Where are we going? Are we there yet?: Module 2 Blog Post

As distance education has evolved so have many elements of distance education.  Distance education is comparable to face to face education, but the two are worlds apart.  In terms of content distance education and face to face education are the same, but the delivery models are very different, but one of the areas where there is an extraordinary difference is in communication.  In face to face education there is real time interaction and communication with peers during the fifty minutes of the course three times per week, but there is very little communication between peers outside of those hours (Siemens, 2008).  However in distance education the key to a students success is the communication between them and their peers and the instructor.  The advent of social networking sites, wikis, blogs, and instant message applications with web cam capabilities like Skype have made communication in distance education much easier.  I even have the Walden University application on my iPhone, so I am able to access my courses on the go anytime of day or night, no matter where I am at. 

In the post by Education Connection the author refers to a program that has been designed to help aid communications and alleviate the feeling of alienation in distance education through the use of web cams at Santa Barbara City College (Education Connection, 2010).  Through this program students are able to view professors lectures and participate in discussions via web cam.  Roy Bartels outlines several other methods of communication that can be used in distance education and their benefits in his blog also. 


Roy Bartels blog can be found here:

http://www.rbartels.com/EDIT%205370/synch_asynch.html

Education Connection blog can be found here:

http://blog.educationconnection.com/2010/04/communication-distance-learning/

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). The Future of Distance Education. On Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.

Blog Responses Module One

Here are the wonderful blogs I responded to this week, hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did!

http://middletonprinciplesdistanceeducation.blogspot.com/2010/09/module-1-next-generation-of-distance.html



http://incitefultechnology.blogspot.com/2010/09/elearning-instructional-design-for-next.html?showComment=1284871232815_AIe9_BH4eOM-mE28Eqn2Neu8se2GPcKWTszozOqJEyUgxF4v_6LIMAts5rmH5zs4WC7Kiqmi2lwMAC7ek1hx0SF_OJlVYJy8NFiJwozovvJDruUBX9U9Q0czQyvvZHXc3Xl-S1MhpcrJ60QW1M4zt792gRkYiukvWnX07-pX-t_DJlXLtAGXvHYMnmiOuac0Xk03E3gZVC8RBTWBvmMZPuoe3BHQtug7vR1yc4eE9bGw664UZdQh_UE7WCQ_D-TgFw8NsOhwQRPyAzFwUmScfjQBU_WWbWp7E4Znq26De2V_6gDjbwEKMJFR2tLGQHvjPCDXjmZ8VX7FdTJsuJI_vUK8xvcouKljFDu_OQZ2rHKDADMTc05G_LrIEQ6fNdBAS8R_Tu4lwioLOphKEVnip9FVxzgKL3FfR8OFVzijOfYuKQCN-46CyjxhIMn_uh4QFxQrqoaeflB_rlbRW2gKE6Poav1j6GURkmECdVaoVLFtStx0h6ismeCYzXc44199MQXb2YrV4eHl1kJ2EaAZhrn-P_lnqsIuXjEmqf4AdiFOCZ6DDU7SNbP7iD6wQNaQUYTySCv0yReAXW8_xU0kvdXLpwzgAtMR5uXZavUvuvtmmT-ZcnonMkLwQYdL4UjLcRA93X8mAAcVPHAlP7eTtSZ_3x6n4tpYxoghiu2kNxr6-qOIGUE5xCSiRilYVS4zaY14cdW3d404dpilwicO5g7bg0N2dLJ1yBOt8y0WexqKKFrHqA5lQtVtfT4AbsQUbMk1xQT0GWzo3Tv5f6KJIutcz9c6q_mqXXD3HfZT0S9N3fG1jPiu1nKwlwOOMHlLScPtws9rMNpgMw3Iq2KHuqyBYQ4o0nCnrPJOPVOPvv4cy6qspbzbDOgU6WyRL9O5_85l4g5Hu3mdi9Ae8mglrPUsLpqwkGQu6Cxt2t0AQCswBmH_YoVLnPk#c7571315689018964581

Distance Education: The Next Generation

 As I read and reflected on these articles I was reminded of an experience that I had when I first enrolled in my Master's program online, a colleague of mine causally remarked "Oh, so you are taking the easy route, I wish I had done that."  That type of attitude towards distance education is pervasive.  I think that it is vital that instructors work to provide meaningful and quality instruction and learning experiences in distance education courses in order to help change public perception of this type of educational experience.  I agree with Moller, Huett, Foshay and Coleman (2008) and their theory that distance education must evolve through development and training.  Instructors must be trained in sound instructional practices that incorporate collaborative learning, peer interaction, and dialogue between peers and instructor and student.

I agree with Simonson's (2008) Equivalency Theory, distance education will never be able to be the exact same as face to face instruction, but the instruction should be equivalent.  I think back on my undergraduate experience and how I was able to sit in class and never participate in the lectures or discussions because I am a naturally shy person, but that sort of behavior would not be acceptable in a distance education course, one has to particpate in the discussions.   

As distance education evolves, I foresee distance education becoming more prevelant in secondary education for various reasons. 


Links to articles

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&hid=8&sid=935f652d-cc0c-48ea-8178-219191432dc1%40sessionmgr13

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&hid=8&sid=cfc6ef78-4407-452c-9bca-4809f8cffbce%40sessionmgr14

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&hid=8&sid=49a6f541-b2d8-4a1f-8ec4-84d1570de4e9%40sessionmgr14

Reference:

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008a, 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.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008b, 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.

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.