The Next Generation of Distance Education

In our course Module 1 video for this week, “Distance Education: The Next Generation”, Dr. Michael Simonson  takes us back to the beginnings of what is now known as DISTANCE LEARNING that has recently gained popularity with the onset of the internet (Simonson, n.d.a). When he discussed the origin of correspondence courses - which he shares have been in existence for decades - I related immediately as my light bulb went off to a correspondence class I took in 1988 after moving away from my college campus to another state. I had to complete the last 6 hours of my bachelor’s degree via correspondence – or so I tried! It was a very difficult switch from the brick and mortar of the traditional college classroom to such independent work, and I was not able to complete those courses until I moved back to complete them on campus.

Dr. Simonson suggests that distance teaching is not synonymous with distance learning/ education, and that distance learning should be defined as “formal education… self-study at a distance… institutionally based where learning is separated …by distance as well as intellect… and technology is used to connect the learners” (Simonson, n.d.a). My correspondent classes involved NO technology in 1988– unless you consider utilization of the post office to mail the weekly lessons to my professor a form of technology!

Simonson went on to reference author Everett Rogers who proposed the diffusion of technological innovations 30 years ago by our understanding of the S curve when adopting new ideas.. He insisted that key change agents use opinion leaders to motivate change, then new ideas become so widely accepted that they just become a part of what we do.  Distance learning and education are now nearing that level of acceptance.

Simonson also discussed the “Equivalency Theory”, which suggests that education practiced at a distance (distance learning) should not be expected to equivocate those practices of a face-to-face (F2F) environment (Simonson, n.d.b). Students learning under different situations – even though the content is similar or recorded – will be subject to different, not “equivalent”, learning experiences.

Per Simonson, “If we look at past patterns in education technology, we can expect exponential growth of distance education to continue” (Simonson, n.d.a). He predicts that the future of distance education will not “abolish” the institution of the traditional school, but that it will become an integral part of K-12 and college teaching and learning, and corporate training. He believes that affective benefits will continue to be the likely outcome of distance learning, as learners are able to access learning from various geographical locations with the same learning outcome expectancy. Moller, Foshay, and Huett  (2008b) echo this prediction in e-learning growth (p. 67).

Huett, Moller, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) suggest that the “unchartered territory” of K-12 distance learning (or “virtual schooling”) is growing because it is “addressing previously unmet [educational] needs” (p. 63). This is a topic near and dear to me, as I plan to tackle a similar topic as my dissertation study. With the growth of on-line teaching and learning resources, I’d like to uncover how well students learn when they are in need of remediation (to fill learning gaps) – in small groups with a teacher during non-instructional time, or via an on-line program that suggests the same learning outcomes. Huett et al. also suggests this remedial use of online courses (2008, p. 63). I’m considering targeting a specific socioeconomic group (or just students requiring remediation) and measure quantitative (which method is used when they show the most learning growth) and qualitative (affective – which method they prefer) data to determine the most effective learning source for this group of struggling students.

I am a proponent of online courses, but not when it removes students from the social aspect of schooling. It is for this reason that I do not foresee schooling without the traditional brick and mortar classroom and teachers available, I just see teaching and learning becoming more blended, collaborative, and related to real life situations to teach mastery of objectives.

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. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/resultsadvanced?sid=832f770e-efdc-43cf-9f98-62dfdf4dc45c%40sessionmgr13&vid=2&hid=19&bquery=The+evolution+%22of%22+distance+education%3a+Implications+for+instructional+design+%22on%22+the+potential+%22of%22+the+Web&bdata=JmRiPWE5aCZjbGkwPUZUJmNsdjA9WSZ0eXBlPTEmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008b). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 2: Higher Education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/resultsadvanced?sid=832f770e-efdc-43cf-9f98-62dfdf4dc45c%40sessionmgr13&vid=2&hid=19&bquery=The+evolution+%22of%22+distance+education%3a+Implications+for+instructional+design+%22on%22+the+potential+%22of%22+the+Web&bdata=JmRiPWE5aCZjbGkwPUZUJmNsdjA9WSZ0eXBlPTEmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d

Simonson, M. (n.d.a). Laureatte, Inc. “Distance Education: The Next Generation” [video]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2F

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Simonson, M. (n.d.b). Laureatte, Inc. “Equivalency Theory” [video]. Retrieved from

https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2F   
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