Communication online

Siemens (Laureate, n.d) discussed how many more people are communicating on line. The evidence can be seen with social mediums like facebook and myspace.  People with Internet relationships are meeting and marrying.  I do agree with Siemens that virtual communication has evolved and it can be as intimate or as distant as desired. 

As more people get comfortable using the Internet to conduct business and social issues, their ability to communicate through this medium increases.   Like Siemens (Laureate, n.d.) stated who would have guessed we would be talking to one another on Skype with the clarity that is now available. 

As I have said in previous posts, online learning gives that shy student who wouldn’t have communicated in a face-to-face environment a voice.  Everyone has a voice and can be heard.  Typically people think before they type and share their ideas and experiences.  Online communication allows us to grow more because we are not afraid to take risks and have some think lesser of us.  My thought is that the anonymous factor allows some students to more freely and without fear express their opinions and ideas.

Laureate (n.d.), Siemeans, G., The future of distance educationhttp://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4449103&Survey=1&47=6819412&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Response to Blogs Module 1

I found Jami Washington's very interesting and have posted on her blog http://jamiwashington.blogspot.com/

I agree with many of the points Kathi Middleton on her blog http://middletonprinciplesdistanceeducation.blogspot.com/.  Read my comments.

The Next Generation of Distance Education

     Distance education is when an instructor, students, and resources come together to teach and learn (Laureate, n.d. a).  There are many reasons why institutions and students are choosing distance education.  Moller, Foshay, & Huett (2008b) expressed that this main reason is economics.  Whereas Simonson (n.d. b) said that there are many reasons students could choose distance learning.  Some of these include “a return on [their] investment.”  These could include such thing as not needing to drive to campus and being able to live at home.  As distance education continues to grow, the quality of its design must also develop.  Moller et al (2008a) discussed that on line learning leads to an “appearance of training (p. 71).”  He states that in business this is what some managers want because it is relatively cheap, easy to assess, monitor and implement.  However, poor developed and assessed learning hasn’t done anyone any good.

        Since distance education is expected to grow by 300% in higher learning next year (Moller et al, 2008a), there needs to be some type of norm set to distinguish a good learning environment.  As Simonson (Laureate, n.d.a) stated that we can’t just tape lectures and place them on line and call it on line learning.  We need to develop the correct mix and interaction between student, instructor, and the resources.

         Huett, Moller, &Coleman (2008) stated that online learning is one of the fastest growing areas for K-12.  Therefore, it is important to get the concept right.  I have been a part of on line learning called course recover.  Simonson (Laureate, n.d. a) wouldn’t call this on line learning because they are canned tutorials with assessments at the end: no instructor is involved.  Now in Memphis City Schools, all students (starting with our sophomores) are required to take one online class before graduations.  We have several different “e-learning” courses that are available to the students.  However, I am afraid that most high school students to not possess the maturity and motivation that an online course requires.

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.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008a, 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. (2008b, 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.

Laureate (n.d. a), Simonson, M, Distance education: The next generation,http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn ?CourseID=4449103&Survey=1&47=6819412&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Laureate (n.d. a), Simonson, M, Equivalency theory, http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID =4449103&Survey=1&47=6819412&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1