The Future of Distance Learning: Reflection

As more educational institutions and students become involve in distance education, the perceptions of distance education as a viable alternative to face-to-face instruction and as an effective course delivery will strengthen.  In the near future, as more students view technology as useful in everyday life, the more favorable the perception about the effectiveness of teaching and learning in an online environment.  According to Dr. George Siemens (2011) the growing acceptance of distance education is fueled by (a) the increase in online communication, (b) practical experience with new tools, (c) a growing sense of comfort with online discourse, and (d) the ability to communicate with diverse and global groups of likeminded people like in education.

In a more distant future, I see distance education as fulfilling the need for an individualized learning environment to meet students’ needs.  No longer will students be limited to the choices afforded by the physical locations of educational institutions, instead, students will be able to attend classes that train them in areas necessary for their career growth and job requirements without the need to travel (ConnectEd, 2011).  Consequently, new courses, new curriculum and even new degrees will become available to students who wish to learn, the article continues.  I think the aim of distance education will be to prepare future professionals through an excellent educational experience.

                As an instructional designer and a positive force for the improvement about the perception of distance education I would always strive to design an educational environment that enhances the learning experience for students.  I would provide a learning environment where students are active participants in the learning process and not merely passive recipients of knowledge.  I would also provide a contextual learning environment where students are able to apply their newly acquired knowledge and a learning environment where students take ownership of their learning.  In designing these learning environments I would follow the sound principles and guidelines of instructional design.  ID professionals can play a key role in making sure that distance education initiatives truly serve the needs of students, and in this way, protecting students by promoting solid distance learning practices based on research and theory (Huett, Moller, Foshay, & Coleman, 2008).

                In addition to being on top of research and theory on distance education, I must also keep up to date with existing and emerging technologies.  I think that technology makes learning more efficient and enriches the learning process.  Through the use of tools and technologies familiar to learners, educators may be able to foster high levels of learner engagement required for effective learning (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2007, pp. 7-8), cited by George Siemens (2008).  I do believe that instructional designers possess the necessary qualities to transform the learner and society, and ultimately distance education itself to reflect the value and quality of education.

References:

Siemens, G. (2011). Video Program: The Future of Distance Education.  Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved on 2/22/2011 from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4744647&Survey=1&47=6426074&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1.

ConnectEd (2011).  What is the Future of Distance Learning? Walden University.  Retrieved on 2/23/11 from http://connected.waldenu.edu/curriculum-resources/technology-in-the-classroom/item/772-what-is-future-of-distance-learning.

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.

Siemens, G. (2008). Learning and Knowing in Networks: Changing roles for Educators and Designers. Retrieved on 2/23/11 from http://www.tskills.it/userfiles/Siemens.pdf.

The Impact of Open Source

I decided to review the MIT Open Courseware for this assignment.  The URL is http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/.  More specifically, I took a look at the Linear Algebra unit from the Mathematics section located at http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-algebra-spring-2010/.  The Linear Algebra unit was offered in Spring 2010, and contains helpful resources that students may also find available in a traditional brick-and-mortal university setting.  Some of these resources are lecture notes, assignments and corresponding solutions, and study groups.  Additionally, because of my familiarity with the subject I wanted to see how technology, multimedia, and instructional strategies where incorporated into instruction so that maybe I can integrate similar approaches in my lessons as well.  I was terribly disappointed on that regard.

The courseware seems designed to supplement face-to-face instruction instead of a distance education setting.  Even though I felt mesmerized by Professor Strang 40 minute lecture on the geometry of linear equations, I doubt that many other distance learners would share my opinion or my prefer learning style.  The course seems to be a perfect example of Zemsky and Massy’s cycle 1 of their e-learning adoption cycles.  In this cycle, faculty introduce basic-level technologies into their course, such as e-mail, web resources, and PowerPoint slides, without fundamentally altering their instructional strategies (Zemsky, & Massy, 2004), cited by Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek.

The courseware web site is well organized in terms of user-friendliness, and navigability.  For example, items such as syllabus, calendar, exams, tools, related resources, course materials, and video lectures are easily and strategically located within the web page.  The tools and related resources areas offer flash animations and demonstrations which help visualize complex concepts, links to other resourceful websites (e. g. http://www.mathworks.com/products/demos/), and additional supplementary documents.  However, these resources would have served a more effective instructional purpose had they been incorporated into each video lecture.  These interactive resources could have been embedded directly into segmented video lectures so as to effectively illustrate the content.  Better planning by course designers in the use of media to deliver the instructional message could have resulted in an enjoyable distance education learning experience.

The course appears also to lack other essential elements necessary for a successful distance learning experience.  For example, the course does not take into consideration learners’ needs in terms of cognitive abilities and learning styles.  The instructor can present complex cognitive context in ways that give learners various tags for understanding the fundamental concepts, and thereby reach a wider range of individuals (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009).  Also, the course lacks specific teaching strategies so as to engage the learners in active learning.  To avoid the “talking head” approach, the instructor needs to de-emphasize the informative part of the instruction for more discovery of information, (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009).  In conclusion, the MIT course seems to be a perfect example of “dumping “ a face-to-face course onto the web; little regard appears to be given to planning and designing a distance education course by the institution or the course designers.

Reference:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and Learning at a Distance. Pearson,4^th ed., Boston, MA.