After reading this week’s reading about distance learning,
my views of distance learning has truly evolved because I originally only
thought of distance learning from the perspective of higher education. However,
distance learning not lonely effects the higher education arena but it has truly
evolved in the areas of K -12 and training and development. Distance education in the K-12 arena is one of
the fastest growing areas of educations thus far ( Roblyer 2006). Even within
the training and development arena the use of distance education is on the
raise primarily because it’s cost effective for companies.
As I stated in this week discussion, I was totally supportive
of distance learning but just not for me! I honestly heard so many rumors about
the distance learning environment I was a little leery. I heard things such as it
was too easy and companies will not think your education as being creditable. The thought of taking a course of line and
not having the face to face contact with your instructor was just heard of to
me! When I received my Master; we met
twice a week for every six weeks. Mine you, it drove me crazy to attend class
and instructor would read from the power point presentation. I would think to myself, I could be home
doing this (Ironic). Never did I think
about the possibilities of distance education because I attended a traditional
college so that was all I knew at the time.
Now, I truly enjoyed the campus life because it has shaped me into the
person I am today and I would have never joined a sorority for example if it wasn’t
for the on campus life. I think the
amazing thing about education today is that we have choices about your
educational goals.
Over the past couple
of years, distance learning has changed dramatically because of all the
technological advances which have made education at your fingertips. I see
distance learning as alternative form of education and learning. It allows
learning to take place virtually. Distance learning is use of education and
technology working together to make learning more accessible. Not only is distance education more accessible
but it allows learners from all different regions to come together and
collectively share educational thought and ideas. I believe distance will
continue to evolve over time because of the technological advances that will
allows distance education to be even more accessible to the masses.
In my opinion, the benefits
to distance learning out weights the disadvantages! Distance learning provides opportunities for people
to not commute to school every day, it will
allow you to keep your job, gives you more income, experience and stability
while completing your degree; hence, giving you less to worry about and more
time to focus on your studies. In addition, students can complete their school
work from just about anywhere, as long as there is a computer and internet
connection. However as I mentioned earlier, I believe distance learning reduces
the social interaction by not giving you the opportunity to become affiliated
with campus life activities such as sororities and fraternities. And not all
courses can actually be completed online for example; courses
that a nurse and trucker would need to been in the classroom setting because it
requires a lot on hands knowledge and experience. There are still common disadvantages such as
employers or companies still do not accept distance online degrees and education
as being creditable. However, many of
the disadvantages are beginning to change because of the competiveness among
schools or learning institutions for student and there is a population increase
among the “non-traditional student”.
Since I work at a distance learning institution, I see the
ever growing changes by the universities to keep up with the trend. We are
consisting looking for ways to better address the needs of our students whether
its e-books or updating blackboard to make it more user friendly among the
students. I have even experience the
training and development side of distance education because most of our
trainings are done virtually or online at our desk. Even more so, I have seen the growth in the school
system because I have a son that is in the third grade and a portion of his day
is on the computer doing classwork. It’s
funny because at times he knows more about the computer than I do. His
generation is all about technology and distance learning. I
think that with all the technology out here, it will be required to take some
form of online learning course just to stay competitive in the workforce.
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), 70–75.
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.
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), 63–6 7.
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