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
Hi Aimee,
ReplyDeleteI agree that K-12 distance education is lacking. Your Recover program is similar to program used by a Virtual School in my state of Ohio. This Virtual school contracts with districts to take the students who are having difficulty in the classroom for a variety of reasons. These reasons include teenage pregnancy, illness, learning disabilities, and behavioral issues. The students log onto a computer and have to log a certain number of hours per week. It is basically a drill based computer program with assessment. The difference between your program and mine is that a teacher must check in with the student once a week to check progress. I taught part-time for this program. I encountered several students who did not log onto the program correctly, and failed to check in with me for a weekly face-to-face meeting. I drove across town to a student's home to meet them for a scheduled meeting and the student was not even home. The parent was there and did not even apologize. I agree with you, elementary and secondary students might not have the intrinsic motivation to follow through with such an unsupervised method of learning. Parents have to be responsible for children who are not going to a traditional school.
Thanks your your insight!
Janelle
My younger boys just began an online program for 8th and 10th grade. I have to say that it is definitely not for parents who are not dedicated to the program. The program is called Washington Virtual Academy and uses a LMS called K12. It requires several hours each day on our part to ensure our boys are doing their work to an appropriate level and that they stay on top of the hours. One of the hard things is that it is hours based and they often complete their work well ahead of schedule. We are only two weeks into the program so perhaps this will change.
ReplyDeleteI know two students who did online classes for High School and they both graduated. These students were both self motivated and determined to succeed. I also know a student who was unorganized,laid back and they failed all their classes but one. It defintely depends on the motivation.
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