EDUC 6135: DISTANCE LEARNING WK1.ASSIGNMENT 1.

 

*Cough, cough* Welcome back! I haven't used this blog site in a year or so, but I am happy to be back online and ready to respond to assignments in my distance learning class!

Week 1: Assignment 1: "... post to your blog a 5- to 6-paragraph description of the evolution of distance learning as it relates to your own experiences. Be sure to include the following in your post:

• Your personal definition and observations of distance learning before starting this course. Consider what you learned about distance learning this week and how this learning has influenced your personal definition.
• Your revised definition, which combines your previous thoughts about distance learning with new information you learned this week.
• A summary of your vision for the future of distance learning as it continues on a path of evolution and change.

Josh's response: To me, distance learning used to be something technical. Media had a large part to play in the introduction to distance learning. We used to watch commercials about DeVry or ITT tech, and how easy or simple it was to just get off the couch and log on. Unfortunately, the "get off your behind and do some work for your future" message was more "corny" than hip which created an unfortunate joke between going to online school, earning a degree from said school, and questions of validity compared to traditional schools.  To me, distance learning was unfortunately something to be viewed as a waste of time and it was much better to go to traditional schools.

The interesting thing about "traditional schools" is that you are still, depending on the class, in a distance learning situation. Some classes are 100% online despite everyone being on campus. So let's take another look at distance learning. Distance learning, in my opinion, is the ability to receive high-quality education no matter where you are. 

With this perspective, we can assume that distance learning can be applied in almost any situation and as long as the person or people involved have some ability to connect with each other, then it should not be an issue. Indeed this has to be the way things were conducted over a century ago with correspondence schools (Simonson,n.d). The only thing that is new about distance learning is the internet. 

This however presents an interesting nuance in definition, as we try to consolidate distance learning, e-learning, and online learning environments.  Distance learning, defined, is the use of emerging media and associated experiences to produce distributed learning opportunities (Moore,2011). It was seen as more of an umbrella term. E-learning is defined as learning solely through the use of the computer. The most complicated of these three to nail down would be online learning, which is learning when every one has access to the same device (Moore,2011).

So to put it all together,

Distance learning is a method of giving and receiving instruction. It is an older method of education but it is effective so long as there are ways to communicate. See my mindmap below to get a good idea of how its all connected

References

Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (n.d.).  Distance education: The next generation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Joi L. Moore, Camille Dickson-Deane, Krista Galyen,

e-Learning, online learning, and distance learning environments: Are they the same?,

The Internet and Higher Education,

Volume 14, Issue 2,

2011,

Pages 129-135,

ISSN 1096-7516,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.10.001.