Before starting classes at Walden, for me Distance Learning was what others did. Distance Learning was most clearly defined as a means to get a pay raise. As teacher, we are asked to continue our education, we are asked to continually add credits to our transcript, and if or when you earn your Masters Degree you move to a whole new pay schedule. From what I had heard from others was that Distance Learning course was a lot of reading and a lot of writing and a lot of feeling very very alone.
Growing up in the 80’s, I remember hearing about my teachers or my aunt and uncle taking classes via the mail. We talked how they had 8 weeks to go through the course. They needed to complete assignments each week, but it all actuality, many times they waited till week 7 and do all of the work at once. The complained their lack of opportunity to communicate with others, and check their understanding during the course. When I went to college in the late 90’s, I remember the school offering some distance classes. They were classes the school didn't offer but they could offer it through Television. You would still go to your original school, sit in a room with a big screen, and watch a professor giving his lecture from a far away campus. Both of these seemed very difficult, seemed to have very little interaction with others students and thus made me think that distance learning opportunities weren't for me.
Simonson defined Distance Education as institution based, formal education where the learning group is separated and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect the learners, resources, and instructors.
After taking classes at Walden for a little more than a year now and getting a better understanding of the concept of Distance Learning from this week’s resources, I now have a much better understanding of what Distance Learning is and all that it offers. For me as educator, Distance learning is an accredited institution (because otherwise my district would accept their credits and degree), that provides a formal education in fields not offered to me locally, that uses technology which gives me access to resources, instructors, and even to my fellow learners, and it allows me to access these things at times that fit my schedule. Distance Learning allows students the opportunity to learn in ways and from people they may never had had a chance to. It allows students to access their education from where they are at, not just where their school is at. The student can be at home, at work, or even on vacation, and still access all they need in order to be successful in their courses.
With technology constantly changing and becoming more accessible, I see Distance Learning growing even larger or faster than it has in the recent past. One area I can see a lot of change is K-12 education. By growing their distance learning offerings, School districts will have an opportunity to help their staff and student’s in a number of different ways. By offering online courses districts are able to reach more students in more ways. “Expanding curricular offerings through online courses may included advanced, remedial, elective or credit recovery courses. By offering online courses, a small school can provide rich and varied options normally only available at larger schools” (Huett) By offering online classes, districts are able to give students the tools they need to be successful. “Learners benefit by having access to all the tools for success available in on setting, being able to review and practice as needed, and going at their own pace” (Huett).
Huett, J., Moller, L. Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implication for instructional design on the potential of the web (part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63-67
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson
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