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Brooklyn Center Secondary High School, Brooklyn Center, MN (Photographed by Trevae Golden-Oloye 2010). What is Distance Learning? |
Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, (2012, pp. 9, 33) define distance education as having four concepts:
"Institutionally based
Separation of teacher and student by geography/time, and perhaps intellectual separation of teachers and learners
Interactive telecommunication systems connect learners, resources, and instructors
Sharing of data, voice, and video--learning experiences" (pp. 32-33).
As you can deduce, distance education must have four components that all work together to be considered as "distance learning". Definitions of distance education and learning is always changing and emerging because men's quest for knowledge is insatiable, always developing and growing at each invention and discovery. Technological advancements improve procedures of doing older things easier, quicker, and cheaper. Factors that I see that help propel distance learning from traditional schools settings are innovations in technology that makes online attendance highly attractive to non-traditional learners that favor convenience of place and time, like me. My personal definition and observations of distance learning before attending Walden University instructional design program was that distance learning is learning and studying from afar. Essentially, my definition of a distance learner before reading the resources for this class was that anybody that learns via computer on the world-wide-web online in a (CMS) Course Management System from anywhere around the world is engaged in distance learning. However, after my readings, looking at the video, and working with the interactive timeline, I know there is much more to the process of distance learning than just learning on the computer.
Benefits of distance learning?
Walden is the second online distance learning institution I have attended. I am learning more from Walden than from the other distance learning institution that I will not name here. Since attending Walden University, I recognize the excellent format that is easy to navigate through, quality learning content, and highly qualified and talented facilitators, and the virtual asynchronous learning environment is rich with multiple resources and content of various formats:
Video, text, interactive media content
Quizzes that test acquisition of knowledge
Interactive peer-to-peer learning and discussions with effective facilitator feedback
Easy to use navigational tools that help learners produce and apply skills learned to discover and answer real-world questions intelligently.
Furthermore, according to Dr. Simonson, in this week's multimedia resource, I am not surprised to learn that "the future of distance learning is growth; however, it will never replace traditional institutions". Moller, Foshay & Huett (2008) says, "elearning is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year, which makes it "instantly available, providing timely and on-demand learning access that is virtually impossible in traditional training centers". And for that reason, I love distance learning! There are other benefits to online learning, which is it can effectively accommodate tens of thousands of employees or customers; hence, it can be use immediately" to facilitate training (Moller, Foshay & Huett (2008, p. 70).
My perspectives about unseen benefits of distance learning.
Distance learning is more than just saving time and space. In a sense, that could be true. But what about those things that you cannot see the benefits right-away? It could take time before the benefits are realized. For example, distance learning is more of a cerebral transformational phenomenon that occurs when one has the mental “wait time” necessary to engage in reflective thought necessary to help them use his/her mind to solve problems. John Dewey emphasized leaning should come from one's experience; that concept is one of the practical hallmarks of higher education via distance education today—people with experience having time to reflect on their experiences in order to apply what they already know to what they are trying to know.
Multiple intelligence meets artificial intelligence.
Using your multiple-intelligence is an excellent example of a benefit/convenience in distance education. For example, I use my visual, auditory, tactile, and when recording for a project, oratory skills. In an interactive online learning environment, there is more than enough time for me to get my thoughts together in order to communicate logically and effectively with others in my learning community during discussions via the written (visual) word, which to me, gives me more time to reflect deeply about my answers before I post. When you have more time to think you become more reflective, which is a process leads to strengthening development of higher order critical thinking skills, which is necessary for me to engage in meaningful effective communications. I find that when I have time to reflect, that wait time in and of itself helps me to transfer thinking to higher levels of insight. However, that is from the learning perspective. In fact, Dede (2005) states, " rapid advances in information technology are reshaping the learning styles of many students in higher education...these emerging learning styles include:
Fluency in multiple media and simulation-base virtual settings (Dede, 2005).
“Communal learning involving diverse, tacit, situated experience, with knowledge distributed across a community and a context as well as within an individual
A balance among experiential learning, guided mentoring, and collective reflection expression through nonlinear, associational webs of representations
Co-design of learning experiences personalized to individual needs and preferences” (Dede, 2005).
This means that teachers will need to shift from a face-to-face instructional practice through professional development; therefore, they can effectively accommodate the new 'neomillennial' learning styles of students”
(p.7).
Excellent facilitation and appropriate high quality learning resources help learners engage.
From good facilitators' and appropriate/pertinent material resources, I am motivated to reflection on all my past experiences that I use to think critically about the newer challenges ahead. In other words, good facilitation along with excellent learning resources in the right institutional environment all work together to support me to learn and think critically.My Personal experiential observations on distance learning.
