Distance Education…I Root for You!

Reflection

Because of the evolution in communication and technology, distance education has morphed into one of the world’s most effective modes of learning.  The urge for learners to seek information outside of the traditional classroom has prompted the creation and implementation of numerous resources that allows the learner to have information instantaneously.  Even though the typical virtual classroom is not modeled after the traditional norm, learning is just as effective as being face to face with instructors and peers.

 In “Emerging Technologies in Distance Education”, Terry Anderson describes distance education as “the fastest-growing mode of formal and informal teaching, training and learning”(2010).  As tools and trends in communication become more advanced, distance learning will have no choice but to evolve with it.  It’s difficult for me to determine what the “buzz” words and technology will be used in the future of distance education because everything I have learned thus far such as blogs, wikis, learning management system, class management systems,  simulations, etc., seems so new to me in regards to their use in education—although they have been around for years.  The technology used right now seems perfect for use in multiple educational environments.  The 2012 Horizon Report does include forms of technology that will become more prominent in the distance learning environment.  Some of the technology mentioned are the use of cloud computing, mobile apps, social reading, and tablet computing —just to name a few (NMC, 2012). 

Distance education can and will continue to morph with models moving more to a student-centered classroom and more technological advances. My perception on distance education has changed throughout this course, but for those who don’t study distance learning, they may have a constricted perception of the term.   Many may view distance education as a traditional course simply placed into an online format where older, nontraditional students go get a degree because they don’t have time to sit in traditional classes.  However as distance learning with various technologies become more prevalent in the workplace, many will recognize that the majority of us are involved in the phenomenon.  I believe in the near future, synchronous learning opportunities will be second to asynchronous—especially in colleges, universities and K-12 education.  Asynchronous tools better equip professors, teachers, and trainers to become efficient facilitators.

As an instructional designer, I will assist others in education to see the benefits of implementing both synchronous and asynchronous learning strategies and technologies.  My job would be to show those who are unfamiliar with or have a skewed perception of distance education that with proper planning, implementation, and evaluation distance education courses can be both effective and economical (Simonson et al., 2012). I plan on staying up to date on distance learning tools that allow for a better learning experience for learners.  With a saturated market in the field (Simonson et al., 2012), many entities may be too eager to implement tools and strategies that are new and “cool” in distance learning, but may not be necessary or lucrative.  My job is to push them towards tools that are useful and efficient for their goals.  

Anderson, T. (2010). Issues in distance education. In G. Veletsianos (Ed.), Emerging Technologies in Distance EducationRetrieved from http://www.icde.org/filestore/News/2004-2010/2010/G.Veletsianose-bookEmergingTechnologies.pdf

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

The New Media Consortium (NMC). (2012). Nmc horizon report > 2012 higher education edition. Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2012-horizon-HE-shortlist.pdf