GLOBAL DIVERSITY - EDUC 8842 MODULE 2

The ever-changing world of technology has made distance education take a new dimension. Most educational institutions are adopting distance education to reach out to society at large. George Siemens is of the opinion that there are three elements that are critical in distance education to create effective learning experiences. The three elements are global diversity, communication, and collaborative interaction (Laureate, 2008c). These elements are encompassing as distance learning environment cannot achieve set outcomes on using just one of the elements. In this purview, the focus here is on global diversity. The evolution of global diversity is as a result of no time zones, distant and locales accessibility to learning materials, and meeting the needs of all learners inclusive of those with challenges. The ability of both learners and instructors to interact and communicate in distance education has made the world a global village, not taking cognizance of whether developing or developed countries, culture, and ethics among others. Ellsworth buttressing Siemen’s view stated, "it is the global diversity element that actually makes distance education different and unique from face-to-face (F2F) education."

The primary medium is the use of Internet. Access to internet connection anytime, anywhere has made many online tools useful in distance education. The online tools that facilitate interactions among learners include Skype, social networking sites, blogs, wikis, discussion forum, and google docs for collaboration. The use of Skype has made online meeting, discussion, instant messaging and video-conferencing easy. It has a level of F2F, as learners can see one another in a physical posture during the video conferencing. The use of these technologies has provided cross-cultural international dialogues. This has enriched lives and futures with exposure to global diversity while learning alongside the world.

I share Siemen’s view that the growing acceptance of distance education has the key elements, comprising global diversity, communication and collaborative interaction. These elements are successfully incorporated into Walden University delivery method of distance education. In one of my courses, a classmate asked for the location of Nigeria in the world. If our paths had not crossed in this program, my classmate might not in her lifetime heard of such country, talk-less of collaborating with learners from that part of the world. Global diversity is a pivotal element of distance education.

References

Ellsworth, E. (2010). Elements of Distance Education. Retrieved on June 25, 2012 from http://ericaeduc8842.blogspot.com/2010/12/module-two-blog.html

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008c). The future of distance education. Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Reshef, S. (2010). University of the people. Retrieved on June 25, 2012 from http://universityofthepeople.wordpress.com/

EDUC 8842 - PRINCIPLES OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

NEXT GENERATION DISTANCE EDUCATION - Module 1

Distance Education has been in existence for several decades, but the medium of transmission keep changing as the world changes. It started with correspondence study, thereafter, over the last five decades it was delivered through open universities established in many countries. With the invention of internet, distance education is gaining much ground through the use of technologies. Simonson is of the opinion that distance education has two faces comprising distance teaching and distance learning. It is a formal education in which instructors, learners and resources are separated by distant and locales. The next paradigm will be an exponential growth of distance education without it replacing the traditional schools and will be incorporated into most learning environments inclusive of K-12, higher education, professional and training (Laureate, 2008a).

Moller, Huett, Foshay and Coleman also share the view of distance education in K-12, higher education and training learning environments with a focus on instructional design. Distance education is often referred to as virtual learning, e-learning or distance learning. The instructional design must take cognizance of instructors and learners needs and provide adequate resources to meet these needs. This will help sustain the growth of e-learning in the various environments (Laureate, 2008a; Moller, Foshay & Huett, 2008). In the training arena, the driving forces are economic and access. Individually or collaboratively, e-learning gives the opportunity of individualization with web-based instructions for personal customization. As this evolves, learners can own their learning to suit their needs (Moller et al., 2008, May/June). The significant growth of e-learning is rapidly transforming the higher education sector. Most colleges and universities see it as a means of sustaining growth. E-learning provides an avenue to serve remote learners and boost the financial economy of the schools, especially in tuition-driven institutions (Moller et al., 2008, July/August). According to Huett, Moller, Foshay and Coleman (2008), e-learning in K-12 environment has experienced a tremendous growth with some state governments providing virtual K-12 schools or funding online programs in traditional schools. However, for e-learning to sustain the wave for future, role of instructional design is critical.

In view of above, I agree with the position of the authors. Distance education is approaching critical mass, and success is highly dependent on the instructors, learners and resources in terms of cost-effective models and technology tools considered in the instructional design. In line with the transformation of the use of computers in the society, within the next few years, the various learning environments will provide access to quality training and education through distance education.

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.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008a). Distance Education: The Next Generation. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 1: Training and Development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, July/August). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 2: Higher Education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70.