Moreover, on a more personal level, I find myself reading and researching the world-wide web or Walden's online library for answers to questions of problems that I need to know fast in order to give practical answers with an attitude of authority. I find that I learn better as a distance learner (DL) student than I could sit in the traditional classroom where one joker would monopolize the facilitators’ time leaving me flabbergasted and stifled—they being verbal/auditory learners, as opposed to my slower visual learner style. In the DL environment, I am at an advantage and better able to “read”, research, and think before writing/providing answers to complex problems than I ever could in a conventional brick and mortar atmosphere. I get a sense of buy-in and accountability for my own learning in distance learning. This gives me confidence and prestige. I do not want to look unprepared!
Henceforth, what DL is for me has everything to do with adult learning theory, constructivist learning theory, social learning theory, cognitivist learning theory, and connectivism theory of learning. I feel positive about my ability to concentrate and learn the material presented in my lessons; I feel confident that I can solve real-world problems whenever needed. I know I will accomplish my goals of getting good grades and a better job once I complete my well-earned degree. Lastly, if I give my best efforts, I am making contributions to my cohort in a positive manner that promotes learning. In the past, distance education and learning were not so easy as it is today; we share our knowledge.
Evolution of distance learning via emerging technologies.
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A Visual Collage of Communication Tools, Methods, Systems, and Applications (Constructed by Trevae Golden-Oloye, 2012). |
Before inventions of high tech tools, distance learners learned in isolation, waited days for postal delivery of learning materials; waited weeks for instructor feedback with no learner-to-learner interactions, Simonson, video (2012). Needless to say, today's communication tools have shaped and will shape, as they become readily available via inventions, promoted by instructional design best practice strategies to impact the ways we communicate, share and learn knowledge, and engage ourselves in our quest/desires to improve our skills for business, employment purposes, opportunities, or just for the mundane joy of learning. The advent of the personal computer has had a tremendous impact on distance learning because of its interactive nature.We are no longer bound to attend the college or university in the neighborhood.
Emphasis on bridging gaps of geography, time, material resources, teachers, and students.
Today’s distance education is available nationally and globally and is constantly expanding into evermore remote and newer markets as instructional designers continue to create products/services that they merge into emerging technologies. Through the process of merging learning experiences with technologies, instructional designers enable learners to connect synchronously and/or asynchronously to instructors, peers, and to virtual learning environments with constantly available interactive learning content via the computer by supplying interactive text, reading resources, video, and audio that has the potential to reduce the inherent separation of institution, instructor, learning resources, and student. In fact, Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, (2012) emphasize reduction of separation as a primary goal of the distance education systems (p. 33).
Disadvantages of distance learning?
Moller, Foshay & Huett (2008) contend "many individuals that engage in distance learning do not know what an excellently constructed e-learning (virtual, online) environment looks like or feels like although they may be actively participating in an online distance learning course" (p. 70). If this is true or not, it represents an impediment of distance learning. Moller, Foshay & Huett (2008) assert the continued explosion in all sectors of distance "elearning" is "to assure that the products of sound professional design practice lead the e-learning enterprise" (p. 70). For that reason, it is important that instructional designers get the proper training, so they can contribute to the field of instructional design by integrating it to present day technologies in exemplary manner that ushers the profession forward not backward. In fact, Dr. Simonson in his video (2012) says, "we must promote, adopt newer ideas that help "nourish" what we have in the field of instructional design and technology now". In other words, the field is exploding and we need highly trained individuals to fill future positions and training those individuals properly is of utmost importance. Without proper training, ID professionals are prone to produce shoddy workmanship that will affect future learners, trainers, and the ID profession in negative ways.
Diploma mill institutions versus well constructed learning environments .
A further impediment to distance learning are the diploma mills that exist only to take your money. I was enrolled in one. Now, I can discern a shoddy distance-learning environment from one that is well put together like Walden University's is. If a person honestly asks her/himself the following questions, they can tell too:
- Am I learning?
- Do layout, audio, video, and graphics adhere to Mayer's multimedia theory?
- Do resources motivate, engage, inform, and grab the interest?
- Is learning equivalent to face-to-face instructions?
- Are learning theories appropriate to audience?
- Does training break down complex material into easily understood components using multimedia?
- Am I able to interact with peers, instructor, learning materials, and the institution
References
Dede, C. (2005). Planning for neomillennial learning styles. Educause Quarterly, 28(1), 7–12.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012). Distance education: The next generation [Video file].
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012).”Distance Learning Timeline Continuum [Video transcript]
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). 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
ONE Northwood University (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.northwood.edu/one/2010-10-01.htm
Planning for Neomillennial Learning Styles (EDUCAUSE ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/PlanningforNeomillennialLearni/157325
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon (pp. 32–41)
