Defining Distance Learning

My earliest memory of what I considered “distance learning” was a conversation I had with a friend in grade school. She rushed up to me in the hall one day and said there were countries named Iran and Iraq of course I thought she was kidding (remember this was a long time before the world wide web).  Later on I remember thinking; I wonder what they do in school every day. The pastor of the church I attended was a missionary and would travel to other countries to teach, this is the first experience I had with distance education. Later on, I remember watching newscast discussing classrooms linked via television. I was an adult before I experienced distance learning on a personal level when our local community college began offering classes on television. Overtime, as I began to further my education I became aware of other elements of distance learning. However, until recently my definition still focused on the separation of teacher and student as the primary factor.

While viewing the video “Distance Education: The Next Generation”, I realized I was correct to place emphasis on the geographical location of the facilitator and the learner. However, my definition did not consider technology and methods of delivery as an important element of location. Dr. Simonson states, “Distance education can be defined as formal education in which the learning group (teacher, students, resources) are separated by geography and, sometimes by time, sometimes by intellect…” (Simonson, n.d.). 

Although, separation of participating parties is a key element the video also points out that simply making educational and/or training materials accessible to a mass audience is not enough to categorize them as distance learning. 

Hence, to revise my definition of distance learning I would include the following factors of geography to include location of educator and learner and any resources needed to analyze, develop, implement, and assess the entire process. I would include self-study at a distance as an integral part of distance learning but not a substitute for the educational process.

Location of participating parties is only one factor needed to define distance education the four components are: institutionally based, separation of teacher and student, interactive communications, and connecting learners, resources, and instructors (Simonson, et. al., 2012, pp. 33-34). Position of the facilitator and learner also involves elements of time through synchronous and asynchronous educational methods, as well as scheduling and time constraints. Previously, it was obvious the instructor possessed superior knowledge of any concepts needed to implement the course. However, this factor has been greatly influenced by technology.

The technological intellect of today’s students must now be considered because it may exceed that of their instructors:

As new advanced technologies have come to our classrooms, there is increased interest in the essential roles and qualities of teacher knowledge bases necessary for successful technology integration. However, it has been suggested that many teacher education programs have not been preparing teacher candidates adequately to integrate technology, and many teachers in schools are reluctant to use technology for teaching and learning… One of reasons for this phenomenon is that student teachers have very little knowledge about effective technology integration, even after completing courses about instructional technology (Hew & Brush, 2007; Vannatta & Beyerbach, 2000)… there is a need to understand how teacher education programs could be designed and implemented to provide pre-services teachers with a balance between pedagogical knowledge and technological knowledge. (So & Kim, 2009).

The authors of this week’s course reading, “Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education” (pp. 34) also discuss telecommunication and its role in distance education. It includes all electronic forms of media and the importance of including older forms in certain groups and areas. All of the previous mentioned elements are needed to connect the teacher and student and all must be present in some manner to devise efficient a distance educational system. New methodologies for distance education must also include extensive training for facilitators and educators in order to stay ahead of today’s emerging technologies.  

Ensuring the educator possesses technological advances intellectually and mechanically will be a major factor for future distance educational endeavors. In the US and other countries, even the poorest students have access to superior technology even if they do not possess elevated academic rankings. These factors not only effect distance education but also the definition of a “higher education” and will continue to elevate the demands for all educational systems. I believe technology and society’s demand and interdependence of it will influence distance education greater than the other components combined. The four components previously mentioned institutionally based, separation factor, interactivity telecommunications, and methods of connection are all interdependent on current technologies to create the correlations needed between teachers, students, and resources.

References

Simonson, M. (n.d.). Distance education: The next generation. [Study video]. Retrieved
from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6290464&Survey=1&47=3899999&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

So, H.-J. & Kim, B. (2009). Learning about problem based learning: Student teachers integrating technology, pedagogy and content knowledge. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 25(1), 101-116. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet25/so.html.
Retrieved from   http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,34&q=students+advanced+knowledge+of+technology+in+2009