As described by George Siemens in his video clip, distance education in the educational and corporate world has become more accepted. He concludes that this is due to the evolution of global diversity, communication, and collaborative interaction in both arenas. In my opinion, the element of communication has evolved the most in both areas over the past few years.
The evolution of this element has come from the increasing technology that makes it possible. Whether discussion forums, synchronous or asynchronous, or blogs (like eBlogger), people are communicating by text. Though some people do not find text an affective form of communication, I think it frees people up to discuss things that they might not feel comfortable doing in front of others. Now especially with technology like Skype, the instant messaging and video conferences that can be held put people in instant communication just like picking up a phone just for a cheaper rate. Whatever the means, communication is occurring and no one should feel lonesome in the distance world. Look at Facebook, Twitter, and other social software. I know at Georgia Virtual School we have a Twitter for students and teachers to follow. Also on Facebook you see businesses advertising in the margins. Wiki's are also ways for people to communicate. In my other graduate class, our group communicates through discussions on our Wiki.
A general blog post made by an educator on the site Distance-Educator.com caught my attention. It was posted that "very rarely people communicate purely in one or the other mode. We can say that in education, communication can vary in a continuous state between synchronous and asynchronous. They are, therefore matters of degree not absolute states" (Distance-Educator.com, 2006). I think this sums up the rationale that communication does not have to happen only in the face-to-face setting. Even in the traditional setting, communication through grades and body language can also express ideas.
General Post on On Asynchronous Learning, Posted on Dec 19 2006 iThinkMedia.com. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
Siemens, G. (2009). The Future of Distance Education. [Vodcast]. Retrieved June 24, 2009 from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3476918&Survey=1&47=4154777&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Next Generation of Distance Education
Many have reservations against distance education. Being a younger educator, I had to completed many courses in college that pushed me in this direction. I have worked at a traditional school for four years, but also decided to try being an online instructor for the past two and half years. I see the benefits and drawbacks of each environment. However, I believe, with the evolution of society, distance education is the way of the future.
After reviewing the articles presented by Moller, Huett, Foshay, and Coleman (2008), in addition to the article by Simonson (2000), I agree with the statement that distance education must evolve to the next generation. When distance education was in its beginning stages, it was very primitive. As quoted from the article "Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web" (2008), it is assessed correctly that the mentality was to "sake claim before all of the good territory [was] gone; ...worry about effectively mining it later' (Moller, Foshay, Huett, p.66). It was established in many areas but the details behind its functioning correctly was not established. It is apparent from all of the articles that the concept of applying "different but equivalent" learning experiences was the main goal. Upon evaluation detailed in the article, simple learner based strategies can accomplish this goal in an effective manner. For example, the idea that Simonson (2000) presents suggesting that one "identifies learning experiences and matches them to the appropriate available technology" (p. 32) or an emphasis on training and development (Moller, Foshay, Huett, 2008, p. 70).
Bottom line, as suggested in all of the articles, this is the way of the future. As high schools and colleges/universities adapt to this new style of learning, it can not just be established and not changed to keep up with the times. This means that constant evaluation, just like in a traditional classroom, is needed. I know from experience with GAVS, this is done often. We constantly redesign courses, differentiate instruction, and locate new sources of information to provide the best learning experience possible for our students.
Simonson, M. (2000). Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 84, 29-34.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70-75. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33281719.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33991516.
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5). 63-67.
After reviewing the articles presented by Moller, Huett, Foshay, and Coleman (2008), in addition to the article by Simonson (2000), I agree with the statement that distance education must evolve to the next generation. When distance education was in its beginning stages, it was very primitive. As quoted from the article "Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web" (2008), it is assessed correctly that the mentality was to "sake claim before all of the good territory [was] gone; ...worry about effectively mining it later' (Moller, Foshay, Huett, p.66). It was established in many areas but the details behind its functioning correctly was not established. It is apparent from all of the articles that the concept of applying "different but equivalent" learning experiences was the main goal. Upon evaluation detailed in the article, simple learner based strategies can accomplish this goal in an effective manner. For example, the idea that Simonson (2000) presents suggesting that one "identifies learning experiences and matches them to the appropriate available technology" (p. 32) or an emphasis on training and development (Moller, Foshay, Huett, 2008, p. 70).
Bottom line, as suggested in all of the articles, this is the way of the future. As high schools and colleges/universities adapt to this new style of learning, it can not just be established and not changed to keep up with the times. This means that constant evaluation, just like in a traditional classroom, is needed. I know from experience with GAVS, this is done often. We constantly redesign courses, differentiate instruction, and locate new sources of information to provide the best learning experience possible for our students.
Simonson, M. (2000). Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 84, 29-34.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70-75. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33281719.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33991516.
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5). 63-67.
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