Distance Education Between Conceptuality and Implementation

Writer : Tundung Memolo

Covid 19 has affected the world of education. Millions of students in Indonesia are housed until there is a face-to-face policy. This shocked students, education staff, and parents.

They learn from home using social media such as WA, Facebook, or telegram. In other schools, virtual face-to-face learning can be added either through zoom or google meet. Learning from home is what is termed distance education.

The government has issued Permendikbud No.24 of 2012 on the implementation of Distance Education (PJJ). So that legally formally, PJJ is recognized as legally implemented in Indonesia with all its limitations.

In concept, distance education is the same as face-to-face, namely the existence of a two-way or more interaction pattern between teachers and students in a planned, systematic, and measurable manner which refers to the norms and character of students that are useful practically and academically.

The difference with face-to-face is that distance education emphasizes the use of technology and information or IT-based. Therefore strategies, methods and learning techniques are still planned by selecting the right communication media.

There are at least 6 characteristic aspects in distance education, namely: there are two or more parties making contact through the remote control system; the existence of face-to-face relationships with students in the form of individual assistance, guidance and training; the existence of a two-way communication organized to connect two or more distant places; not dominated by face-to-face teachers; using communication, social and pedagogical aspects; lead to high self-discipline and maximal student activity to succeed.

The above aspects will later have an influence on the quality of education itself. Because the role of distance education provides aspects of ease or efficiency in terms of facilities and infrastructure, time, and costs.

Efficiency in infrastructure because it does not require classrooms, even virtual learning can be carried out by hundreds of students. Students are flexible in determining their study time and are not tied to a predetermined schedule. Lessons do not have to buy equipment or photocopies, because there are files ready to be downloaded in a large number of pages.

It can be seen that the concept of distance education is quality oriented. Even in 21st century learning, distance education holds the communication and collaboration aspects, which are 2 main aspects of global competence. Furthermore, students can choose the time to study and choose the lesson they want to master. Students are free to choose what lesson options will be deepened by determining an interactive schedule.

Apart from the problems of quotas, networks, and technology failures, distance learning still requires joint participation, be it the central government, local governments, education personnel, students, and parents to formulate the PJJ concept in an implementation setting.

Implementation in the field still shows a conceptual bias in its application. Distance learning is still oriented towards giving assignments. Students are only given assignments, without any individual mentoring process. Let alone individually, 2-way interaction patterns are not obtained. Virtual face-to-face learning is almost non-existent, if any, for only a moment, which does not satisfy the science-hungry student.

Facts in the field are still found teachers who are not technology-savvy. Learning is only through social media such as WA or telegram, without any explanation of the material first. Most of the work done by parents, so that the assessment becomes biased.

Even though assessment is something that must be done, even though the learning process is the most important. Several months passed, there were still teachers who were reluctant to learn in order to be more skilled in using ICT in learning.

Based on the facts of the findings as the implementation of distance education, there is a gap with conceptuality. It seems that there is still a long way to go to get close to the concept of distance education.

However, changes still need to be made, no matter how small. Because like it or not, this PJJ will still continue. Even before Covid 19, several developed countries had taken a step further in implementing this PJJ in a course in program that stretched its journey.