Evolution of Distance Education

After reading the articles by Moller, Foshay , Huett , and Coleman and listening to the video by Simonson I agree that distance education should be evolved to the next generation. In the three articles, The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web, the authors point out very important issues that need to be addressed with the evolution of distance education.

The first of the three articles points out issues corporate e-learners are faced with as well as the growth and benefits of distance education for training purposes. The article mentions that the overall benefit of distance education is economic. However some of the challenges that are being met in this type of training are the quality of the programs, and the speed at which this programed can be developed. As with any distance education program the way in which materials are developed must be taken in to careful consideration because they need to be effective for learners.

In the second article the same issues arose when referring to post secondary distance learning. The field is constantly growing and with this growth the quality of the programs are being questioned. Standards are beginning to be set by these distance education programs that could possibly effect the post secondary education across the board. The concerns with distance education in the post-secondary level come in when considering the faculty who produces the course content. Since the concept is relatively new professors are not as trained on creating e-learning environments and the craft approach, taking traditional classroom practices and placing them in an online environment, are not conducive to the online learning environment. Classes have to be adapted to the online learner and put more emphasis on the learner rather than on the teacher, which typically occurs in face-to-face classrooms. The development of these courses have to focus on a new method of learning which is technology centered. Although this process deems to be more work on the online educator it is being promoted because of the flexibility of distance learning, as well as more student participation and the forum that allows students and professors alike time to think on topics and formulated better opinions.

The third article focuses on the distance education in the K-12 environment. The benefits of this learning have not fully been studied, however as with the corporate training and post-secondary distance education, the K-12 environment also faces challenges of not having qualified professional to create relevant distance education programs. The push for these programs in the K-12 arena is hard to sell because it conflicts with child development based on interaction. While the programs do push for individual pacing, which allow children to progress at their own speed, the social development of children may fall short of what is needed to effectively maintain in society. The programs in the K-12 environment do help with students being able to fulfill educational requirements in a less stressful situation. Distance education all around helps learners require knowledge at their own pace and is more cost effective in most cases. Once the concept is embraced and more faculty is trained on producing quality programs for distance learners the programs will continue to evolve rapidly.

Simonson clearly pointed out that distance education uses technology to link the teacher to the learner. He also made a point that at its best is self study at a distance. The difference between the regular classroom and distance learning is that the teacher, learner and resources are separated. Over time distance education will be widely adapted and teachers and learners will be linked by technology.