Benefits of Distance Education
The articles discuss the need of the evolution of distance education. The articles stated learners have to adapt to a collaborative environment although this way of learning may not benefit all learners. Distance education has to develop a new type of instruction that reflects a method of instruction that learners will utilize.
The public education in my state has changed drastically as opposed to their performance level in the past. I believe that distance education has more to offer than a traditional classroom. I believe that classes in an online environment are more rigorous than the curriculum in traditional classroom. According to Moller, Wellesley, and Huett (2008), there has not been a significant amount of evidence that the traditional classroom models are effective at all. However, I do agree with Dr. Simonson's belief that distance education will continue to evolve but it will not replace the traditional classroom.
Distance education has the potential to be the answer to a lot of the issues faced in education today. In order to fulfill the potential, the issues that lie within distance education, as well as in the traditional classrooms have to be addressed. Teachers have to be adequately trained with technology and instructional design.
Reference
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Coleman, C. (2008). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web.Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 52(5), 63-67.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore, MD: Author
Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 52(4), 66-70.
Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 52(3), 70-75.
Good post. I understand your reasoning behind supporting online education. This is the media that we have selected for the next level of our education. However I do believe that in the K-12 area, the closest that we will get to online is a hybrid model. There are still skills that have to be taught and online education has not yet reached that market. Seimens and Simonson both stated that it is the future with higher education, however the increased role in K-12 is still falling behind. The other thing to think about is that business is already the forefront of online training and education. This will drive K-12 education, however the lag will be greater than 10 plus years (in my opinion).
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding to my post. I agree with you in regards to K-12 education. It will likely continue to remain behind because I believe K-12 students need instant feedback and intervention that is more effective in a traditional setting.
ReplyDeleteIn the state of Idaho there have been laws passed that are requiring students to complete an online course in order to graduate from high school. Teachers are not all excited about the law because they feel that they are loosing their jobs to business who specialize in online learning such as k12.com. Also, it will be interesting to see how well student in high school handle the independence of an online environment.
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