Okay, out of sheer nosiness (um...I mean curiosity), I have another question. Do degrees in the subject of distance learning actually have any practical (meaning career) use? Are they designed for creating and administering programs, or are they designed to help those already in certain fields learn to teach by DL methods? I know someone whose latest Master's is in DL; he hasn't been able to find a job using that specialty, but is teaching as an adjunct in another field entirely.
Gosh, I hope so. My program at The Union Institute and University has a specialization in Nontraditional Higher Education (what we called DL back in the day). I'd like to think I can work after graduation. Seriously, though, I think a master's degree in DL is particularly good for people in the corporate training world (like me) who author and conduct training using distance methods (again, like me). I meet a lot of peers with other companies who are barely scratching the surface of what can be done with modern tools. A master's program would teach them a lot. Normally, you break into this field not by your educational specialty, but by getting involved with training (perhaps as a subject matter expert), then you grow your skills and experience. (I got into it with the military, so I received hundreds of hours of classroom training on how to be a trainer, so this doesn't apply to me.) I wouldn't want to try to break into this field with no experience, hoping a freshly minted master's in DL would open doors. Tell your friend to get involved with the training department at work in anyway possible, perhaps by volunteering to author a course or two using the technology they currently have. Things can build from there.
