Elements of Distance Education Diffusion: Module 2

According to Siemens (2009), the increasing approval of distance education is chiefly due to “more of us having experiences communicating online”.  Today people are communicating via email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter just to name a few.  Dr. Siemens (2009) made an emphasis in his video that distance education provides the same learning experiences to those learners in F2F instruction but at best he states that positive impact of collaborative learning.  He articulates that institutions of higher learning are progressively embracing distant education technology and that there is a momentous progression in online communication practices that provide access to online courses.

Global diversity, Communication, and Collaborative Interaction are three elements that are given by George Siemens that are being highly accepted.  I personally like collaborative interaction because it allows the students to use critical thinking, be creative in their work, and share knowledge amongst each other.   Collaborative learning provides profound meaning and organizes the learners for real world application.  This element is a really basic tool that is already being used in elementary, middle, and high school levels.  The students are able to work in collaborative pairs on different assignments.

References

Anderson, T. (Ed.) (2008). The theory and practice of online learning

Simonson, M. “Principles of Distance Education Video: Distance

Module 1: The Next Generation of Distance Learning

The three articles posted by Moller, Foshay, Huett, Coleman (2008) stated that e-learning needs to continue to grow and develop in the different levels of learning (corporate, K-12, and higher education).  Simonson's view on distance education is "formal education in which the learning group (teacher, students, and resources) are separated by geography and sometimes time." (Laureate Education, Inc. 2010) 

Moller, Foshay, Huett, & Coleman and Simonson have some views in common such as economic factors which plays a huge part in the growth of e-learning.  All authors are in agreement that e-learning is comprised to distance teaching and distance learning.  E-learning is more convenient for the public and/ or private corporate and educational sectors because it is available on demand, cost effective and is very much hands on in developed and developing countries.

Problems for educators and e-learners can arise from the lack of qualified distance education educators.  Distance education is at a rapid rate of growth (Simons, n.d), but the general public and some of the administrators in the educational and corporate field do not understand the importance of contrasting between face-to-face education and distance education.

In my opinion, not all educators can teach a distance education just like every student will not succeed in e-learning classes.  Educators and students must understand that e-learning and distance education does not go hand in hand.  Distance education has not been widely known because for a while I did not want to be sitting in a classroom but when I found out about distance education I came aboard.

References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Distance Education

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). Tech Trends, 52(3), 70-75. 

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 2: Higher Education). Tech Trends, 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). Tech Trends, 52(5), 63-67.