Question: 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 develop distance education to the next generation. Do you agree with their positions? Why or why not?
Training Arena
It sounds to me that one reason the authors believe there is a need to evolve distance education is because some of the current training developments are lacking in instructional design. As stated in The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. Properly skilled trainers may not be aware of the specialized e-learning designs and development skills (Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J., 2008)
Higher Education
When reading the articles, I found it very interesting that because distance education programs have the capability of serving local and abroad learners schools are often in competition. Now the quality of the instructional design becomes questionable and not a vast concern (Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J., 2008).. Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June) provides us with a thought provoking statement” We’d better stake out our claim before all the good territory is gone; we’ll worry about effectively mining it later.” Is this the kind of message higher educational systems want to portray about the quality of distance education?
K-12
Online learning for K-12 has not flourished like higher education and the training arena. When reading the article, I found out that the funding for K-12 brings about an eye raising assumption (Huett, J, Moller, L., Foshay, W., &. Coleman, C , 2008 ). As discussed by Huett, J, Moller, L., Foshay, W., &. Coleman, C (2008, September/October), funding for online programs are established directly by the state government or funding is provided to local schools to create. This type of distribution of funds implies that face to face and online instruction delivery is equally effective (Huett, J, Moller, L., Foshay, W., &. Coleman, C , 2008 ). According to Simonson (2008), Equivalency theory is based upon the idea that education when it is practiced at a distance should not be identical to education that is practiced in a face to face environment.
Ultimately distance education provides a service of convenience to those who indulge in it. In the training arena, corporate entities are able to reduce their training and delivery cost by providing online training. They save on travel, lodging, and facility cost (Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J., 2008). In addition, distant learning has become the answer to professionals that desire to continue their education. Distance education provides them with the convenience of not having to spend countless hours sitting in a classroom. Lastly, distance education provides school districts with the convenience of being able to provide alternative services to meet the No Child Left Behind Act (Huett, J, Moller, L., Foshay, W., &. Coleman, C ,2008 ) Huett, J, Moller, L., Foshay, W., &. Coleman, C (2008, September/October) states, “Rather than hire new teachers, some rural schools offer online courses, allowing highly qualified teachers to instruct students in locations where teaching shortages exist.”
My opinion
As we move toward more technological advanced types of education, like traditional education it is imperative that the quality of the program and instruction supersede everything else. In order to provide a quality program, instructors need to be trained accordingly. As discussed by Huett, J, Moller, L., Foshay, W., &. Coleman, C (2008, September/October), expecting teachers to be instructors, content experts, distance education instructional designers, and technology experts is asking too much.” There needs to be a separations, so that instructors do not have multiple functions (Huett, J, Moller, L., Foshay, W., &. Coleman, C, 2008). Until this transpires, the quality of instruction can always be questioned.
Reference:
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.
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.
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 Education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70.
Simonson, M. ( 2008). Distance Education: The Next Generation. (Vodcast). Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199707&Survey=1&47=3719264&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
LaTonya,
ReplyDeleteWhat are your personal feelings toward solving unversity quality standings. While there is the "Ivy League" of brick and mortar institutions, what do you think online institutions should do to solve quality or standing issues. Institutions, for example University of Phoenix who advertise on using every available channel of communication available, yet I would not consider them of high quality or standing. So in sum what suggestions would you make to create an online ivy league, or at least insure quality in online education?
Thank you,
Bradley
LaTonya,
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree that the success of distance education has many facets and asking educators to play all the necessary roles of the process is definitely asking too much. I have found that while wanting to add distance education into my 8th grade class, I have found it difficult to manage my time and the upkeep of the learning environment outside of the classroom. Do you have any experience in intertwining these two worlds? If so, do you have any advice as to how to make online learning experiences more feasible for traditional students?
Bradley,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment:
I’m no expert by far but I do think in order to provide a quality program you have to have a qualified team. This includes the instructors and the behind the scene personal. The one thing that I have noticed about my present and past Walden instructors is that they have ample experience in the content they are instructing. In addition they have ample experience with instructing on-line. The one thing that I can say about Walden is that you are not bombarded with television commercial or emails trying to persuade you to attend the school or what they can offer you. I think that many people attend Walden University based on referrals. The quality of the school speaks for itself. Now in my personal opinion, Phoenix falls under the “We will worry about the quality of the program later lets just get the enrollments”.
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for you comment:
Unfortunately, I do not have any experience with teaching distant education. However, I am hoping that after the completion of this degree, I can pursue that field of work. If distance education is something that you are interested in do you think that at some point you will have to choose between teaching your students in a traditional classroom or in an online environment?