Growing up the only way to get an education was to attend classes at a traditional school campus. During my K-12 experience there was no Internet or any computers. I did not see my first computer until I started college (diskless workstations!) Towards the end of my college career there were a select offering of correspondence courses that were available to earn credits during summer breaks. In my lifetime advances in technology have provided new pathways to learning. Early in my career I would never have imagined the possibility of earning my Master’s degree without ever stepping foot onto a college campus. Technology is opening doors to all kinds of new educational experiences, but what exactly does the term “Distance Learning” mean? “Distance Education can be defined as formal education in which the learning group (teachers, students, resources) are separated by geography and sometimes, by time”. (Laureate, n.d.) Until this week I believed that the terms “e-learning”, “virtual education”, and “on-line learning” were synonymous with “distance learning”. According to Simonson, Smaldino and Zvacek, E-learning or E-training is the common term used in the corporate sector; Virtual education/Virtual Schooling is used in the K-12 level to describe distance learning; and On-line learning/On-line education refers to distance learning in post-secondary educational institutions. (Simonson, Smaldino and Zvacek, 20xx) The catch-all term “Distance Education or Distance Learning” is can be used to represent all terms but no matter what term you use and who your audience is, there remains both benefits and challenges to distance education. I have discovered that distance learning is a broad term that encompasses formal education for all types of educational institutions as well the private sector. Delivery can include classroom, web, video, television, mail, audio and computer based presentation singly or in any combination. The purpose of distance learning can include traditional educational purposes as well as skillsets to support career progression in the private sector. No matter how distance learning is presented, the quality of interaction between the student, class and instructor is especially important in distance learning. “Effective teaching and learning at a distance depends upon the nature of an interaction and how interaction is facilitated through a technological medium.” (Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2010) After researching the many definitions of distance learning, I have decided that distance learning is education between individuals and/or groups separated by distance and/or time utilizing technology to some degree. The future of distance learning will continue to grow due to economics and technology. As technology continues to advance so will the presentation methods of distance learning. The rising cost of a traditional on-campus education will preclude most from seeking a traditional education. Distance learning will become the norm for those pursuing an education. Future Web 2.0 technologies will continue to feed field of distance learning. The hybrid classroom will become a normal occurrence in education. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC’s) will be an important part of the future of distance learning. “The evolution of MOOCs-as-processes and MOOCs-in-the-large—coupled with advances in social media tools and virtual/physical meetup groups—will help MOOC faculty and staff communicate with students in ways similar in quality and quantity to those found in large lecture courses at many universities.” (Dasarathy et al., 2014) Other technologies such as virtual intelligence, gaming, and adaptive learning will also provide new learning experiences. Changes to how distance learning is managed such as Cloud LMS systems will also affect distance learning. The challenge is finding quality distance education that meets the specific needs of learner. The Internet allows anyone to create training or learning modules, but does that necessarily mean that it provides quality? “The challenge for ID professionals is not only to evolve the field, but also to assure that the products of sound professional design practice lead the e-learning enterprise.” (Moller, Foshay and Huett, 2008) As the technology continues to progress it does not mean that it precludes the need for great instructional design. It does require that instructional designers stay current with technology. By staying apprised of current technological advances instructional designers can make informed decisions about how best to deliver content to our learners. References Dasarathy, B., Sullivan, K., Schmidt, D.C., Fisher, D.H. and Porter, A. (2014) ‘The past, present, and future of MOOCs and their relevance to software engineering’, Proceedings of the on Future of Software Engineering - FOSE 2014, . doi: 10.1145/2593882.2593897. Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 636 7. Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 7075. Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70. Rockinson-Szapkiw, A. (2010) Module 1: An overview of distance education. Available at: http://amandaszapkiw.com/elearning/principles-of-design/module-1/Module1_Instructional_Unit_Notes.pdf (Accessed: 30 June 2016). Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education Smith, F.D. (2014) 10 online learning trends to watch in 2015 [#Infographic]. Available at: http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2014/12/10-online-learning-trends-watch-2015-infographic (Accessed: 3 July 2016).
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Stacy SpringerWelcome to my blog! I am passionate about great Instructional Design and Educational Technology. Let's start a discussion! Archives
June 2017
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