The Future of Distance Education

Perceptions of Distance Learning

Distance learning in some aspect has been around for many years. Prior to the recent explosion of the online college degrees, most distance learning was completed via snail mail. Learning in that capacity was limited at best. Education in the distance learning format has come a long way since then; it is now delivered online with many varied and different tools available.

The trouble is, many people have not changed their view of distance learning to line up with its current activities.  In today’s distance education classes are taught either synchronous or asynchronous using a wide variety of web 2.0 tools. These classes are also taught by degreed professional professors who are well versed in the subjects they teach. Online education is here to stay, and is well on its way to being acknowledged as the complete well-rounded education it is now.

Instructional Designer as a Proponent of Distance Education

In today’s society, it is my belief that an Instructional Designer must be a proponent of Distance Education. The days of all valid education being completed in a brick and mortar building are behind us. The future is definitely in online education. So, if an instructional designer wishes to stay current, and on top of things in their field, they must wholly support distance education.  One of the most valid ways to show the support of distance education is to walk it out and encourage it in the programs you design.

A Positive Force for Continuous Improvement

The manner in which distance education has changed just in recent years is amazing. Courses that just a few years ago were at that time, the top of the line, are now considered obsolete and in need of improvement.  A good visual for the ever changing field of distance education today is the cell phone. Think for a moment about your cell phone. What you have now, is so much more complex in ability and sleeker in design than what you had even just three years ago. And what you have today is already on the verge of being known as old. The world of cell phones is ever changing, morphing and improving. Such is the way of distance education now! As an instructional designer we must be aware of the way we can continuously improve on what we are doing and keep bringing the newest and latest technology into use with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Siemens, G. (2010). The future of distance education. Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Video.

 

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

 

Facilitating Distance Learning

Consider the following scenario:

A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.

With this scenario in mind, and taking into consideration your Learning Resources, reflect on the following:

1.     What are some of the pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program?

It is important to pay particular attention to the structuring of the instruction. In order to  that one must adhere to the following:

            a-Organization of Instruction

            b-The Syllabus

2.     What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?

a-Instructional Materials

b-Creating a Learning Community

c-Assessments

3.     How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment?

His role as a trainer will change from teacher centered instruction to student centered instruction. He will now become a facilitator. His role will be to develop a community of learning, to draw the students out of themselves and into a role of taking responsibility for their learning.

4.     What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?

One thing an instructor can do is to have an icebreaker exercise. Another is to facilitate the learning by  reminding the students of assignments, and what they entail, or even to gently encourage them by asking further questions.

 

All information is taken from the following textbook:

 

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

 

Analyzing an Online Course

 

 

“A current trend in distance learning is the use of Open Course websites. As identified in Chapter 5 in your course textbook, Open Course offerings allow anyone to take quality courses entirely for free. The incentive for taking these courses is not college credit, but rather to simply acquire knowledge or engage in a unique learning experience.
For your Application this week, select a course from a free Open Course site. (Note: Several examples are provided in this week's Optional Resources.) As you review the course, reflect on what you have learned this week about designing distance learning instruction and Internet-based distance learning. Consider how the concepts and ideas presented this week are reflected in the course.”

These are the instructions we are given this week for our blog, to investigate an Open Course online, and analyze it. Prior to this assignment I was not aware there was such a thing as an open online course. This seems to be a wonderful tool for those who are self-motivated in their learning. With that being said, the online course I have chosen is from Mitopencourseware and is their Introduction to Biology course. There are certain elements I am looking for in this course to see if it meets certain criteria we have learned is needful for online learning to be successful. For an online course to meet the criteria of being successful it needs to be carefully planned for distance learning, follow the recommendations for online instruction and implement course activities that will maximize active learning for the students.

As one opens the page to this course one can see that the setup is similar to that of the Blackboard coursework. To the left are the tabs for the various aspects of the course: syllabus, calendar, readings, assignments, ect.., however when one clicks on the tabs that is where the similarities end. In this course I can see that careful planning went into the setting up of the course for one learning in a self-study method.  The coursework is complete and fully at ease for one working on their own. There are 35 videos to view, various labs that can and should be performed, as well as quizzes and a 3 hour cumulative final exam.  There is however no interaction of any kind planned for students. Therefore it is missing one of the key components of the recommended aspects of online education according to our textbook, interaction between students. So, while this curse is indeed a very complete course, it is not going to be fitting for very many learners.  In order for a learner to be successful in this course, they are going to need to be intrinsically motivated in their learning.

I can now see from this week’s resources and the studying of this course the importance of having the student interaction with other students as well as with the instructor. For an online course to meet the criteria of being successful it needs to be carefully planned for distance learning, follow the recommendations for online instruction and implement course activities that will maximize active learning for the students.

 

References:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson

URL: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/biology/7-012-introduction-to-biology-fall-2004/index.htm