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
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I think that there are so many communications tools available now that one can get overwhelmed trying to keep up with it all. At the NECC conference this week in Washington, DC, one of my esteemed peers noted that we should simply choose the tool for the job and not worry about trying to do it all. I think this is wise advice. Not everyone should blog, she said. Post comments on others' blogs if you don't have anything to say. Tweet if you like. Join the discussion rather than start it. Food for thought...
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