Distance education has existed for more than one hundred and fifty
years and has had many names, and methods of presentations. Distance Education
began in England with Sir Isaac
Pitman’s correspondence courses in the 1840’s, continued in the United States with
the Chautauqua movement in the 1870’s and as technology
evolved so did distance education. In the mid twentieth century television
added a new spin to distance education.
The Europeans also made their contribution to distance education with
the concept of the Open University. With the proliferation of the Internet the
term e-learning was coined.
The term online learning and distance education are now used
interchangeably. According to Huett et al (2008) “The growth of online distance
learning (elearning) is explosive in almost all sectors, and in many developed
and developing countries. Elearning is instantly available, providing timely
and on-demand learning access impossible in a traditional training center".
Evolution of
Technology and Teaching
Michael Simonson states that “Distance Education: The Next Generation” he presented his
definition of distance education as “formal education which is
institutionally based and where the learning group, the teacher, the students
and the resources are separated by geography, sometimes by time, sometimes by
intellect and where technology is used as the instructional media and
communication technology to link the resources, the teacher and the learner”
The distance in distance learning has determined how distance
education evolved. Before present day technology existed, different methods
were used to cover the distance between the learner and the teacher. My personal definition of distance education
would be similar to Dr. Simonson’s except for one clarification that I did not
see before I viewed his lecture, and that is that there is a difference between
distance learning and self-study at a distance.
Distance education is very much set in the way it’s implemented in
colleges. College students are able access their assignments and participate in
discussions from mobile phone. I envision that the next thrust in distance
education is in the K-12 schools. Distance education will affect the way
teachers present their lessons to students and the way students interact with the
lesson. The term that’s now very familiar to K-12 teachers is the ‘Flipped
classroom’ which is a term that represents a blended classroom learning
environment, homework in class,
lessons at home.
Distance Education’s Evolution
Distance Learning Timeline Continuum. This multimedia, interactive
timeline chronicles the evolution of distance learning from 1833–2009. [Multimedia Program]: Retrieved from Laureate-media.
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay,
W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications
for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends,
52(5), 63–67.
McCullen, C. Flipped Classrooms: The realization of 21st century digital learning? Blog post retrieved
from http://www.all4ed.org/blog/flipped_classrooms_realization_21st_century_digital_learning.
Simonson, M. (2013) "Distance Education: The Next
Generation". [Video Podcast] Retrieved from Laureate-media.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S.,
Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance:
Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson. Chapter 2,
"Definitions, History, and Theories of Distance Education" (pp. 32–41
only).
I enjoyed your post. Clear and to the point.
ReplyDeleteGood job on pointing out the flipped classroom. In most schools, flipped classrooms seem to be common these days with the easy access to technology.
ReplyDelete