After reading the three articles by Moller, Huett, Foshay, and Coleman, I totally support their argument. For instance, Globalization has affected many areas of society and will prolong to outline the future of education and content delivery for the foreseeable future. Innovation, vision, contribution, flexibility, adaptability to change, and lifelong learning agendas are compulsory attributes of an emerging leader in distance learning arena. The conventional perception on the stage notion of teaching no longer applies to online learning and the facilitator concept is taking precedent over former methods of content delivery. Online learners have become the new patrons in higher education and are challenging leaders and facilitators that model the new globalized societies and institutions in which they live and work. The trends discussed above have potentially profound impacts on the field of distance education.. Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008)
References:
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.
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As stated in my blog I agree with all of the authors. Yes, there is still much work to be done in regard to distance education, but as society evolves the concept of distance education is becoming the norm. The advancements are impacting the field by leaps and bounds.
ReplyDeleteThere was a glitch. My name did not appear in the above comment. It is fixed now. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteSandra,
ReplyDeleteWhen you commented that globalization has affected society and the content and future of education, how much of an influence do you think the trends in European and Asian countries have on our ability to evolve? Is the US one step ahead or behind in the evolving trends with distance education?
Sandra,
ReplyDeleteI agree that distance education--particularly, globalized distance education--is profoundly changing education as we know it. New educational technologies continue to provide the means for collaboration in our classrooms as well as in our knowledge-based society. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)--television, video, DVD, mobile devices, satellite systems, computer and network hardware and software, the Internet; as well as resources associated with these technologies, such as video conferencing, e-mail and social/professional networking blogs--are the buzzwords these days. According to Barrett (2007), advances in ICT "accelerate the ability to access, process and exchange information across the globe, whether that information is related to education, health care or doing business" (para. 2).
While these advances are all well and good, I still harbor a bit of concern for some 3rd world countries that continue to be at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to global communication and societal advancement via new technology and the Internet. A little over a decade ago, Zgodzinski (1996), found over 186 countries could be reached by e-mail. Still, 98 percent of all the computer hosts on the Net at that time were located in North America, Western Europe, Japan, and Australia—places that together had only 15 percent of the world's population. Today the continents of Africa, Asia, and South America are still small outposts in the vastness of cyberspace.
However, I'm comforted somewhat by the fact that there are a few organizations out there recognizing the need to help such "behind the wave" countries make the advances necessary to keep pace. The WiderNet Project (http://www.widernet.org), out of the University of Iowa, is one such entity. Their mission is to bring the people living in developing countries farther into the digital communication age. That assistance extends into the realm of distance education.
Leasa
Barrett, C. (2007). Foundations of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (Series 1). Retrieved from http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/gaid/unpan032769.pdf
Zgodzinski, D. (1996). Third-world internet. Retrieved from University of Iowa, WideNet Project Web site: http://www.widernet.org/intlinet/links/technology/Full%20Text/Zgodzinski/Internet%20in%20the%20Third%20World.htm