On November 16 of 2007, NCBTMB announced their acceptance of distance education as a credible component of Massage Therapy and Bodywork Training. Since that time, many schools and individuals have voiced their concerns and questions. The question of whether to offer distance education in massage therapy raises many questions while at the same time presenting many opportunities. What do you think about the potential of distance education for students studying massage therapy/bodywork?

Distance education (DE) courses can vary widely and many DE courses are more difficult than face-to-face (F2F) courses simply because you need to do the bulk of the work yourself…you do not have a live instructor giving lectures, passing out handouts, etc. Courses delivered in a DE format usually require that the student be more disciplined as s/he is responsible for more of the learning that takes place.

The term distance education is pretty open. It can include hybrid courses (those where you meet face-to-face part of the time and online the rest of the time), courses delivered exclusively via CD or DVD and require no classroom attendance, online courses (WebCT, BlackBoard, etc.), video, television and even courses delivered via the radio.