Reflection on Distance Learning

Distance Learning: Expanding Horizons

In his video George Siemens speaks of growing acceptance of distance education that is fueled by:

• The increase in online communication; 
• Practical experience with new tools;
• Growing comfort with online discourse; and
• Ability to communicate with diverse and global groups (Laureate, 2010).

Despite Siemens’ optimistic vision of what the perceptions of distance learning will be in the future, currently there are some concerns, whether online education is as valuable and effective as traditional education. Moller, Foshay & Huett (2008) mention a stigma attached to distance education, poor organisation of training and shortage of instructional design professionals. Many in traditional education view distance education institutions as “diploma mills” with no classrooms, untrained or non-existent faculties, and unqualified administrators with profit as their primary motivation. Gambescia and Paolucci (2009) stress that while the flexibility and convenience factor afforded by online learning is a natural selling point, these attributes shouldn’t be much more prominent than those factors that speak to academic fidelity. Correspondingly Moller et al (Part 1, p. 70) specifically criticize economics and access as the only rationale for distance education by pointing out that "effectiveness [then] is either naively assumed or not particularly valued.”

However Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek (2012, p. 9) claim that the research proves that distance education works and provide 6 postulates directly related to its effectiveness:

1. Training in effective instructional strategies is critical for teachers of distant learners.
2. Distance education courses should be carefully designed and developed before instruction begins.
3. Visualization of ideas and concepts is critical when designing instruction to be delivered to distant learners
4. Adequate support systems must be in place to provide the distant learner with access to resources and services.
5. Interaction between the instructor and students and among students must be possible and encouraged.
6. Assessment should be designed to relate to the specific learning outcomes of the instructional experiences.

Success of online learning, as further explained by Simonson et al (2008, p.15), is enabled by technology, since it can provide optimal learning experiences for learners of diverse educational, technical, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds; in situations where classroom-based learning is either impossible or impractical.

So the future does look optimistic as “emerging technologies are changing online distance learning because they offer new solutions, add flexibility to integrate student interaction, and evoke real-life collaboration opportunities” (Beldarrain, 2006, p. 152).

Educational Paradigm: The Need for Change

In 1988 Keegan spoke about a negative impact the lack of theory had had on distance education “...there had been a lack of identity, a sense of belonging to the periphery and the lack of touchstone against which decisions on methods, on media, on financing, on student support, when they have to be made, can be made with confidence” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 41).

Would you agree with Moller et al (2008) that distance learning ''can do more damage than good if it is not designed or implemented properly''? I think it is not only a matter of quality of instructional design but as Moller et al (2008) put it ''reconsideration by contemporary views of what constitutes instruction''. So I have discovered that my personal learning preferences correspond to the principles of Charles Wedemeyer’s Theory of Independent Study that identifies such characteristics of distance learning as communication, pacing, convenience and self-determination of goals and activities (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 43).

In the video Changing Education Paradigms (2010), adapted from his talk given at the RSA, Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert, speaks of the theoretical underpinnings that cause a clash of mainstream education and real needs of today’s students.

Make a Difference: One Online English School

My primary motivation when I started at Walden was to gain skills and knowledge for launching my own online English school. So far I have made a number of important steps towards my dream.

1. I have realized the importance of of a theoretical basis for decision making. So far my heart is in Wedemeyer’s Theory of Independent Study because of the nature of my project. However, in the process of considering the project constraints I am not going to dismiss the rest of the distance education theories presented by Simonson et al (2012).

2. Planning in distant education is crucial and though it is very time-consuming and needs a lot of effort it is well worth all the trouble, because “well-designed instruction is repeatable” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 165). So I decided to devote a couple of years to designing and evaluating my online English school. Being a practitioner of online education I can ask my students to beta-test my course, as “learners can give feedback in lesson design and instruction delivery” (Simonson et al, 2012).

3. After completing the Distance Learning course, I can finally see the importance of identifying learners’ needs at the very beginning. Moore (1998) has noted that technologies are not critical elements in shaping students satisfaction with their distance course. Rather, student’s satisfaction is determined by “the attention students receive from teachers and from the system they work in to meet their needs”. Those needs include:

Content that they feel is relevant to their needs

Clear directions for what they should do at every stage of the course

As much control of the pace of learning as possible

A means to drawing attention to individual concerns

A way of testing their progress and getting feedback from the instructors

Materials that are useful, active, and interesting (Simonson et al, 2012,p. 169).

4. Another issue I am going to consider when designing an online instruction is assessing the progress of learners. Until recently the assessment that I have employed in my teaching practice was informal and it seemed enough to provide feedback and keep students motivated. However, unlike face-to-face synchronous private studies, an online language course catering to a bigger group of students with most of its content delivered online has different constraints. Assessment here enables students “to gain a sense of control and they can take greater responsibilities for their learning, if they know how well they are doing, compared with an established set of criteria” (Simonson et al, 2012).

5. Another important thing for me to consider is evaluation. While the notion of evaluation is not new to anyone involved in institutionally based teaching process, nowadays it is departing from a traditional quantitative approach and is increasingly incorporating “more naturalistic methodologies with holistic perspectives” (Simonson et al, 2012). These counter-approach methods include focus groups, interviews, observations, ratings and journals.

I consider AEIOU approach (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 351) to be optimal for evaluating an online language course, as it benefits both from quantitative and qualitative methodologies and examines the following important components of instruction:

Accountability (accountability data is collected);

Effectiveness (achievement and attitude are measured);

Impact (longitudinal data is collected);

Organizational Context (environmental/contextual factors that have affected the instruction are identified);

Unanticipated Consequences (unexpected positive or negative changes that occurred as a result of instruction are identified) (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 351).

6. I am currently teaching a face-to-face synchronous online course, however, I don't see this delivery method appropriate for such a big project as an online language school. I am very concerned about the quality and effectiveness of online schools in Russia. I have worked for a couple of online schools including higher education distance language courses and have done a lot of research in this sphere. It turns out there is no evaluation or assessment which I see as crucial to students’s success. I am planning for the most of the content to be delivered in asynchronous mode: teaching reading, writing and listening skills. However, in my program speaking will be essentially face-to-face and synchronous to ensure that students are engaged and have an opportunity to master their skills in a live communication with a native speaker.

My desire to explore the asynchronous realm is dictated by the fact that none of online English schools that work in Russia makes it possible for students to study asynchronously, they all heavily depend on a teacher, whereas I am looking to implement Wedemeyer’s vision. The online learning resources will be selected to help students navigate their own learning and provide them with “a wider choice of methods and formats to reach their learning goal” (Simonson et al 2012, p. 44).

Finally, the biggest selling point of my language course will be the fact that “With the growing population and advancements in technology, school is no longer seen as the only place to have the education” (Kilimci, S., 2010, p. 109). So private sector emerges with costs lower than traditional language courses, as individualized learning happens from the comfort of both teacher’s and learner’s homes and offers wider choices in courses, formats and methodologies.

Reference

Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2),139–153.

Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). Academic fidelity and integrity as attributes of university online degree program offerings. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring121/gambescia121.html

Kilimci, S. (2010). Integration of the Internet into a Language Curriculum in a Multicultural Society. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 9(1), 107-113.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). The future of distance education [Video Program].

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). 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

RSA Animate (Producer). (2010). Changing Education Paradigms [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/videos/

Simonson, H., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S., (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of education at a distance. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.