After reading the three articles by Moller, Huett, Foshay and Coleman, and listening to the Simonson video programs, compare and contrast the reasons these authors believe there is a need to evolve distance education to the next generation. Do you agree with their positions? Why or why not?
The resource readings made me feel old because I have taken courses through almost every type of distance method. I have taken course through correspondence school, sat in classrooms where the instructor appeared via satellite and now access courses through the internet. The following paragraphs illustrate my understanding on where distance education is utilized in the present time and why more research is needed.
Reasons to evolve distance education
According to the three articles by Moller, Huett, Foshay and Coleman concerning the evolution of distance education are because: a) training and develop sector is expanding, b) higher education and c) K-12 environment is expanding into education. Distance education is expanding in all of the areas of education and it is acquiring respect and knowledge concerning its development. The three part article reminded me of a science fiction show I watched once upon a time. The children stayed home in a gated community and were educated online by their instructor.
Distance education is evolving and used for different typed of learning; The first area is that the business sector is expanding and using e-learning in order to train their personnel and help them develop the skills necessary for promotion and expansion. The second area concerns students like me, who are pursuing their advanced degrees online. The fact that it is online is the main reason that I am able to complete my Ph.D. This is not something I take lightly, I have always wanted to get my PhD, and however, I have learned that students my age do have special needs. We need to have all of the course work outlined in order to understand exactly what is needed to complete the work. The last reason, is that distance learning is expanding and incorporates the fact that most learning is online. K-12 learning in a virtual academy is now. I know teachers who are online k12 teachers, teachers who teach in every subject and work with students who have educational disabilities.
Since distance learning is becoming a major factor in all of the areas listed above instruction and design for virtual learning needs to provide the same outcomes as a person would receive in a physical classroom. However, the format of the instruction is presented in a different manner because the lessons are delivered to different cultures.
Different cultures are represented by individuals who belong to various ethnic, racial, age and language groups. All groups have different needs and learning styles.
Position
My position concerning the evolutionary needs for distance education is that more research needed in the area of education. More research on distance education is needed in the area of instructional design, best practices, presentation and curriculum. The current generation is used to playing games online and need to have these wonderful visual presentations in order to keep their attention. The students who are currently taking online courses have special needs.
References
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). 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. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, July/August). The evolution of distance education:
Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 2: Higher
database, and search using the article's title.
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of
distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database
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