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Foundations of Distance Education (Reflections (Based on my experiences as…
Foundations of Distance Education
The Effectiveness of Distance Education
Through research completed on distance education, Simonson, Schlosser, and Orellana (2011) came to the conclusion that distance education is effective for instructors and students (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 7).
Distance education is not "different education, it is distance education" (Simonson, Schlosser, & Orellana, 2011, p. 124).
A meta-analysis completed by the United States Department of Education indicated that students taking online courses have higher academic achievement than students taking traditional courses because they spend more time studying (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 7).
Research finds that learning cannot be predicted based on whether students are learning in a traditional manner or through methods of distance education (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 8).
Critical conclusions from research indicate that teachers have to receive training in how to use effective instructional strategies, distance education classes have to be fully developed prior to instruction, ideas and concepts have to be visualized when delivering instruction, distance learners must have adequate support systems provided to them, it is critical for interaction to occur between teachers and students, and assessment must be carefully designed and relate to the specified learning outcomes (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 9).
Distance Education Today and Tomorrow
Status of Distance Education
Distance education has a tremendous and different impact throughout the world. There is a large demand for distance learning opportunities for people from various countries (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 13).
Anadolu University in Turkey services over 500,000 students via distance education (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 13).
Open University of Hong Kong has served over 100,000 students with 10% of the students graduating (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 14).
Distance education is serving a large number of students in sub-Saharan Africa (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 14).
Distance education has an extensive history throughout Europe (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 14).
Educators in the United States are frequently asked questions about distance education's quality (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15).
The Sloan Consortium has conducted research to answer questions about the effectiveness and quality of distance education (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15).
Four fundamental questions have been researched by the Sloan Consortium (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15).
The four questions include: "1. Will students embrace online education as a delivery method? 2. Will institutions embrace online education as a delivery method? 3. Will faculty embrace online education as a delivery method? 4. Will the quality of online education match that of face-to-face instruction?" (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15).
Findings of research of the Sloan Consortium's Research included:
Within 3 years, learning outcomes for online courses will either equal or exceed those of face-to-face courses. (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15).
Growth rates for the number of students enrolling in online courses is expected to increase by 20% (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15).
Institutions making profit will have a higher growth rate than other institutions (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15).
Fewer private institutions that are non-profit are expected to utilize online education in comparison to others (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15)
If students are given an option, they are apt to enroll in distance education/online courses (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15).
Educators' attitudes towards online education and the quality of education students receive remain conservative (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 15).
Telemedicine
All definitions of telemedicine consist of four main elements: 1) there is a separation between individuals and/or resources available to them, 2) Telecommunication devices are used, 3) there is an interaction between individuals and/or the needed resources, 4) concern medical or health care matters (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 18).
Applications include: consultation remotely, monitoring remotely, education provided remotely, and telemonitoring (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 18).
Impediments include issues concerning professional licenses, malpractice liability, issues concerning privacy, confidentiality, and security, payment for services, and medical device regulation (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 20-1).
Major Topic in Education (3)
Many educators believe that distance education is going to change the way people are educated and the way they receive training (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 4).
Two competing pressures facing distance education are: (1)Students state they prefer to learn in person and not at a distance and (2) Students are demanding that they have the opportunity to participate in distance learning (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 5).
The number of virtual schools is increasing across the country (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 6).
Sloan Consortium is studying distance education's impact and whether it is going to become a mainstream part of education (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 4).
Sloan Consortium distinguishes online courses, blended/hybrid courses, and web-facilitated courses by specific criteria (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 4-5).
The report entitled,
Sizing the Opportunity
(Allen & Seaman, 2003), emphasized the rapid growth of distance education and staff members' positive perceptions on its impact (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 4).
Indicators that distance education is becoming mainstream: (1) core faculty members are teaching courses, (2) institutions are adopting distance education as a long-term strategy for educating students (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 4).
What is Distance Education
Definitions of distance education can vary because the word distance has various meanings and the term
distance education
*is applied to a variety of programs using different types of media (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 9).
There are two approaches to distance education: synchronous and asynchronous (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 9-10).
Technological innovations can be identified on a continuum from sustaining to disruptive (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 11).
Examples of sustaining technology are videos, e-books, and a SmartBoard (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 11).
Examples of disruptive technology distance education courses, virtual schools, and e-learning classes (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 11).
Media in Education
Another analogy utilized by a technology pioneer came from Jim Finn. He claimed that technology provides new ways to accomplish tasks. His research also indicated that educators should seek out new ways to make change through technology (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 13).
Richard Clark studied over 60 years of research on educational media and came to the conclusion that many educators did not understand the existing research on educational media (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 12).
Sees media as a vehicle for teaching, but it does not influence student achievement (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 12).
Reflections
Based on my experiences as a student in distance education courses, I can definitely see a difference in the effectiveness of different types of courses. I often wonder if professors receive specialized types of training prior to teaching online or virtual courses. Since instruction is not provided to students in the traditional sense, it is imperative that professors are able to adequately design courses that utilize a variety of media sources, create an equivalent learning environment, and encourage learners to push themselves to learn on their own. These are difficult endeavors and my personal experiences have shown me that there are a variety of ways that distance education courses are offered - some being effective and others ineffective.
Reading this chapter made me wonder where education will be heading over the next twenty years. Technology makes things change so rapidly in our society and I know that a plethora of schools are implementing virtual classrooms and distance education courses. While I can see how distance education courses help to reach a variety of people and can encourage deeper student learning when developed correctly, it leaves me wondering what will happen to our students who have special education needs. Will schools only end up having students with special education needs attending physical school buildings while other students access learning through the internet or other media sources? Also, will funding be funneled more towards distance education courses and less towards our students with disabilities? As an administrator in special education, it makes me wonder what will happen next in education.
After reading this chapter, having two competing factors influencing distance education made me wonder how to effectively deal with the idea that students prefer to learn in person while they also demand that they have the ability to participate in distance education. How do schools and universities effectively deal with these two competing factors?
I thought that it was interesting that there was a section of this chapter devoted to telemedicine. I never really thought of the field of medicine as a form of distance education. Personally, I believe that seeing a doctor remotely for a variety of ailments or concerns can be highly effective.