My Definition of Distance Learning
Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century
– Perelman
Extending S.J. Perelman’s quotation I would add “...through their engagement in distance learning”.
Prior to this course I defined Distance Learning as an interaction between participants of the instruction process that is not limited by time and space. After some exploration of the topic I still see this definition as valid, however I would add a couple of important points.
• Distance education is institutionally based as opposite to private study and self-study.
• Apart from being separated in time and space, students and teachers are also separated intellectually.
• Instruction is enabled through interactive communications.
• Learning experience comprises sharing of data, voice and video.
Thus my definition complies with 4 components to the definition of distance education provided by Simonson et al. (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012, p. 33)
Starting as a correspondence course 160 years ago Distance Education has undergone a number of important changes in its methods of delivery but has retained its flexible character. According to Moller et al the primary driving forces of Distant Learning are economics and access, however there is one more driving force, even more important – effectiveness. “Many contemporary approaches assert that while most traditional instruction does well to control and to manage the educational experience, it does little to maximize, and may even inhibit, natural human learning abilities “ (Moller, Foshay & Huett, 2008).
Distance learning future is in the hands of generation Millennium, who came of age in the 1990s when the technology revolution exploded and, generally, are technologically sophisticated. “Information revolution created a situation where there should be less emphasis on the accumulation of personal knowledge and more on tools necessary for informational retrieval.” (Junginger, 2012) Millennials want to learn by using teamwork, technology, structure, entertainment, excitement, and experiential activities, hence the change of paradigm in education and evolution of learning theories.
I share Pr Siemens' vision of the future of Distance Learning as a gradual blending of traditional education and e-learning, where traditional school is not abolished but incorporates e-learning into all educational and training settings.
I also find it very credible that “Full scale online education will occur as the result of compounded growth, increased familiarity and acceptance, various models of scalability, and possible wildcards which may accelerate growth.” (Sener, 2010)
To conclude I would like to address a concern voiced by Moller et al “If mediocrity becomes the norm, then ID practitioners will all be tarred with the same brush regardless of their competence or the theoretical persuasion of their training” (Moller, Foshay & Huett, 2008). While this concern is certainly justified, I share John Sener's claim that ID has entered the second era of improving quality, whereas the first era was focused on providing access.
References
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12).TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.
Junginger, C. Who is training whom? The effect of the millennial generation. (2008.) FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 77(9), p. 19-23.
Sener, J. (2010). Why Online Education Will Attain Full Scale. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 14(4), p3-16
Siemens, G., (2012). Distance Education: The Next Generation. Laureate Media. (n/d).
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
