Elements of Distance Education Diffusion

Siemens (2008) stated there opposed to the tradition face-to-face delivery of education there are three components of distance education which can offer a successful learning experience.  The three components are global diversity, communication, and collaborative interaction. Collaborative interaction is the component which I believe has evolved the most.  Online collaboration has changed the face education.  What once was a teacher being hired to go to a college and teach in front of a class of students is now that same teacher monitoring the class from the computer.

Within the courses of Walden, we use a variety of technology to gain an education as well as be an active member of an online community.  According to Sheehy (2011), collaboration within online distance education has the potential to increase learning as well as satisfaction if done well but doing well is important and challenging.  Students complain that they do not like not having the advantage of having the teacher there to talk to and discuss problems with face-to-face.  However, online courses are finding new ways to get students engaged in the learning experience.  Online classes have surely evolved from just the discussions.  Colleges are now imploring the use of resources such as blogs, wikis, email, and video conferencing.  I believe that this is not the end online advancements.  As technologies continue to be offered, colleges and universities will adopt them so that students wanting the convenience of distance learning will be able to communicate more like a face-to-face class from their personal computer.

Sheehy, M. (n.d.). A Teacher Writes. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from WordPress: http://ateacherswrites.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/collaboration-at-a-distance-a-case-for-collaborative-learning-in-distance-education/

DVD: Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author

The Next Generation of Distance Education

It is the belief of Moller, Huett, Foshay and Coleman (2008) that most of these continuing education courses lack adequate instructional design for a sufficient learning environment.  This is due to the fact that the faculty lacks the necessary training in instructional design or distance education itself.  Training is an ongoing process.  When designing instructions, the instructor must take in to account the specific needs of the learners and the technology needed to facilitate learning.

Simonson (2008) states that the use of distance learning will only grow but will not replace the traditional school/university.  He also believes that one day distance learning will be introduced across the learning spectrum, from early education to higher education.  However, each division of education has unique requirements.  Therefore, again, instructional design must have the learners in mind.

The old ways of learning are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the learners.  Therefore, as the needs of the learners evolve the instructional design must follow suit.  It is my opinion that in order for the instruction to do so, the teacher, instructor, professors, coach, or trainer must be adequately trained themselves.  If this is done the full potential of every learner may be reached.

Belinda V:)

References
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 title.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, July/August). 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 title.

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.Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article’s title.

Simonson, M. (2000). Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 84, 29–34.