Amongst the academic old guard, there's something of an insistence that no substitute exists for classroom learning and online degree programs can't offer the intimacy of a campus-based program.

HA!

Once again the rigid ways of academia are outdone by the ever aggrandizing, ever expanding forces of technology; and while there are many technological applications and gadgets which can facilitate your online degree, without a doubt, the one that evaporates the virtual distance between student and online school is SKYPE.

Since the advent of podcasting, students have been able to listen (and perhaps re-listen) to lectures and lessons at their leisure, when the kids are in bed and after the new 30 Rock premiere. And while podcasting is great (no desire to trash-talk podcasting!), you can't exactly interrupt the lecture if up pops a question. Furthermore, it can also be a bit passive—watching a video or listening to a talk, if one is even just a tinge tired or has perhaps had a nice hefty meal, the inactive form of watching/listening runs the risk of loosing the learner.

This isn't so with Skype—you can't hide or stifle your snoring! With a skyped lecture, you hear and see everything (even if you don't want to!) and this ensures that every word and detail goes in both eyes and ears—thereby eliminating any obstacles to obtaining your online Bachelors or Masters Degree.

And should lecture not be enough (or maybe you want to discuss a ridiculously difficult assignment with your peers), you can always self-schedule study sessions and reviews for exams on your time. So long as you have access to the Internet and a computer, you can stimulate the local coffee shop (sans the overpriced coffee) or the library (sans the inappropriate noise/disturbing silence).

There's also no limit to how Skype can be used in top online schools. Statistics classes, English seminars and voice lessons (of all styles) can be given over Skype. Yep. Reigning queen of coloratura, Mezzo-Soprano Joyce DiDonato, is one of many established, international singers known to have her lessons via Skype while she's traversing the globe tra-la-la-ing.

Additionally, Skype is a beyond-priceless asset for the foreign language student. For years, language programs were limited in their efficacy as they didn't immerse the student in the verbal language enough. Students would have to write out on paper what they intended to say before they could even attempt communicating something. But how often in life does one write out what they're going to say?

Thanks to The Mixxer Language Connection, hosted by Dickinson College, one can even learn a foreign language from her favorite lazy boy or fainting couch. Quieres aprender espanol? Cantonese…Slovenian? All are possible through affordable online colleges—and all can be made easier with The Mixxer. The Mixxer pairs people who want to learn a specific language with a native speaker who, in turn, wants to learn their language. The pair, or sometimes group, can set up their own online rendezvous and thereby stimulate an immersion like experience without the pressure of airports, snooty European waiters and intimidating immigration control officers.

Overall, people complain that social networking and similar technology diminishes connection in a post-modern, fast-paced world. Public schools, in their attempts to “protect,” have been known to ban Skype and other programs. Seems ironic, though, as Skype is one of the few modern assets able to bridge the virtual space/time gap inherent to an accredited online degree program.

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