) Most agents who are already involved in real estate field are not
using computers actively.
3) 50-70% in Manhattan of our new "Salesperson Licensing" students have
heard about our school through the Internet and are actively using
computers.
From that, Meleshko concludes that distance learning courses will work mostly for the future generation of real estate agents.
"In the meantime, the existing generation of real estate agents need to
learn how to use computers in their work. An obvious solution would be a
number on introductory computer courses."
Yet the NYREI has found little interest in the five entry/intermediate level computer courses they offer, despite the fact that the courses are approved for CE requirements.
"Nothing helps," says Meleshko. "Almost nobody is interested in these courses. On top of that, we hear rumors that "entry" level computer courses may be disallowed for CE credits. The commission"s reasoning? They say an agent should already know how to use computers; that it"s wasteful to allow him/her to learn computers in place of some important real estate continuing ed course."
Ironic, isnt" it?