Module #1 Blog:
Moller, Wellesley & Huett state perfectly that, “The growth of online distance learning (e-learning) is explosive in almost all sectors” (2008, p. 66), as to why there is a need to evolve distance education to the next generation. The use of distance education has expanded from the corporate world of training, evolving into the realm of higher education and opening doors within the fields of K-12 education. The need for distance education has become that of financial stability, educational diffusion and meeting educational mandates, to name a few. Within corporate training, distance education “offsets the costs of travel to training centers, provides timely and on-demand learning access, and employees or customers can use it immediately” (Moller, Foshay & Huett, 2008, p. 70). The higher education arena has opened the doors to distance education to meet the demands of the “non-traditional” student (Moller, Foshay & Huett, 2008, p. 66) and remain competitive with one another. Lastly, K-12 education has began leaning toward the use of distance education to meet mandates such as No Child Left Behind which “requires states to offer alternative schooling options to students attending schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress” and filling the gap of teacher shortages (Huett, Moller, & Foshay, 2008, p. 63). I agree that a need to move distance education to the next generation is needed to ensure that technology is more than just a tool but becomes a mean of effectiveness and produces satisfactory outcomes. Throughout the reading of the articles one theme rang true, “to assure that the products of sound professional design practice lead the e-learning enterprise” (Moller, Foshay & Huett, 2008, p. 66).
References:
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.
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.
What an excellent summary of the readings!
ReplyDeleteI found these articles to be especially interesting because I too am interested in improving virtual schools for k-12 students. I understand the need for virtual learning in our society, especially in situations where there is a teacher shortage or when certain subjects are not offered in schools. Moller, Foshay, and Huett described some of the challenges associated with online education for students in middle grades and elementary. They need more supervision, simpler instructions, and a more extensive motivational system than their older conterparts (Moller, Foshay & Huett, 2008, p. 64). I work with the middle grade population and I have worked with the elementary population and fully agree with their concern. I would like to see more research done in this area to explain the affects of distance learning on these children. Do they lose some sense of social skills? Do they develop differently because they lack a traditional school setting with peers? Should distance education for this age group include some traditional setting opportunities for social interaction? In your summary you stated, "I agree that a need to move distance education to the next generation is needed to ensure that technology is more than just a tool but becomes a mean of effectiveness and produces satisfactory outcomes." What is your opinion on how younger children are affected by distance education?
Taryn,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Sabrina, I believe you summarized the articles wonderfully and completely understand the need for distance learning. I would not have been able to complete my Masters Degree without the availability of distance learning.
Sabrina, kudos to you, I also work with Middle schoolers and absolutely love it. I have heard you either love or hate it. I believe distance education could possibly have a positive effect on middle school students in the correct environment.
Taryn,
ReplyDeleteYou mention that distance and online education for K-12 must also be able to meet the needs of students who are attending failing schools or to meet the needs of districts with teacher shortages. It would seem then that distance and online education must strive to be better than the status quo of face to face schools. How do we integrate emerging and established technologies to move distance and online education? If we use both emerging and established technologies, would that be the key to the success of distance and online education?
Erica
Taryn,
ReplyDeleteIn some parts of the country there are very few schools and due to this I think distance education would be wonderful for these students. Also, we we sit and think about all the students who are home schooled most of these students are using distance education.
In our high school we do not have a foreign language teacher so our students have a teacher who stays in the class with them while they are being taught through video conferencing. So yes distance education is so important not just for us who are using it to complete our degrees for our Masters program but also important for our K-12 students.
I also feel more studies need to be done on this topic to see if the students are benefiting by studying in this type of setting.
Sabrina & Kimberly, thank you for the compliments...they are greatly appreciated! Also kudos to both of you ladies as I began my teaching career in the middle school setting but had to transition to the high school because I am not patient with that "tween"-ager stage!
ReplyDelete@ Sabrina...You make an excellent point about some of the potential affects distance education may have, not just on middle school students, but I think students in general. That would be interested to find a study that reports on those things such as: social skill building and developmental stages being achieved in a timely and appropriate manner. I personally think that the combination of both entities would be a wonderful solution if these issues do or begin to exist.
@ Kimberly...I too began my Master's program online, but found that I really needed the classroom environment at that time. This shows that again every student is going to have various needs and the option of meeting those needs should be available. I also think that with the appropriate implementation distance education could be effective with all students.
@ Erica...I am not sure if I would say that the distance education or online program would have to be a cut above the rest per se...but I would say that everyone is just not going to be successful in the traditional classroom setting! As well as some students nor their parents can always chose which school they attend so having the option of a virtual school would be ideal in a situation such as that. One that may offer programs which otherwise may not be offered or be able to tailor a program to a child which otherwise adequate funding is not available to do so. I believe the first step to the integration of distance education would include a partnering with a virtual school where students would be afforded the opportunity to take courses. Once schools, parents, and students become comfortable and familiar with this approach (overcoming those barriers Dr. Dede discusses) a boom is sure to occur providing the key to success in online and distance education.
@ Lou...I agree whole heartedly, that the effective use of distance education would be a wonderful opportunity for not just students in rural areas, but also students in urban areas to be exposed to other facetes of life that they otherwise would not be exposed to. I would also like to see more studies conducted regarding the benefits of distance education.
The blogs I posted to were:
ReplyDeleteKimberly & Lou Ann
You mentioned about how distance education can be used to benefit students in a K-12 setting. I found this section of the set of articles interesting. I teach second grade and wonder how elementary school would look in a virtual setting. I've seen a few sites that advertise e-learning for elementary students, but they seem to be geared more towards home-school students. Do you think that K-12 distance education will just become an extension home schooling or do you think it could be expanded to become more of a mainstream option?
ReplyDelete