Simonson (Laureate, 2008) believes that the next generation of distance education will include a greater emphasis on online learning in the K-12 and higher education arenas, as well as, for training purposes in the corporate environment. As a result, distance education programs must be concerned with providing equivalent learning outcomes to the courses provided in the face to face setting in the traditional brick-and-mortar building. In other words, the face to face format and the distance education format should not be conducted as, or considered to be, different versions of the same class.
Moller, Huett, Foshay, and Coleman (2008), agreed with Simonson (2000), that there would be exponential growth causing the evolution of the next generation of distance education. Moller et al (2008) also identified that the locus of change should reflect the design of online courses. However, the authors argue that this new design should be the result of much improved instructional design in addition to the instructor’s understanding that the distance education course is not just a face to face course transformed into an online learning platform.
I do agree with Moller et al (2008), as well as, Simonson (2008) as the authors maintained that the value of distance education learning is not in the medium of education, but in the outcome of the learning. While it is true that distance learning has the obvious benefits of allowing the learner to access learning from any remote location with Internet service, the main goal of distance education should be to provide equivalent learning outcomes to those that would be acquired in the face to face setting. Would flexibility, convenience, and financial savings matter if we were receiving a poor education? And what about our K-12 learners? Is it not our responsibility to provide them with a good, standards-based education regardless of the delivery platform?
I totally support the argument that well-constructed distance education programs/courses/corporate training sessions should be the result of the collaborative efforts of a trained instructional design professional and a web-trained instructor who could design learning outcomes that reflect high performance standards and meet the needs of distance learners of various ages, stages, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, in various time zones and geographical locales.
Vida Martin
References:
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (September/October, 2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63-67.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of distance education: Distance
education: The next generation. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of distance education: Equivalency theory. Baltimore: Author.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (May/June, 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. (July/August, 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.
Simonson, M. (2000). Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classrooms. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 84, 29-34.
Please see links to the following articles and streaming video:
HouseOfDavid 
Vida-
As Simonson (2000) stated, he believes that will be a larger focus on distance educaiton in the k-12 setting. How do you think this will change the way we traditionall teach and the way students may learn? Also, do you think it will have an impact on the amount of people that want to pursue educational degrees?
Heather
Heather
I do believe that the number of distance education learners will continue to grow as more learners desire flexibility in terms of their educational needs. There are adult learners who need to work full-time, but desire to advance their learning; home schoolers who need a standards-based curriculum taught by a qualified teacher professional; students with special needs; high school students who need credit recovery for graduation; and the list goes on. There will always be a need for traditional teachers, as even with the concept of blended learning, the diatnce education portion of this learning environment requires that learning be facilitated by a teacher professional who is present to guide the learner. The educator professional, regardless of the learning environment, is committed to the success of the learner and, to that end, such an educator should always seek to improve his/her pedagogy to meet the growing and changing needs of both the traditional and online learning communities, and be committed to life-long learning.
I couldn’t even imagine the world without distance education. It is flexible and convenient, but you are right. What would be the point of the flexibility and convenience if you were receiving a poor education? I’m glad you posed that question. It is imperative that the instructional design of distance education courses are well designed and the instructors are well trained to provide the best education to their students through the distance experience.
Hi Vida,
I’m in total agreement with you when you said that a “well-constructed distance education program is the result of collaborative efforts of a trained instructional design professional and a web-trained instructor”. In order for the distance education program to compete with the tradional learning environment, it must provide its students with a quality education.
I have responded to the blog posts of Heather Rogers and Dwanell Dibartolo.
Vida – I agree that Instructional Design is an imperative in Distance Education. When teaching in a face-to-face environment, the feedback, such as body language and facial expressions, is instantaneous. Therefore, you can adjust your technique and approach on the spot. Since this is not as possible in the online environment, the design of the experience for students has to be well thought out and supported by multiple modalities and resources.
[…] the first module, I responded to Vida Martin’s Blog and Heather Roger’s Blog. Share this:ShareFacebookTwitterPrintEmailLike this:LikeBe the first […]
Vida,
I think the idea that distance education course is not a different version of the same face-to-face course was an especially important one for me to consider. It helped me to realize that some of the courses I took as an undergraduate student were not true distance learning courses. For example, for a history course, we had videos of the lectures that we watched, then we took the midterm and final exam. Aside from being horribly boring, that class was the same course, I just completed it at home instead of attending classes. It is interesting to think about the qualities of distance education courses I have completed and how they measure up in terms of what we are learning in our reading.
Global diversity is a great aspect to have when acquiring online learning. It gives open mindedness and opportunity to be free to do classroom work at home in the comfort of home, business or place a relaxation.
[…] https://vidamartin.wordpress.com […]