What do you think the perceptions of distance learning will be in the future (in 5–10 years; 10–20 years)?
In our rapidly technologically developing world and constantly changing living and working environments, lifelong learning and distance education are unavoidable. According to George Siemens (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010), there is a growing acceptance of distance education in the society today because people get more comfortable communicating online. “We are recognizing that the notion of distance through geographical separation isn’t as significant a factor as we might have thought it was even 5 years ago, and. . . it is directly tied to the new tools and to our practical experience with these new tools” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). This is what I realized when I started my distance education program at Walden a year ago: discussion forum, while being one of the simplest online communications tools existing today, can successfully cross the barrier of space and time in helping maintain continuous conversation and deliver and share knowledge while strengthening online learning community.
Recognizing the global dimension of distance education is another significant trend listed by Siemens (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010) that is going to affect distance education by gathering expert knowledge around the world and building distributed learning communities. Here, Siemens also predicts the increased use of multimedia like games and simulations (which will pave the road for distance education in previously excluded fields of study).
Further down the road, in 10–20 years, I envision distance learning becoming a part of everyday life for all members of our society, as more resources become electronic (books, news, manuals, smart objects, people giving classes of all sorts via podcasts, etc.) and social networking sites turning into places for distributed learning communities, while the learning focus shifts from what we are learning to how we are learning, from the result to the process and to learning how “to be” a full participant in addition to “learning about” the subject matter (Seely Brown & Adler, 2008).
What do you think the perceptions of distance learning will be in the future (in 5–10 years; 10–20 years)?
The things I learned in the last week of Distance Learning class, about insufficient marketing strategies for distance education programs practiced by higher education institutions (Gambescia & Paolucci, 2009) as well as revelations of my interviews, were a complete surprise to me, despite the memories of my own incorrect ideas about distance learning just a year ago. The three interviews I conducted with people I consider exemplary in their contemporary views and behaviors revealed the depth of misconceptions general population must have about distance learning. This gap between the current level of understanding of all the tools and opportunities distance education has to offer and the near future inevitable and desirable global acceptance of distance learning needs to be bridged really soon. As an instructional designer, I can prepare arguments for people who think distance education is impersonal, lacking feedback and communication between instructor and students and among students, is not appropriate for most of fields except teaching hard undisputable facts, is no good for discussion and sharing ideas, and so on. I can also invite people to try DL by offering them a free tutorial or a podcast on the benefits of distance education. Another important action would be to offer help to schools for improving their marketing strategies by adding information about the high quality of their distance learning programs to the prominent spot on their homepage.
What do you think the perceptions of distance learning will be in the future (in 5–10 years; 10–20 years)?
First of all, I must continuously improve myself – my abilities, skills, and knowledge. As any devoted professional of any field, keeping myself abreast with research and innovations in my and all related fields of knowledge is important. I must continuously challenge myself by trying new ideas and learning new technologies and techniques, experimenting with my own solutions and trying them on myself. Also, it is important to maintain the network of colleagues for exchanging ideas and for collaboration, and follow esteemed contemporary thinkers. As a practitioner, I must follow high standards and be uncompromising in achieving the best possible quality in my work. As a firm believer in distance education, I have to promote it among potential students, dispel their misconceptions, and address their concerns by actively looking for solutions in my practice and in conversations with them. The key to being a positive force is to be active and help others to be active and to realize their full potential.
Reference
Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). Academic fidelity and integrity as attributes of university online degree program offerings. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(1). Retrieved from www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring121/gambescia121.html
Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). The future of distance education. Retrieved from Walden University eCollege.
Seely Brown, J. & Adler, R., (2008). Minds on fire: Open education, the long tail, and learning 2.0. Educause Review, 43/1, 16–32. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume43/MindsonFireOpenEducationtheLon/162420
